The German, who had only ridden a (990cc) Ducati
MotoGP machine once before, at Mugello in 2005, spent most of the afternoon on
Casey Stoner's 800cc world championship winning Desmosedici - and stunned the world with a best lap time just five seconds slower than the MotoGP lap record, set in Sunday's season-ending grand prix.
"How can I compare riding a Harley Davidson with this?! It's unlike anything else in the world," Schumi told the official MotoGP website, before revealing that he'd smashed his own personal target: "I remember last time I rode the MotoGP bike I think I was about 15 seconds [a lap] slower than what could be done, so I thought if maybe I could get within 10 seconds that would be nice..."
The ex-
Ferrari ace was helped by friend and former 500cc grand prix star Randy Mamola, who offered advice to the German before joining him out on track.
"Randy is a good friend," said Michael. "We just chat. He gives me tips and explains to me what I am doing wrong. It was nice to ride around together at the end. It's certainly a great help if you have an experienced guy around you to tell you your mistakes."
Schumacher was also asked about Stoner's stunning season, in which the 22-year-old Australian claimed his, Ducati and
Bridgestone's first ever MotoGP crown - during his first year with the factory team.
"If you remember last year nobody would have bet on [Stoner] at all. Ducati took the risk to take him on board," said Schumacher. "Sure he had a good bike and there is a tyre situation, but he beat his team-mate and all the other guys on the same tyres. Big credit to him. He rode it so smoothly, so perfectly. I'm very impressed."
More pictures of Schumacher's impressive MotoGP test can be seen below.
