Bridgestone: Stoner fastest overall, already under Jerez lap record

Article from http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2011/Bridgestone+Stoner+fastest+overall+already+under+Jerez+lap+record

In the morning session, Stoner and Pedrosa were the only two riders to lap faster than the existing lap record, set by Pedrosa in 2010, and after only 45 minutes on track the pair were just 0.3seconds from last year’s pole time. In the cooler morning session, almost all riders tried both the softer and harder option slicks but in the afternoon, as the temperature rose, it was the harder option slicks that were preferred.
Track conditions were good today, although a strong wind hit the region in the afternoon which was a factor in making the afternoon laptimes a little slower.
Third fastest for the Ducati Team was a resurgent Valentino Rossi ahead of fellow countryman Marco Simoncelli of San Carlo Honda Gresini, with Factory Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo in fifth. The top seven riders all set their fastest lap of the day in the morning session, but Randy de Puniet and Nicky Hayden, who were eighth and ninth respectively, went faster during free practice two.
The final free practice session gets underway at 10:10hrs local time tomorrow, Saturday 2 April, before an hour of qualifying in the afternoon. Whilst conditions today were fine and warm, the weather is expected to deteriorate over the weekend.

Masao Azuma – Chief Engineer, Bridgestone Motorsport
“Track conditions were good today, especially this morning, and the times at the front were already very fast. Riders got the chance to try both the softer and harder option front and rear slicks today in assessment for the race, although tyre choice on Sunday could be more affected by the weather conditions with the current forecasts. The times were a little slower this afternoon because the wind got considerably stronger, but throughout today we have seen that consistency and durability are good. This morning the air was warm but the track was still quite cool, yet we could see that the harder option slicks were working well despite the temperature and the laptimes were very fast. Many riders tried both specs in the morning and performance of each was good. As the track temperature rose by the afternoon, almost all riders chose the harder specs for FP2. I can also say that braking stability of both front tyre specs is adequate, so in general I am happy with tyre performance here today.”