There's no other way to put it, Casey Stoner was flying at Phillip Island and laid down a big marker for the rest of the grid with a stunning lap of 1'28.777. You wouldn't bet against him when the MotoGP caravan returns to the island for the 2008 race. Having said that, Nicky Hayden was looking consistent ahead of a very happy Mr James Toseland who ended the three day test with the third best time. Anyway, here's the top three rider's press release quotes:

Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro Team), best time: 1:28.777 (51 laps)
"We did the race simulation with one of Bridgestone's new tyres and it went really well, even though we had to come in three laps early. The track temperature today was actually higher than it was for the race here and you could tell. Even so we managed to lap consistently in low 1.30 and that shows how well they're working in Japan. I'm also really happy with the qualifying tyre, which is the same as last year. It is a good thing that bike is not completely different to 2007 because it has allowed is to find an excellent base to start the season from already. The new version of the engine has a better delivery, especially at the bottom end, and that has allowed me to set fast times more consistently, as well as increasing tyre life. It has been a good test session but now I'm happy to have a couple of weeks to rest and train in the gym. The shoulder feels okay, it is just a little bit weak and sore because I haven't been able to work on it as much as I would have wanted but now we can do that."


Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda
“We ended up not too bad but it'd be nicer to be faster on race tyres. To be honest, it's been a frustrating couple of days here. We got into the 31s about the fourth exit from the pits on the first day and really we haven't been able to go any faster since then, except with the qualifiers, which were good. We've chased our tail a bit and I haven't really found a batch of race tyres I like. I struggled a lot when I was here for last year's race, but I did find something I liked. I didn't have that option this week, so I can't say I'm completely happy with the combination of bike, rider and tyres. We tried the pneumatic-valve engine and the conventional spec engine in the new chassis at this test. We did a lot of tyre testing with Michelin using the conventional engine.
The chassis did some good stuff but not enough through this fast stuff here. We left Sepang last week in a positive way and it's still early days, there's a lot of work still to be done. Now we go back to Sepang for two days, we've got a few days off and then keep trying to chip away at it."

James Toseland, Tech 3 Yamaha
I'm really happy. I was always looking forward to coming here with my track knowledge and its nice to see the difference where I stand in the order with that experience. To be at the sharp end of the times and see my name up there has put a bigger smile on my face. Knowing the track I can be on the same line each lap and that's helped me relay my feedback on the bike a lot more precisely to my team. On other tracks I've been finding my way round as well as trying to make a lap time. I was happy with my pace in the race simulation but those extra five or six laps over what I've been used to in superbike were a bit strange. My body just isn't used to that distance but I felt good and wasn't too tired at the end. It is all good experience and its all coming together nicely. I will sleep well tonight on the plane after this performance. Even one of my mechanics said that it is so good to see an English rider at that end of the timesheets rather than at the other end. And the best thing is I can only get faster and stronger. I'm still waiting for some new parts from Yamaha, so there is still plenty of room for improvement, also from Michelin. Everybody is working hard and I'm riding on a wave at the moment.


Phillip Island info

Circuit Record: Marco Melandri (Honda - 2005) 1'30.332
Best pole: Nicky Hayden (Honda - 2006) 1'29.020
Fastest lap GP 2007: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1'30.801
Pole 2007: Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1'29.201
Unofficial lap times 01/02/2008
1. Casey STONER (Ducati) 1:28.777 (51 giri)
2. Nicky HAYDEN (Honda) 1:29.734 (102)
3. James TOSELAND (Yamaha) 1:29.754 (89)
4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda) 1:29.780 (90)
5. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha) 1:29.795 (56)
6. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki) 1:30.216 (73)
7. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda) 1:30.438 (91)
8. Shinya NAKANO (Honda) 1:30.728 (89)
9. Toni ELIAS (Ducati) 1:30.966 (97)
10. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda) 1:30.978 (115)
11. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Ducati) 1:30.983 (58)
12. Marco MELANDRI (Ducati) 1:31.377 (108)
13. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki) 1:31.508 (75)
14. Anthony WEST (Kawasaki) 1:31.957 (90)

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