Lorenzo Sets the Pace In Valencia Test

The first day of the official MotoGP test at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia yesterday saw reigning MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo score the quickest time. Despite the fact that rain delayed the morning session, the riders got out onto the circuit with the same hunger as they would’ve if it was a race session.

Both Lorenzo and his new teammate Ben Spies managed to top the time sheets as only two of five riders to dip below the 1.33 minute mark. After taking just five warm-up laps, the Spaniard split his riding time between the 2011 prototype YZR-M1 and an updated version of his 2010 machine.

"Today we tried the new chassis on the 2011 M1 which felt good, although it is still to early to say too much about it. We also tried the new Ohlins suspension which felt better to me on the track. The new engine seems to have less wheelie but we will see more tomorrow in the next session," the Spaniard was quoted as saying in a statement from Yamaha.

At his first outing as a Yamaha factory rider, Spies spent the majority of the afternoon riding the 2011 prototype YZR-M1. The American rider and his crew used the session to focus on the chassis settings of the new bike, managing to finish as the third fastest rider of the day.

"For the first day of testing I'm super happy with the team, a lot of things are new including obviously riding the prototype bike,” Spies said. “There are a lot of subtle changes from last year so I spent some time getting used to it along with working with a new Japanese engineer who is very, very good. I had a couple of new mechanics who were learning the ropes as well so it was a lot of learning today. I'm really happy, I can feel the potential of the bike and I think there's quite a bit more to come."

Here are the full results for the Valencia test:

1. Jorge Lorenzo         Yamaha                    1m32.012s
2. Ben Spies                Yamaha                    1m32.878s + 0.866s
3. Andrea Dovizioso     Honda                     1m33.190s + 1.178s
4. Casey Stoner            Honda                     1m33.261s + 1.249s
5. Dani Pedrosa            Honda                     1m33.336s + 1.324s
6. Colin Edwards          Tech 3 Yamaha        1m33.513s + 1.501s
7. Marco Simoncelli      Gresini Honda         1m33.578s + 1.566s
8. Valentino Rossi         Ducati                      1m33.882s + 1.870s
9. Alvaro Bautista          Suzuki                     1m33.921s + 1.909s
10. Nicky Hayden          Ducati                      1m33.998s + 1.986s
11. Hector Barbera        Aspar Ducati           1m34.110s + 2.098s
12. Randy de Puniet      Pramac Ducati       1m34.142s + 2.130s
13. Hiroshi Aoyama       Gresini Honda        1m34.181s + 2.169s
14. Loris Capirossi         Pramac Ducati       1m34.631s + 2.619s
15. Cal Crutchlow          Tech 3 Yamaha       1m34.924s + 2.912s
16. Toni Elias                  LCR Honda            1m35.808s + 3.796s
17. Karel Abraham         Cardion AB Ducati 1m37.434s + 5.422s