Stoner & Pedrosa break Sepang two-minute barrier

After 12 years and tens of thousands laps, Sepang Circuit’s two-minute barrier for a MotoGP bike was broken yesterday as Australian Casey Stoner became the first rider to dip under two minutes; accomplishing it on the final day of the second MotoGP test of 2011.

Riding for Repsol Honda this season and the only rider to have won all three classes at Sepang, Stoner rode a blistering second lap in the morning session to record a stunning 1 minute 59.665 seconds around the 5.543-kilometer track.

Minutes later, he was joined by his team-mate Dani Pedrosa, who also broke the two-minute on his third lap - though the time was not fast enough to better Stoner’s timing. The Spaniard chalked 1 minute 59.803 seconds as both lap times stayed unchallenged for the rest of the session; putting the duo on top of the time-sheet again.


MotoGP Pre-Season Test 2 – Day 3
Sepang (5.543 km)


Casey Stoner (AUS) Repsol Honda Team (Honda) 1:59.665s
Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team (Honda) 1:59.803s


Marco Simoncelli (ITA) San Carlo Honda Gresini (Honda) 2:00.163s
Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda Team (Honda) 2:00.541s
Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha Factory Racing (Yamaha) 2:00.678s
Colin Edwards (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (Yamaha) 2:00.966s

Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Yamaha Factory Racing (Yamaha) 2:01.003s
Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Rizla Suzuki (Suzuki) 2:01.194s
Hiroshi Aoyama (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini (Honda) 2:01.328s
Hector Barbera (SPA) Aspar Team (Ducati) 2:01.346s
Valentino Rossi (ITA) Ducati Team (Ducati) 2:01.469s
Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Team (Ducati) 2:01.469s
Loris Capirossi (ITA) Pramac Racing Team (Ducati) 2:01.493s

Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (Yamaha) 2:02.034s
Randy De Puniet (FRA) Pramac Racing Team (Ducati) 2:02.155s
Toni Elias (SPA) LCR Honda MotoGP (Honda) 2:02.410s
Karel Abraham (CZE) Cardion AB Motoracing (Ducati) 2:02.506s


Source: www.sepangcircuit.com