The Ducati Marlboro Team have concluded day one of testing at Le Mans today in cool and cloudy conditions. Thankfully the weather did not interrupt the riders' programme and both Casey Stoner and Marco Melandri were able to work on various aspects of the set-up of their GP8 machines, as well as trying a variety of new Bridgestone tyres.
Stoner completed 50 laps on race tyres and worked on the electronics with the aim of improving engine performance. During a five-laps run, in which the Australian used a particularly encouraging rear tyre, he clocked a best time of 1'33.994.
Melandri worked relentlessly over 63 laps on the set-up of his machine but was unable to find any significant steps forward. The pair will be back on track tomorrow for the second and final day of tests in France before the next appointment for the Ducati Marlboro Team: the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello on 1st June.
Circuit Record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha - 2008) 1'34.215
Pole record: Dani Pedrosa (Honda - 2008) 1'32.647
Unofficial lap times:
1. Dani PEDROSA (Honda) 1'33.1062. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha) 1'33.661
3. Casey STONER (Ducati) 1'33.994 (race tyres)4. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki) 1'34.108
5. John HOPKINS (Kawasaki) 1'34.484
6. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki) 1'34.730
7. Nicky HAYDEN (Honda) 1'34.752
8. Shinya NAKANO (Honda) 1'34.911
9. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda) 1'34.926
10. Anthony WEST (Kawasaki) 1'35.082
12. Marco MELANDRI (Ducati) 1'36.064 (race tyres)
13. Erwan NIGON (Honda) 1'37.389
14. Olivier JACQUE (Kawasaki) 1'37.424
