Pedrosa finishes fastest at Jerez MotoGP test

With MotoGP testing over for the year, Dani Pedrosa goes into the enforced winter break with his tail up after setting the fastest time overall at the Jerez test ending this afternoon.

Pedrosa slapped a qualifier on and reeled off a 1:39.91 lap, well inside the Jerez lap record, on his 82nd of 84 laps.

Day one and two pace-setter Valentino Rossi also tried a qualifier at the end, his 69th and final lap of the day yielding a 1:40.12 time.

Third overall today was Marcoi Melandri, getting up to speed in his first RCV 800 ride and his first run on a Bridgestone qualifier too, a best of 1:40.52 also inside the old lap record.

Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins on the Suzukis chose not to use qualifiers today and focus on finding good race-trim feedback, with Vermeulen fourth the fastest on race tyres.

His time of 1:40.76 was just inside team-mate Hopkins’ best of 1:41.04, with Hopper spending most of the day fastest until the end of day surge. Hopkins also rode the most laps of all, 91.

Shinya Nakano, getting used to a Honda, set a best of 1:41.14, a tenth quicker than Colin Edwards, who was higher up the leader board when he called an end to the test shortly after lunch, 41 laps in.

Meanwhile the Ducatis of Loris Capriossi and Casey Stoner looked a little off the pace, with Loris posting a 1”41.49, Stoner a 41:51, but the new Desmosedicis were hampered by an all-new electronics package, and only started to make progress midway through today.