Melandri tops GP test

Many of the top teams have spent a day testing at the Losail circuit in Qatar on Sunday, April 9, following the GP on the previous day.

The fastest rider was Marco Melandri on the Fortuna Honda, who was the only rider to go under one minute, 56 seconds. Melandri’s time of 1:55.95 was almost a second quicker than the qualifying time he set on Friday, April 7 for the race.

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Race winner Valentino Rossi was second quickest, and as in the post-Jerez test, Rossi rode a 2005 M1 for a few laps to provide a comparison with the 2006 Yamaha. The Ducati team of Sete Gibernau and Loris Capirossi focused on testing engines and the Bridgestone tyres, while both Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner elected to skip the test, with Stoner still suffering from the flu which affected him throughout the race weekend.

Qatar test: unofficial times

1. Marco Melandri 1:55.95.

2. Valentino Rossi 1:56.25.

3. Colin Edwards 1:56.35.

4. Nicky Hayden 1:56.36.

5. Sete Gibernau 1:56.61.

6. Loris Capirossi 1:56.77.

7. Toni Elias 1:56.86.

8. James Ellison 1:58.18.