Rossi behind Edwards

Just five days after he played second fiddle to factory Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards in Sepang, former world champion Valentino Rossi was beaten to the best time again by the American in Qatar today.

Rossi was just 0.117s adrift of the double World Superbike champion as he clocked a best of 1.56.892, a massive 0.5s inside his own 990cc lap record as the new generation 800cc machines made an impressive debut in Doha.

The top five riders were all under 9900cc lap record pace and after finishing second quickest today, having briefly topped the timesheets this morning, Rossi said: “This is a very important test with the first race here in three weeks. We have worked a lot with Michelin because tyres are critical for a long race like it always in Qatar.

“The bike is working well and as I hoped we have no chatter. With no chatter we can concentrate on developing the bike instead of trying to solve problems.”

Reigning world champion Nicky Hayden was fifth quickest behind impressive compatriot Kenny Roberts Junior who logged the fourth best time, with the new KR212V already making big strides.