They turned out in droves to farewell Casey Stoner at Phillip Island in 2012; this weekend Australian MotoGP fans could be saying goodbye to his lap record as well.
Jorge Lorenzo on Friday closed in on the time Australia’s two-time world champion set in 2008 after quickly mastering the newly-resurfaced track during practice ahead of this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix.
Taking advantage of clear but cool conditions, the Spaniard topped the timesheets in both of the day’s two sessions – laying down a sizzling marker of one minute, 28.961secs.
The time was just 0.296secs off the pace set by Stoner and Lorenzo reckons it was all thanks to the Island’s recent facelift – its first in 14 years.
“It’s all about the surface,” the reigning world MotoGP champion said.
“Without the surface, probably I would be one second slower and maybe not have stayed close to Stoner’s record today.
“The bumps have improved 95 per cent. You have a big bump on turn six, but apart from this corner it’s much better. It’s much more fun to ride here, it’s a pleasure.”
The track was less favourable to the man trying to snatch the 2013 crown out of Lorenzo’s hands: current series leader Marc Marquez.
The 20-year-old rookie enjoyed a solid opening practice session to finish just 0.088 seconds slower than his compatriot, but crashed out just two laps into his second stanza.
Marquez, who can become the youngest MotoGP world champion with the right mix of results in Sunday’s race, quickly recovered but could not find the pace aboard his team’s back-up Honda.
“The geometry (of the second bike) was completely different and we didn’t have time to change again,” he said.
“But tomorrow we’ll try to get that feeling we had in the morning.”
It was Marquez’s first outing on a premier class bike at the Victorian coastal circuit but, compared to his ride last year in Moto2, he said the new surface had made a normally difficult track more enjoyable.
“It’s quite nice to ride, especially in the fast corners with no bumps. I enjoyed it a lot.”
The fresh layer of asphalt also saw the venue’s top speed record fall, with Honda’s Alvaro Bautista clocking 343.9kmh to better Karel Abraham’s pace of 339.5kmh set last year.
Bautista finished Friday’s practice third fastest behind Lorenzo and Marquez, with Dani Pedrosa and veteran Valentino Rossi rounding out the top five.
Australians Bryan Staring and Damian Cudlin came in at 21st and 24th respectively.
A final practice session will be run on Saturday morning ahead of qualifying at 3.10pm (AEDT).
