On Friday, both practice sessions for the Australian GP were dominated by Casey Stoner as he edges closer to clinching the 2011 MotoGP world championship.
The Australian, aiming for his fifth consecutive victory at his home race, clocked a top time of 1 minute, 30.475 seconds on the Phillip Island circuit, leading Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo, who posted a time of 1:30.744 in the initial session.
Although Stoner couldn’t improve on his time during the afternoon session, his 1:30.535 was sufficient to surpass Honda Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli, who secured the third fastest time overall at 1:30.912.
Despite crashing his bike in both sessions, Simoncelli emerged unscathed and managed to return to the pits for minor repairs.
Stoner’s birthday coinciding with Sunday’s race marks his 26th, and he could seal the MotoGP title if he outscored Lorenzo by 10 points. However, he remarked that his chances of winning the championship in front of his home crowd are “slim, almost impossible.”
Valentino Rossi, the nine-time world champion, recorded the 13th fastest time overall at 1:32.014 on his Ducati.
In the Moto2 category, Stefan Bradl from Viessmann Kiefer Racing achieved the fastest lap of 1:34.039 during the first session, while JIR Moto2’s Alex de Angelis took the honors in the afternoon with a time of 1:34.466.
Championship leader Marc Marquez faces a one-minute penalty on his qualifying time for Saturday after being involved in a dramatic crash.
The Spaniard collided with Ratthapark Wilairot’s bike at the conclusion of the morning session, propelling both riders onto the grass.
Race officials determined that Marquez had acted “irresponsibly” during the incident.
Wilairot was transported to the hospital for precautionary checks and was unable to participate in the afternoon session.
In the 125cc category, Sandro Cortese of Intact Racing Team Germany finished with the fastest overall time, registering 1:38.530 in the afternoon. Nicolas Terol of Bankia Aspar ranked second with a time of 1:38.708, while Johann Zarco from Avant-AirAsia-Ajo secured third place with 1:39.104.
