Bautista fastest 250 on day two but it was Simoncelli in the end
- From: TRS Media | Published: March 27th, 2009 - 5:24 pm
Alvaro Bautista overhauled Marco Simoncelli and Hector Barbera to claim the fastest lap time during day two of the Jerez 250cc test.
Third on day one, Bautista pulled out a 1min 43.068sec lap during the afternoon session to edge out day one pace-setter Barbera by just 0.025sec, with Gilera”s reigning world champion Simoncelli a mere 0.128sec from the top.
Reigning 250cc world champion Marco Simoncelli emerged triumphant from a final day duel with Alvaro Bautista, during Friday’s conclusion to the Jerez test.
The 2008 top two chose the last session of the test to perform flat-out qualifying runs, in search of a psychological advantage, and their entertaining duel pushed them both into the 1min 42sec for the first time.
Ultimately it was Metis Gilera rider Simoncelli who claimed P1, the Italian being welcomed by a rapturous applause upon his return to the garage after recording an amazing 1min 42.477sec lap, two-tenths of a second ahead of his Mapfre Aspar rival.
A surprise third place on the timesheet was Jules Cluzel, who dug deep for a 1min 43.078sec lap despite trailing the leaders over the course of the three-day test. The Matteoni Racing rider performed just eight laps in the last run-out.
Spanish rider Héctor Barberá, who had split Bautista and Simoncelli on day two, did not appear for the last opportunity to lower his times, sitting out the session after a morning fall. The Pepe World rider took a knock to his knee and hand in the fall, but will be ready for action at next week’s Qatar test. His earlier hot lap was enough to place him sixth on the timesheets.
Alex Debon and Hiroshi Aoyama worked their way up the timesheets with some consistently speedy times on Friday, and they too left their quickest laps until last. Both have had limited testing time, with Debon having only confirmed his ride with the Aeropuerto-Castello Blusens team last month.
The pair claimed fourth and fifth places on Friday, with Roberto Locatelli, Gabor Talmacsi, Thomas Luthi and Karel Abraham filling the remaining top ten positions.
Combined lap times from the third day of 250cc GP testing in Jerez, Spain
1. Marco Simoncelli Metis Gilera 1min 42.477secs
2. Alvaro Bautista Mapfre Aspar 1min 42.674secs
3. Jules Cluzel Matteoni Racing 1min 43.078secs
4. Alex Debon Aeropuerto Blusens 1min 43.189secs
5. Hiroshi Aoyama Scot Racing Team 1min 43.244secs
6. Hector Barbera Pepe World Team 1min 43.306secs
7. Roberto Locatelli Metis Gilera 1min 43.425secs
8. Gabor Talmacsi Balaton Racing 1min 43.470secs
9. Thomas Luthi Emmi-Caffe Latte 1min 43.611secs
10. Karel Abraham Cardion AB 1min 43.658secs
11. Ratthapark Wilairot Thai Honda PTT SAG 1min 43.744secs
12. Lukas Pesek Auto Kelly CP 1min 43.837secs
13. Mike Di Meglio Mapfre Aspar 1min 43.847secs
14. Mattia Pasini Team Toth 1min 43.877secs
15. Raffaele De Rosa Scot Racing Team 1min 43.926secs
16. Alex Baldolini WTR San Marino 1min 43.928secs
17. Hector Faubel Honda SAG 1min 43.982secs
18. Imre Toth Team Toth 1min 45.355secs
19. Shoya Tomizawa CIP Moto 1min 46.269secs
20. Axel Pons Pepe World Team 1min 46.767secs
21. Bastien Chesaux Racing Team Germany 1min 47.233secs
22. Vladimir Leonov Viessmann Kiefer 1min 48.138secs
Combined lap times from the second day of 250cc GP testing in Jerez, Spain – Testing concludes on Friday.
1. Alvaro Bautista Mapfre Aspar 1min 43.068secs
2. Hector Barbera Pepe World Team 1min 43.093secs
3. Marco Simoncelli Metis Gilera 1min 43.196secs
4. Mike Di Meglio Mapfre Aspar 1min 43.358secs
5. Lukas Pesek Auto Kelly CP 1min 43.467secs
6. Gabor Talmacsi Balaton Racing 1min 43.515secs
7. Hiroshi Aoyama Scot Racing Team 1min 43.545secs
8. Roberto Locatelli Metis Gilera 1min 43.749secs
9. Alex Debon Aeropuerto Blusens 1min 43.819secs
10. Ratthapark Wilairot Thai Honda PTT SAG 1min 43.951secs
11. Thomas Luthi Emmi-Caffe Latte 1min 44.039secs
12. Hector Faubel Honda SAG 1min 44.410secs
13. Raffaele De Rosa Scot Racing Team 1min 44.491secs
14. Mattia Pasini Team Toth 1min 44.499secs
15. Karel Abraham Cardion AB 1min 44.518secs
16. Alex Baldolini WTR San Marino 1min 44.720secs
17. Jules Cluzel Matteoni Racing 1min 45.227secs
18. Shoya Tomizawa CIP Moto 1min 45.813secs
19. Imre Toth Team Toth 1min 46.030secs
20. Vladimir Leonov Viessmann Kiefer 1min 47.650secs
21. Bastien Chesaux Racing Team Germany 1min 47.688secs
