Andrea Dovizioso seventh and Jorge Lorenzo eighth overall at the end of the final day of MotoGP testing at Phillip Island
Three days of MotoGP testing came to a close today at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia, with Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo finishing seventh and eighth on the day and in the timesheets. The Italian rider did a total of 73 laps, setting a best time of 1’29.248 while his Spanish team-mate was close behind with a quickest time of 1’29.342 in his 75 laps.
The MotoGP riders will return to the track for third and final session of pre-season testing from 10 to 12 March at the Losail circuit in Qatar.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 73 laps – 1’29.248 (7th)
“In these three days at Phillip Island we have managed to get through a lot of work, gathering lots of useful information. We worked hard on the set-up and on several aspects of the chassis, further improving the feeling. Overall it was a good test, above all I’m happy I managed to do my times when it was the right moment and this makes me feel good. However I’m not completely satisfied because we still haven’t managed to totally improve several characteristics of the bike and so we will have to put more effort into our work.”
Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99) – 75 laps – 1’29.342 (8th)
“Today we made an important step forward to better understanding the bike, just like we did on the final day of the test in Sepang, and my lap times improved a lot. It was a pity that we were not able to use the soft tyre this morning, when the track conditions were ideal, because I think I could have got my time down by another three-tenths. But, as I said, for me at this moment the times are not as important as the feeling on the bike and understanding the most efficient way to ride it. For the moment we’ve still got a lot of work to do, especially to get the bike to turn in the corners. In any case, all things considered, I think that we finished this test in quite a positive way.”
Stoner was undoubtedly a great rider/racer, but in order to be considered the GOAT he would have to win more than 2 premier championships. There have been many who have won that many WC’s, and more. He may have been the GOAT given enough time and championships, but we will never know since he quit. As it stands either Ago or Rossi deserve the title IMO. Ago often won multiple races in 1 day and multiple championships per year. 8 in the 500 class, 7 in the 350 class plus 10 Isle of Mann TT’s and 7 Ulster TTs and the Daytona 200 on his first race for Yamaha. Some say he didn’t have the competition that Rossi did but there are many notable names and championship riders he had to compete against including Hailwood, Redman, and Roberts among others. He also raced in a time without electronic rider aids.
Rossi’s record speaks for itself with 9 WC and many runner up places, and his duration and durability have been without peer.
Stoner was good, but he doesn’t have the credentials to be called the GOAT. At present it would have to go to one of the two gentlemen listed above.
I hope Lorenzo falls flat on his @$$ with this bike (or learns some humility), which will kind of prove that Casey Stoner is the GOAT (yes, even over Rossi who couldn’t do anything on a Ducati either). He seems to be the only one to be able to ride the un-rideable Ducati to a championship and other bikes as well.
Retired too early… 🙁
I don’t think the bikes that Stoner and Rossi rode were comparable.
It’s a good bike now, proven by wins under more than one rider and many competitive rides under even more different riders. But again, today’s Ducati GP machine is nothing like the bike Rossi had to ride.