MotoGP: Ducati fastest on day 1 of IMS testing

[tocino]

OK, so a little early for prognostication (ah hell, what am I saying? this is the gahddam Internet!) but:

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2008/Niccolo+Canepa+leads+first+day+of+historic+MotoGP+test+at+Indy

Ducati's Canepa leads first day of MotoGP test at Indianapolis

Wednesday, 02 July 2008
A new sound echoed off the grandstands on Tuesday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as a group of MotoGP test riders took to the 2.62-mile road course for the first official MotoGP outing at the newly laid out track.

Italian rider Niccolo Canepa was quickest on the first day of the historic MotoGP Indianapolis test on Tuesday (1st July), lapping the new layout on his Bridgestone-shod Ducati in a best time of 1'44.176.

`It is a beautiful track,' Canepa said. `Just this morning, I got to learn the circuit because it's new for everybody and it was also a little bit dirty, so we had to clean up it up.'

Defending double AMA Superbike champion Ben Spies, from Longview, Texas, was second with a top lap time of 1'44.227, on a Suzuki prototype also equipped with Bridgestone rubber.

Spies put in the most laps of any rider on the day, with 100 in total, his best time coming on his 91st turn.