2011 Qatar MotoGP Free Practice 1

At 19h55 local time, the first session of the 2011 season started at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar. This seemed a continuation from the test that took place earlier this week, with conditions almost identical.

Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner retained his position at the top of the timing sheets with a time of 1'55.752.

CASEY STONER – 1st – 1'55.752

"We started of where we left on Monday and used more or less the same set-up – the wind is a little stronger than we had in the test but the track condition feels pretty good. We need to improve rear edge grip, this is an area we've struggled with a little so we need to improve that which will give us better turn in and exit from the corner. I'd say we're about 80% complete on the bike package, we have a few main areas we can improve, but this is always the case – you can always improve something, and if we do in these areas it will makes us a lot more confident. I did the whole session with the same rear hard tire and I was happy with it from the beginning to the end, and this is good for the race. Finally the season has started, everything has gone fantastic so far but we need to be realistic and keep focused".