MotoGP: Olivier Jacque quickest in Jerez test

OLIVIER Jacque was fastest in today's wet Jerez testing session. His team mate Randy De Puniet was second quickest, proving the Kawsaki has what it takes in wet conditions.

Chris Vermeulen, who had an average race on Sunday was third quickest, followed by Kenny Roberts Jr, who suffered transmission problems during the final laps of Sunday's MotoGP race.

Casey Stoner showed today that he is a quick rider in all conditions with the Ducati Desmosedici GP7, even in the cold and wet conditions that greeted everyone at Jerez.

The young Australian, determined to make use of the conditions and time available to test tyres and wet-weather set-up, put on his leathers and helmet late in the morning to notch up a best time of 1:51.736s in his 21 laps.

His Ducati Marlboro team-mate, Loris Capirossi, did not take part in the test as he returned to Monte Carlo on Sunday evening immediately after the race to be close to his wife Ingrid for the expected birth of their first child, Riccardo, in the next few days.

The Repsol Honda Team were busy at the test too. Yet to have a win, World Champion Nicky Hayden and his Spanish team-mate Dani Pedrosa made the most of the conditions to undertake some valuable wet testing on their new-for-2007 RC212V machines. As well as adapting the settings for the 800cc Honda, the Repsol Honda pair tried various Michelin wet tyres. Though the continuously changing conditions led to inconsistent lap times for everybody, Hayden and Pedrosa were able to gather useful technical data to aid the engineers in honing the performance of the bike in lower grip conditions.

The MotoGP Championship now takes a three-week break before the Turkish GP race scheduled for April 22 at the Istanbul Park Circuit, the first track where there has been no winter testing and where as a result the new 2007 rules limiting the number of tyres will be put to the test.

Final Jerez testing, Monday 26 March 2007

1. Olivier Jacque (Kawasaki) 1'51.422 (52 giri)

2. Randy De Puniet (Kawasaki) 1'51.502 (59)

3. Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) 1'51.536 (27)

4. Kenny Roberts Jr (Kr-Honda) 1'51.567 (30)

5. Casey Stoner (Ducati) 1'51.736 (21)

6. Carlos Checa (Honda) 1'51.827 (44)

7. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1'51.899 (41)

8. Alex Barros (Ducati) 1'52.129 (36)

9. Toni Elias (Honda) 1'52.198 (56)

10. Shinya Nakano (Honda) 1'52.212 (53)

11. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 1'52.637 (67)

12. Marco Melandri (Honda) 1'52.842 (45)

13. Alex Hofmann (Ducati) 1'52.904 (55)

14. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 1'53.104 (36)

15. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1'53.240 (51)

16. Silvayn Guintoli (Yamaha) 1'55.992 (44)

17. Makoto Tamada (Yamaha) 1'57.917 (38)

18. Akiyoshi Kousuke (Suzuki) 1'58.635 (36)

19. Vittoriano Guareschi (Ducati) 2'00.291 (33)