Hopkins leads again

Suzuki once again topped the timesheets in Sepang on day three of their 800cc testing.

John Hopkins took more than a second off yesterday’s time to record a 2:01.64 lap ahead of team-mate Chris Varmeulen on 2:02.04.

Hopkins described the testing as ‘the best preseason we’ve had in MotoGP’.

Yamaha’s Colin Edwards continued his progress this morning (Friday) on the Malaysian track to finish the day with the third fastest time.

The American spent the time working on a general set-up with a new chassis and suspension to also contend with.

He said: “Today was another really good day. I was quicker again and it felt really good to be able to consistently run fast times comfortably. We got a lot of great work done on a variety of things, even though we only tested in the morning.

Teams will now head off for further development before the final testing session of 2006 in Jerez, Spain on November 28-30.

Unofficial Lap Times (800cc Bikes)

1. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki, 2’01.64

2. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Suzuki, 2’02.04

3. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha, 2’02.43

4. Nicky Hayden (USA) Honda, 2’03.28

5. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Yamaha, 2’03.36

6. Toni Elias (SPA) Honda, 2’03.55

7. Carlos Checa (SPA) Honda, 2’04.27

8. Tadayuki Okada (JPN) Honda Test Rider, 2’04.44