MotoGP Sepang test: Alex de Angelis crashes twice

San Marino rider Alex de Angelis escaped injury after crashes at the start and end on the opening day of testing in Sepang today.

Boosted by a brilliant performance last week when he finished third quickest on race tyres in Phillip Island, the former factory Aprilia 250 rider crashed on his 10th lap this morning, losing the front of his Honda RC212V between the first and second corner.

After this morning’s spill, Alex de Angelis didn’t take to the track again for over five hours, preferring to wait for slippery conditions to improve.

He then crashed again on the entry to the fifth corner at 6.10pm, with the track time extended from 6pm to 6.25pm tonight after this morning was delayed following the late arrival of the medical helicopter.

The Gresini Honda rider, who has graduated to the premier class with Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso, had posted a best time of 2:03.321, which was 0.6sec slower than he managed in Sepang two weeks ago.

He said: “This morning the track was in very bad condition. My front and rear tyres were only lasting three laps. I lost the front in between turns one and two but it was a very slow crash and the bike was hardly damaged.

“I waited for the conditions to improve, but I crashed again because I was too fast on the entry to turn five. The engine was on the rev limiter and this unsettled the front, but I was just too fast going in.”

Team-mate Shinya Nakano ended the day with a best time of 2:02.317, with only five full-time riders on track in the Far East, including Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden.

The complete MotoGP line-up will be back on track together on Saturday, February 16, 2008 at the IRTA test in Jerez.

Only a two-day test under floodlights in Qatar the following week remains of the winter testing schedule before the season gets underway in Doha on March 9.