Casey Stoner shocked to top Sepang timesheets

Casey Stoner declared himself ‘surprised’ after he kicked off preparations for the 2011 MotoGP world championship in brilliant fashion today, the Aussie ending the opening day of testing at Sepang with the fastest time.

The new Repsol Honda star posted a best time of 2.01.574 in the final half-an-hour to finish a comfortable 0.403s clear of closest rival and reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo.

The 2007 world champion spent most of the day working on a new clutch set-up and engine braking system to try and cure Honda’s persistent braking stability issues that has been a major weakness of the RC212V previously.

But Stoner said he was delighted with his first day with Honda enjoying a morale-boosting start to 2011 with Dani Pedrosa third and Italian Marco Simoncelli fourth fastest in hot and humid conditions.

Stoner said: “Braking stability was the weakest point of the bike and the last three exits today we definitely found something that seems to be working in a very good direction. I felt comfortable on the bike and with a lot of laps on the tyres the times were a lot faster than I managed earlier. The problem we had in Valencia was the chattering in the braking point, especially the last part just before you arrive in the corner. We reduced the chatter all day and the last few exits we made a big step and reduced it a lot more, so now there is almost nothing and this is where we felt much more comfortable. I started to be more aggressive in the entry of the corner because I felt the tyre wasn’t pushing. But I didn’t expect to be able to go so fast with the soft tyre. I didn’t imagine we could make such a big jump. I managed to be fastest and for me this was a big surprise and a nice cherry on top.”

Stoner opted to only ride the 2011 factory RC212V and he confirmed he will evaluate a new chassis he requested after his debut in Valencia last month.

He revealed what he hoped the new frame would delivery by adding: “I’m hoping to increase the rear grip. Already we have quite good grip but you can always improve. With hard tyres we have a little bit too much spinning when we pick up the bike. The front part of the chassis is more or less the same but the rear is a little bit different in stiffness.”