First Shots: 2012 Yamaha YZR-M1

With yesterday’s race out of the way, MotoGP’s riders spent their Monday back at the Cardion AB circuit in Brno, testing their 800cc & 1,000cc machines. While we’ve already seen the 2012 Honda RC213V and the Ducati Desmosedici GP12, making its first public appearance was the 2012 Yamaha YZR-M1. Both Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies tested the new M1 at Brno; and additionally, the duo also put in laps on their current M1 machinery, which received a more powerful version of their 800cc motor.

With both Yamaha riders happy with the upgraded motor on the 800cc machine, and the package coming together for 2012, Yamaha’s reintroduction into 1,000cc racing can be marked down as a success. However, it was Casey Stoner on his RC213V, with its newly revised chassis for Brno, that was fastest for the day, and easily surpassing Dani Pedrosa’s qualifying time from Saturday during the test.

Also making progress was Mika Kallio on the Suter CRT machine with its BMW motor. The claiming rule team (CRT) has clearly made some improvements, being only 4.3 seconds down on Stoner’s time. Suter still has a long way to go, but can walk away from Brno having saved more face than they did at Mugello a few months ago.

MotoGP Test Times from Brno:

Pos.	Rider	Bike	Fastest Lap	Diff.	Laps
1	Casey Stoner	Repsol Honda Team 1000cc	1:56.168	–	57
2	Jorge Lorenzo	Yamaha Factory Racing 1000cc	1:56.253	+0.085	28
3	Ben Spies	Yamaha Factory Racing 1000cc	1:56.306	+0.138	24
4	Jorge Lorenzo	Yamaha Factory Racing	1:56.727	+0.559	58
5	Ben Spies	Yamaha Factory Racing	1:57.184	+1.016	15
6	Dani Pedrosa	Repsol Honda Team 1000cc	1:57.264	+1.096	37
7	Nicky Hayden	Ducati Team	1:57.533	+1.365	78
8	Cal Crutchlow	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	1:57.591	+1.423	74
9	Toni Elias	LCR Honda MotoGP	1:57.903	+1.735	56
10	Valentino Rossi	Ducati Team	1:58.266	+2.098	74
11	Loris Capirossi	Pramac Racing Team	1:58.387	+2.219	66
12	Colin Edwards	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	1:58.492	+2.324	44
13	Mika Kallio	Marc Vds Racing Team 1000cc	2:00.144	+3.976	81