Stoner third as Ducati dominates Austria test

Casey Stoner escaped a late crash to end the Red Bull Ring MotoGP test third fastest as Ducati continued to set the pace.

The two-time MotoGP world champion impressed once again as he finished the session just 0.6s shy of the full-time Ducati factory riders Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso.

The Ducati development rider’s only blemish was a crash in the final minutes as he looked to improve upon his time on the soft tyre.

Stoner enjoyed a brief spell at the top of the times before Iannone clocked a 1:23.240s which was 0.4s quicker than Tuesday pace-setter Dovizioso.

Ducati underlined its pace at the venue, which will host the Austrian Grand Prix next month, by filling the top four positions with Avintia Ducati’s Hector Barbera in fourth.

Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi was the quickest non-Ducati rider in fifth ahead of team-mate and reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo.

The duo were almost a second slower than the front running Ducatis.

Maverick Vinales (Suzuki), Aleix Espargaro (Suzuki), Scott Redding (Pramac Ducati) and Yonny Hernandez (Aspar Ducati) rounded out the top 10.

Australia’s Jack Miller ended the day in 13th position with the Marc VDS Honda rider 1.3s adrift.

KTM continued the development of its new MotoGP machinery with test riders Mika Kallio and Tom Luthi propping up the timesheet.

The factory Honda squad and Tech3 Yamaha elected not to run at the two-day test.

Result: MotoGP Red Bull Ring Test Day 2