Casey was on the pace of yesterday’s fastest times on his third lap, despite pulling a muscle in his shoulder while trying to compensate for his back troubles of yesterday. Stoner set a time of 2:00.8, which is still slow in comparison to last year’s testing. Odds on CS27 taking the championship in 2012?

Next up were the factory Yamahas, led by Ben Spies who was just over a tenth from Stoner. Jorge Lorenzo was a hundredth off the Texan, while Dani Pedrosa was another half a second from J-Lo. Brit Cal Cructhlow continued his love for the new 1000cc M1 to take fifth place. He’s also doing a grand job of spanking his team-mate, although Dovi is still obviously struggling with injury, along with Nicky Hayden.

Perhaps the most interesting news from today’s test was from the Ducati camp. Hector Barbera and his Pramac ‘GP12’ ended up fastest Ductai in sixth spot, with Valentino Rossi a tenth of a second behind the Spaniard and 0.9s from the leaders.

Colin Edwards again, unsurprisingly, led the CRT bikes, but this time Colin had a full-spec 2012 BMW-Suter and was ‘only’ five seconds shy of Stoner’s pace.

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Valentino Rossi debuted the ‘90% all-new’ Ducati and was instantly quick, ending the day 0.7 seconds off the top spot in fifth place. Still lots of work to do, but VR46 seems happier on the bike. Casey Stoner, meanwhile, didn’t even manage to get out on the circuit after straining his back while warming up in the box. He’s resting now and will hopefully have a ride tomorrow. No doubt Casey will lap a second quicker than anyone else after his first session.

The new-for-2012 CRT bikes were led by Colin Edwards on his Forward Racing Suter, but still 6.5 seconds off the pace. Colin and the team did have some difficulties though. The other CRT bikes of Ivan Silva and Jordi Torres were a disastrous nine seconds behind Whoregay. That’s getting lapped within 12 laps territory. Shocking. Then again, these small teams are doing all their testing and development in the public eye, and are years behind the factories.

Moto2 champ, Stefan Bradl made a decent big-bike debut, finishing 11^th and two seconds adrift. Nicky Hayden, still struggling for fitness after badgering himself in the off-season, was 0.5s ahead of Bradl and a tenth off Alvaro Bautista onboard the Gresini Honda.

That was exciting. More tomorrow

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Casey Stoner hit the 2011 season running. While most of pre-season (and a good chunk of early season) talk was about Honda’s new gearbox, Stoner got to business straight away, ominously gapping the field from the first race here at Qatar. This was a pattern that would be repeated…

Jorge Lorenzo upped his game, despite coming into the 2011 season as world champion. While the Honda had its gearbox to boost performance, the Yamaha only had its pilots to rely on – especially now Rossi had left the roost. 2011 saw some of Lorenzo’s finest ever riding, culminating in some memorable victories. But on the Yamaha, Lorenzo was always going to be a battle for first loser.

No amount of debriefing was going to cure the Ducati of its handling woes. Underlying just what a talent Casey Stoner is, Rossi jumped on the bike, uniting a nation in the process. But he wanted to jump straight off, the balance of the machine not suited to Rossi’s style. The lack of performance first caused headlines, but as this became the norm the Ducati’s relative uncompetitiveness soon became a non-story.

2011 was full of unfilled potential. Rivaling the Ducati story was Toni Elias circulating at the back of the grid. Having been bounced back into MotoGP after taking the first Moto2 crown, we were all expecting to see Elias as proof that the new feeder class was key to the sport’s future. But Elias’ struggle to get heat into the Bridgestone tyres haunted him all season long. But the question remains, how can someone who looks so fast in pictures languish at the back of the pack?

Cal Crutchlow had a real James Toseland of a season. Racing out of the gate, Cal impressed in his initial few rides, and could have got a podium at a wet Jerez were it not for a crash. But Crutchlow peaked too soon, and after a crash at Silverstone in front of his home fans (Toseland, again), Cal’s head went somewhere and soon he was looking at tyres as the reason for his slump – much to the team’s annoyance. The one saving grace was seeing the quietly impressive Karel Abrahem off for the rookie of the year title, giving Cal a platform to build on next year.

And it’s goodnight from them. Yup, the near season long debate of will they, won’t they, ended up with Suzuki taking a sabbatical from MotoGP in 2012. The cash strapped manufacturer teased us and the team as to its plans, but having already downsized to just Alvaro Bautista, Suzuki plumped for pulling the plug. And this decision came at a time when Suzuki seemed to have finally got to grips with the 800. Bautista recovered well from breaking his leg at Qatar, and shone in races towards the end of the season. But that effort now appears to be all for nothing.

And so to the end of the season when Ben Spies threatened to take his second victory of the year under a cloudy Valencia sky. But who should come and steal Spies’ thunder (after leading for much of the race, granted). Yup, fittingly, Casey Stoner stuck on the afterburners and took victory in the last race of the year.

But the 2011 season will forever be remembered for one man’s tragic death. Marco Simoncelli had the world at his feet and possessed equal amounts of talent and potential. But the outpouring of grief after his death was not because of his championship standing or number of podiums, but rather because of the combination of his care free attitude and happy spirit allied to steely determination whenever he put his helmet on. The world goes on, of course, but he will forever cause us to pause, reflect and smile from time to time.

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1. Midwest Enduro – Season Finale

MV Agustas have won 34 TT races and taken 61 podiums between 1952 and 1972.The first race win came in the 1952 Ultra-Lightweight race, won by Cecil Sandford, whilst the last was the 1972 Senior won by Giacomo Agostini. While Agostini is the most successful MV Agusta rider at the TT with 10 wins to his name, some of the greatest names in the event’s history have also raced on MVs including John Surtees (6 wins), Carlo Ubbiali (5 wins), Mike Hailwood (4 wins) and Tarquinio Provini (3 wins). Other race winners have included Gary Hocking (2 wins) while John Hartle, Bill Lomas, Cecil Sandford and Les Graham have also stood on the top step.

The late Martin Finnegan was the last high profile rider to campaign an MV Agusta at the TT, finishing 4th in the 2007 Superstock TT race, lapping at 125.685mph.

Neil Haslam, Team Boss, World Performance Racing commented: “World Performance Racing represents a passion for motorcycle racing and the desire to bring MV Agusta, the iconic motorcycle brand with a unique heritage, to the celebrated Isle of Man TT races in 2012. We aim to restore MV Agusta back to winning ways and ensure that the 2012 TT will be another chapter in this great Italian’s brand’s history.”

Paul Phillips, TT and Motorsport Development Manager, added: “MV Agusta is one of the truly iconic names in the TT’s history and I’m sure many fans will be eager to see the much anticipated return of a factory supported outfit. I’m really pleased that we will see yet another factory backed outfit at next year’s TT and it is further confirmation of the event’s growing strength and appeal.”

WPR is a family run business based in Chesterfield who, in association with Chorley-based Moto GB, will be taking the new MV Agusta F3 and F4 machines to compete at the TT next year.

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The TT Circuit Assen is considered the most historic motorcycle racing circuit in the world, having hosted the premier class World Championship every year since 1949 and it is acknowledged as “The Cathedral” of motorcycling. With the appeal of the MCE Insurance BSB Championship expanding beyond the UK with International riders, worldwide television coverage and World Championship pedigree teams, this is a natural progression for the championship to have visibility in Continental Europe yet remaining accessible to the legions of British BSB fans.

The 2012 season commences at Brands Hatch on its traditional Easter weekend slot in April before heading to Thruxton one week later and Oulton Park in May. BSB then returns to the Snetterton 300 circuit, following a record attendance at last year’s debut event on the new 3-mile layout, before visiting Knockhill for the annual Scottish round in June and Oulton Park for the second time in early July. The summer Brands Hatch round on the Grand Prix circuit has been brought forward to 20-22 July to avoid a clash with the London Olympic Games.

Two weeks after the August Bank Holiday ‘Party in the Park’ at Cadwell Park, Donington Park in Leicestershire will now host the critical final round of the Main Season on 7-9 September, where the 32 riders will home in on the critical top six positions in advance of the Showdown phase.

The Showdown will take place at two current MotoGP venues with the Silverstone Arena GP circuit following Assen on 28-30 September, before concluding at the hallowed Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit, scene of the epic title decider between Tommy Hill and John Hopkins last month, with a triple header finale on 12-14 October.

Jonathan Palmer, Chief Executive, MotorSport Vision said:  ”The 2012 BSB calendar is the strongest ever and this is a tribute to the extraordinary health of BSB amidst tough economic conditions that are a major challenge to many other series. It has always been a priority for MSVR to drive down the costs of competing in BSB with sport-leading technical regulations whilst driving up the quality of the show.  As a result BSB is becoming ever more attractive to manufacturers, teams, riders, sponsors, circuits and fans, which means 2012 is likely to be BSB’s best year yet.”

2012 MCE Insurance BSB Calendar:

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The format of the new series is currently in a consultation stage and interested riders are encouraged to complete the online survey. So in essence it’s down to all of you to tell MSV what you want while there’s still a chance to influence the format of the series. Head to the Bike Trackday Trophy questionnaire to take part and give your feedback.The page also provides important information on how prospective competitors can prepare for the coming season.

MSV currently has its own racing division – MSVR, who organise the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship. MSVR’s professional approach to race administration will ensure that the new series will provide a highly positive introduction to competition for riders over the coming years.

Alex Baker of Club MSV said: ”Here at Club MSV we are in the fortunate a position that we can help riders all the way from their first time on track through to obtaining a race licence. For 2012, we would like to take this one step further and give riders the same opportunity as our car customers by starting a race series of a similar format to that of the Car Trackday Trophy – aiming at trackday riders and novice racers. We want to feed more people into bike racing and I look forward to hearing thoughts and feedback of anyone who is interested on what they might like to see from the new series.”

For more information on Club MSV, call 0843 453 3000 or visit the Club MSV Bike Racing website.

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Qualifying ninth, the Honda TT Legends team, comprising John McGuinness, Keith Amor and Glen Richards (Richards was drafted in at the last minute after Cameron Donald injured himself falling down the stairs – true story), were running as high as second, before the more established endurance teams made their experience pay.

Richards started the race (well, could you imagine McGuinness running?!), and eight hours later it was John McGuinness that crossed the line to score fifth overall – the team’s third fifth-place finish of the season. Given the race fielded such luminaries as David Checa, Matthieu Lagrive, Sebastien Gimbert, Katsuyaki Nakasuga (fresh from MotoGP) and Steve Martin in various teams, this fifth place is a decent result.

Click here for a decent YouTube post on the Honda TT Legends race.

Here’s what the team had to say on it. Head to the Honda TT Legends website for more.

Neil Tuxworth

Our aim for this year was to finish sixth in the championship, but to be honest we are more than happy with seventh. It’s a great achievement in our development year and I think the whole team can be proud of what we have achieved. We have learned an incredible amount over the season and we will take all that into 2012 with the aim of becoming competitive enough to fight for the podium.

John McGuinness

We’ve finished three races this year with three fifths and I think that’s a fantastic achievement. Looking at the race results, you’ve got teams with massive experience and world championship titles above us so we’re the best of the rest if you like! We strung eight hours together no problem and as a team we bought the bike home. It was quite a experience to finish the race here and the 8 Hours of Qatar is another thing to tick off my list of things to do. I have to mention all the boys in the team – they’ve worked mega hard and there has been a lot going on behind the scenes with the ABS project amongst other things, so thank you to them.

Keith Amor

It was quite an eventful end to the championship in the end. I’m really happy that the team has been able to move up to the seventh in the championship as we’ve had a few unlucky breaks this year. Glen and John did really, really well. It’s was tough to learn this track but overall it’s been a good year. I feel privileged to be part of the official Honda outfit.

Glen Richards

I am really happy that I’ve been able to do a half decent job. It’s always the fear of the unknown when you haven’t ridden the bike before but it’s all worked very well. The team has been fantastic and the bike was really good. We managed to get fifth in the race and move up in the championship, which the team are very happy about so I’m happy.

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One podium is a shocking return on the multi million pound investment in Rossi, although this is the sum total of Ducati’s efforts over the last two years if you take Casey Stoner’s efforts out of the equation – so maybe this is a reflection of the bike’s performance.

There’s certainly no live web feed from this year’s Valencia test, no coverage on BBC’s red button and no rush to see what Rossi and the bike will do. But this is the important year. Rossi, Burgess and Co couldn’t really do much with the bike during the season, stymied by inherent design issues and a degree of stubbornness on Ducati’s part. And let’s not forget that Honda and Casey Stoner did an absolutely top job throughout 2010. But this year should be different.

The latest incarnation of the machine has ditched the carbon frame in favour of a more conventional aluminium twin beam to house the new 1000cc v-four motor. But beyond that, there’s not much more we can add to the technical details of the machine. It’s already had run outs at Mugello and Jerez, but the work starts in earnest now.

Here’s what the protaganists (or not in the case of Nicky Hayden who broke his wrist in the race crash on Sunday) had to offer on the Valencia test.

Valentino Rossi: “This bike is nicer to ride than the 800, even if we’re only just starting our work. You can say that it’s improved in some respects, while in others, it’s very similar to the other bike, but that’s exactly what we expected. We know we’re doing preparatory work for the bike that we’ll use in the 2012 winter tests, which are very important. The engine seems to be pretty good already. It’s fast, although I never really found myself with the others to do a direct comparison. On the other hand, I’m a little slower in mid-corner, and we also have to try to improve rear grip because for now, we’re not able to get the power to the ground and take full advantage of it. But it’s not bad for a first taste, and the really important thing is that we can work more freely, changing the bike’s balance, the weight distribution, the measurements, and whatever we need as we prepare for the important next three months of work.”

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3. Paul Bird in BSB 2012 – Dream Team?

Paul Bird will also be fielding James Ellison in MotoGP, running a one-man CRT team in the fledgling series.  It’s going to be a busy time…

This is a real shot in the arm for the BSB series, having lost Crescent Suzuki to WSB, and should make great use of the machinery and experience learned from the team’s four year WSB experience that ended at the Portimao race. Having won the title four times, and raced with Byrne extensively in the past (while Easton was using essentially a PBM bike under MSS colours until his big NW200 crash), the team isn’t short of knowledge, and should be right up there at the season’s start.

Shane Byrne:  “It’s a bit like coming home as this will be the third time I’ll have ridden for Paul and it’s quite funny as you spend five minutes with the team and it’s as if you’ve never been away! The team always puts out competitive bikes and the Kawasaki will be a major threat I reckon. You know Paul wouldn’t be coming back to BSB if he didn’t think he could win it so I think we’ll have a real good shot at the title.”

Stuart Easton:  “My injuries are healing well and everything should be sorted in time for me to start testing with the team as planned. It’s great to be back with PBM and I appreciate the support they have given me this year whilst I was out. We have enjoyed so much success together in the past, I’m really looking forward to this challenge and if we can replicate that it will be great.”

Paul Bird, Team Owner:  “When we decided to return to British Superbikes, signing both Shakey and Stuart was always the plan and I’m delighted they’ve come on board with us. We’ve won British championships as well as World championship races together and for me it’s my dream team. We have proved that the Kawasaki ZX-10R is a fantastic bike and have won on it at BSB in 2010 so we know what we need to do. I promised Stuart a deal straight after his crash and he’ll be back to full fitness very soon and with Shakey keen to make up for missing out this year, we are ideally placed.”

The season starts at Brands Hatch over Easter with the team planning a test schedule in Spain during March.

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