MotoGP: Pedrosa 217mph: faster than F1
Dani Pedrosa's new highest top-speed at Mugello is faster than the F1 cars clock on their fastest circuit, Monza
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DANI PEDROSA had set a new landmark top speed for 800cc MotoGP bikes, breaking for the first time the record set by the previous-generation 990s and clocking a top-speed higher than the F1 cars manage on their fastest straight: 215mph at Monza.
The speed was set by Dani Pedrosa on the Repsol Honda on Friday afternoon: a towering 217.0 mph (349.3 km/h), which was 1.1 mph faster than the previous record, set by Loris Capirossi on a 990 Ducati at pre-season tests in 2003.
In each case the riders had a strong following wind; Pedrosa also had the benefit of slipstreaming Rossi, he explained, adding: “Top speed is not the most important thing. The lap time is more critical.”
Mugello was the circuit at which MotoGP first cracked 200 mph, with Regis Laconi on an Aprilia RS3 Cube in 2003.
