Aragon practice order 'made no difference'

The podium finishers at last weekend's Aragon MotoGP felt swapping the 125cc and Moto2 practice and qualifying sessions around - so that Moto2 was before MotoGP and 125cc after - made little difference.

The sessions had been swapped because some in MotoGP had complained that going out after the 40-rider Moto2 grid on Sunday only caused an unexpected change in track conditions in the race.

However, the normal practice order will resume at the forthcoming three flyaway races and, even when the extra Friday session returns for Estoril and Valencia, the 125s will be first on track.

"I think [having 125cc practice last] is the wrong way to go," said race winner Casey Stoner. "In my experience 250 tyres take a little bit more to warm-up than a 125 does and [Moto2] were running in a lot colder conditions than they normally do. For them it's definitely not the right way to go.

"Plus 125s is the starting category, so they are the ones that should have to get up early in the morning!

"In terms of grip [for MotoGP], we ended up with a similar situation," said Stoner. "In the race I had a little bit more sliding with the front tyre than I've had all weekend, but then it's a lot warmer. I don't know if there's a connection. The running order the way it was, was fine."

Second place Dani Pedrosa broadly agreed and believed riding after Moto2 in practice and qualifying hadn't stopped unexpected grip changes on race day.

"The old order has been great, I think. The change didn't make a difference in this race," he said. "As Casey said, in the whole weekend the front wasn't a problem and today in the race when I was pushing also I had a few moments. It's probably because the race in Moto2, but in practice really it didn't seem to make a difference.

"I think with 125s earlier - it has always been like this and I think it's better."

Nicky Hayden, third at Aragon, said the only benefit of Moto2 taking to the track before MotoGP in practice had been to clean up the surface on Friday.

"I really don't think it makes much of a difference," he began. "On Friday I liked having Moto2 out first because we were on a new track and they helped us out: Thinking only of myself basically, they definitely cleaned the track and put down more rubber than the 125s would. But [the conditions] are the same for everybody so I don't see a big deal in it."