217mph Iannone breaks MotoGP top speed record

UPDATE: After qualifying, Brembo released figures showing an average top speed for its MotoGP riders of 361km/h (224mph) at the end of the Mugello home straight! This figure came from telemetry data, rather than a speed trap system used for official top speeds.

Saturday morning at the Italian MotoGP saw Pramac Ducati's Andrea Iannone credited with a huge top speed of 349.6km/h (217.2mph) by official timing.

If confirmed, that would beat the previous MotoGP speed record of 349.3km/h (217.1mph) set by Dani Pedrosa during practice for the 2009 Mugello round on an 800cc Honda.

Iannone's next highest top speed this morning was a 344.7km/h (214.2mph) suggesting he may have benefitted from a slipstream to reach the one-off 349.

Despite the straight line performance, Iannone was unable to improve on his Friday lap time and finished Free Practice 3 in tenth place.

Factory Ducati rider Cal Crutchlow set the next highest top speed this morning at 345.4km/h (214.6mph).