De Puniet leads first day at Sepang

The Frenchman, who has switched to the LCR Honda team, ended the day half a second quicker than his nearest challenge - Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa.

Most of the attention was on Pedrosa, however, who ended his day's running with a big crash at Turn 11.

The Spaniard had been the fastest man up to that point, but the incident resulted in him taken to hospital for checks which are believed to have confirmed a hairline fracture in his arm.

Rizla Suzuki rider Chris Vermeulen, showing off his number seven plate for the first time, was third quickest just ahead of his new teammate Loris Capirossi.

MotoGP champion Casey Stoner made his return to action for the first time since suffering a shoulder injury in testing at Jerez in Spain at the end of last year.

His Ducati Marlboro team had a mixed day, with the bikes suffering niggling problems throughout the morning that limited their number of laps, before he set the fifth fastest time in the afternoon.

Valentino Rossi had a spectacular crash in the morning on cold tyres, although thankfully did not badly hurt the wrist that had caused him trouble since he injured it in Valencia last year.

He was sixth fastest, just a tenth faster than former teammate Colin Edwards, who now rides for the Tech 3 Yamaha team.

Today's times:

Pos  Rider         Team               Time     Laps
 1.  De Puniet     Honda LCR          2:01.377   68
 2.  Pedrosa       Repsol HRC         2:01.864   47
 3.  Vermeulen     Rizla Suzuki       2:02.074   57
 4.  Capirossi     Rizla Suzuki       2:02.416   61
 5.  Stoner        Ducati Marlboro    2:02.457   36
 6.  Rossi         Fiat Yamaha        2:02.490   44
 7.  Edwards       Yamaha Tech3       2:02.549   29
 8.  Hayden        Repsol HRC         2:02.558   85
 9.  Lorenzo       Fiat Yamaha        2:02.563   43
10.  Nakano        Honda Gresini      2:02.622   63
11.  Hopkins       Kawasaki Racing    2:02.628   62
12.  Dovizioso     Jir Team Scot      2:02.783   52
13.  Toseland      Yamaha Tech3       2:03.264   45
14.  De Angelis    Honda Gresini      2:03.301   47
15.  West          Kawasaki Racing    2:03.387   51
16.  Jacque        Kawasaki Racing    2:03.863   53
17.  Elias         Alice Team         2:03.954   55
18.  Melandri      Ducati Marlboro    2:04.414   52
19.  Canepa        Ducati Test        2:05.580   48
20.  Guintoli      Alice Team         2:06.000   36
21.  Serizawa      Kawasaki Racing    2:23.590    6