Hayden ends Sepang test on top

With teammate Dani Pedrosa having been forced to fly home to Spain for surgery on a broken hand after a big crash on Tuesday, Hayden made the most of qualifying simulations to outpace reigning MotoGP champion Casey Stoner on the Ducati Marlboro.

Stoner only rode in the morning, however, as he returned to action following the arm cramps that he had suffered on Wednesday.

Jorge Lorenzo was the fastest Yamaha rider, setting the third quickest time, just ahead of Colin Edwards on the Tech 3 bike.

Kawasaki's John Hopkins continued to show some impressive speed during development of his Ninja ZX-RR to set the fifth quickest time, with his team's work boosted by the presence of test riders Olivier Jacque and Tamaki Serizawa.

Teammate Anthony West had a small fall early in the day, but recovered to set the 15th fastest time.

Frenchman Randy de Puniet, who had topped the times on the first two days of the test, ended up 11th fastest overall after small accident.

Today's times:

Pos  Rider         Team               Time     Laps
 1.  Hayden        Repsol HRC         2:00.326   77
 2.  Stoner        Ducati Marlboro    2:00.660   27
 3.  Lorenzo       Fiat Yamaha        2:00.766   63
 4.  Edwards       Yamaha Tech3       2:01.179   34
 5.  Hopkins       Kawasaki Racing    2:01.198   42
 6.  Rossi         Fiat Yamaha        2:01.425   48
 7.  Dovizioso     Jir Team Scot      2:01.447   51
 8.  Toseland      Yamaha Tech3       2:01.745   45
 9.  Vermeulen     Rizla Suzuki       2:01.748   70
10.  Capirossi     Rizla Suzuki       2:01.778   62
11.  De Puniet     LCR Honda          2:01.873   56
12.  Nakano        Honda Gresini      2:02.032   38
13.  De Angelis    Honda Gresini      2:02.198   37
14.  Melandri      Ducati Marlboro    2:02.725   58
15.  West          Kawasaki Racing    2:02.978   39
16.  Elias         Alice Team         2:02.995   67
17.  Jacque        Kawasaki Racing    2:03.030   40
18.  Guintoli      Alice Team         2:03.628   39
19.  Canepa        Ducati Test        2:03.703   49
20.  Serizawa      Kawasaki Racing    2:04.354   27