Stoner tops morning testing at Jerez
MotoGP champion Casey Stoner left it until the final lap of the second of this weekend's test sessions at Jerez in Spain to set the fastest time on Sunday morning
The Ducati Marlboro rider, who had failed to challenge near the top of the timesheets in Saturday's running, put in a best lap of one minute 51.427 seconds right at the end of the damp second session on Sunday morning to grab the top spot.
His best effort demoted wet-weather expert Chris Vermeulen, who had put in his best lap of one minute 51.621 seconds near the end of the three-hour session.
With rain and clouds greeting the teams on Sunday morning, ahead of this afternoon's special televised qualifying session, the riders had initially been reluctant to venture out.
However, as time wore on, more and more riders explored their limits in the wet - as they will likely have to face similar conditions in the qualifying session if they are to stand a chance of winning the BMW road car.
Andrea Dovizioso, running in the new JiR Team Scot colours, was third fastest ahead of Repsol Honda's Nicky Hayden and Tech 3 Yamaha's James Toseland.
Kawasaki Racing's John Hopkins completed just 12 laps as he continued to suffer pain from the groin injury he picked up at Phillip Island testing, while Dani Pedrosa did not bother venturing out at all as his hand continues to recover from his Sepang testing crash.
Pos Rider Bike Time Laps 1. Casey Stoner Ducati (B) 1:51.427 28 2. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki (B) 1:51.621 + 0.194 27 3. Andrea Dovizioso Honda (M) 1:52.037 + 0.610 18 4. Nicky Hayden Honda (M) 1:52.667 + 1.240 25 5. James Toseland Yamaha (M) 1:52.939 + 1.512 27 6. Randy de Puniet Honda (M) 1:53.187 + 1.760 15 7. Valentino Rossi Yamaha (B) 1:53.418 + 1.991 32 8. Colin Edwards Yamaha (M) 1:53.666 + 2.239 13 9. Sylvain Guintoli Ducati (B) 1:53.681 + 2.254 19 10. John Hopkins Kawasaki (B) 1:53.708 + 2.281 12 11. Anthony West Kawasaki (B) 1:53.816 + 2.389 14 12. Loris Capirossi Suzuki (B) 1:54.100 + 2.673 21 13. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha (M) 1:54.267 + 2.840 32 14. V. Guareschi Ducati (B) 1:54.465 + 3.038 22 15. Alex De Angelis Honda (B) 1:54.585 + 3.158 23 16. Shinya Nakano Honda (B) 1:54.744 + 3.317 24 17. Olivier Jacque Kawasaki (B) 1:54.824 + 3.397 13 18. Marco Melandri Ducati (B) 1:54.887 + 3.460 20 19. Niccolo Canepa Ducati (B) 1:57.384 + 5.957 16 20. Toni Elias Ducati (B) 1:58.138 + 6.711 18
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