Stoner remains on top in practice 2
Casey Stoner continued his strong form on the Ducati to top the second of the evening's practice sessions in Qatar, but the gap to second-placed Jorge Lorenzo has shrunk
Stoner was half a tenth quicker than Lorenzo in the first session earlier this evening, but the Spaniard got even closer in second practice, finishing up just 0.011 seconds behind.
Lorenzo had set the pace for most of the hour, but Stoner waited in the pits for most of the first 20 minutes. The Australian hit the top with 20 minutes remaining and didn't improve his time at the end of the session.
The was a gap of four tenths behind the leading pair, before James Toseland continued his impressive series debut with the third quickest time.
Colin Edwards pinched fourth spot from Andrea Dovizioso with his final lap of practice and Alex de Angelis completed the top six.
Valentino Rossi was only ninth, with the Repsol Hondas of Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden struggling even more, down in 11th and 13th places.
Marco Melandri's battle with the new Ducati continued as he finished up 14th, more than 1.5 seconds slower than teammate Stoner.
Pos Rider Make Time 1. Casey Stoner Ducati 1:55.442 2. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 1:55.453 + 0.011 3. James Toseland Yamaha 1:55.812 + 0.370 4. Colin Edwards Yamaha 1:55.942 + 0.500 5. Andrea Dovizioso Honda 1:55.963 + 0.521 6. Alex de Angelis Honda 1:56.120 + 0.678 7. Randy de Puniet Honda 1:56.234 + 0.792 8. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 1:56.279 + 0.837 9. Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1:56.395 + 0.953 10. Loris Capirossi Suzuki 1:56.922 + 1.480 11. Daniel Pedrosa Honda 1:56.962 + 1.520 12. Shinya Nakano Honda 1:57.011 + 1.569 13. Nicky Hayden Honda 1:57.045 + 1.603 14. Marco Melandri Ducati 1:57.091 + 1.649 15. Toni Elias Ducati 1:57.311 + 1.869 16. John Hopkins Kawasaki 1:57.416 + 1.974 17. Anthony West Kawasaki 1:57.934 + 2.492 18. Sylvain Guintoli Ducati 1:58.500 + 3.058
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