Lorenzo edges Stoner in first practice

Just 0.064 seconds separated the Yamaha and the Ducati at the end of the session after a tight battle in the final minutes.

Stoner and the two Yamahas had all been within a single tenth of a second in the top three places going into the last ten minutes of the session.

But Stoner then pulled clear with a 2m02.322s lap that briefly put him almost half a second in front of his rivals, before Lorenzo first closed right in, then usurped the Australian at the head of the order on a 2m02.180s. Stoner improved his time on his final lap but remained 0.064s adrift of Lorenzo, who seems right back on form after his troubled Phillip Island weekend.

Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) ended up fourth as Dani Pedrosa improved and put his Honda in the top three late on, although fourth position will still suffice for the points leader this weekend as he bids to wrap up a seventh MotoGP title.

Andrea Dovizioso completed the top five on the second Honda, with Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen suggesting that Suzuki will be in better shape at Sepang by taking sixth and 10th.

They were split by Toni Elias (Gresini Honda), Nicky Hayden (Ducati) and Colin Edwards (Tech 3 Yamaha).

Returnee Aleix Espargaro, who has been drafted back into the Pramac Ducati line-up while Niccolo Canepa recovers from his arm injuries, battled at the back of the field with Gabor Talmacsi's Scot Honda, with the Hungarian pipping the Spaniard to 16th in the final minutes.

Pos  Rider             Bike             Time       Gap
 1.  Jorge Lorenzo     Yamaha           2m02.180s
 2.  Casey Stoner      Ducati           2m02.244s  + 0.064s
 3.  Dani Pedrosa      Honda            2m02.758s  + 0.578s
 4.  Valentino Rossi   Yamaha           2m02.864s  + 0.684s
 5.  Andrea Dovizioso  Honda            2m03.142s  + 0.962s
 6.  Loris Capirossi   Suzuki           2m03.253s  + 1.073s
 7.  Toni Elias        Gresini Honda    2m03.294s  + 1.114s
 8.  Nicky Hayden      Ducati           2m03.426s  + 1.246s
 9.  Colin Edwards     Tech 3 Yamaha    2m03.739s  + 1.559s
10.  Chris Vermeulen   Suzuki           2m03.763s  + 1.583s
11.  Mika Kallio       Pramac Ducati    2m03.785s  + 1.605s
12.  Alex de Angelis   Gresini Honda    2m04.042s  + 1.862s
13.  Marco Melandri    Hayate Kawasaki  2m04.274s  + 2.094s
14.  Randy de Puniet   LCR Honda        2m04.664s  + 2.484s
15.  James Toseland    Tech 3 Yamaha    2m05.218s  + 3.038s
16.  Gabor Talmacsi    Scot Honda       2m05.289s  + 3.109s
17.  Aleix Espargaro   Pramac Ducati    2m05.336s  + 3.156s