Simoncelli stays on top at Estoril
Marco Simoncelli continued to set the pace in second practice for the Portuguese MotoGP event at Estoril, despite a crash during the session
The Gresini rider, using the same bike as the works Honda men, posted a best time of 1m37.663s early in the session, and that remained unbeaten until the chequered flag.
Simoncelli's session was interrupted with 20 minutes to go, when the Italian crashed at Turn 3 after losing control of his Honda. He walked away from the accident and returned to action a few minutes later.
In a very close session, world champion Jorge Lorenzo was second fastest with the Yamaha, the Spaniard just 0.061 seconds behind Simoncelli. Factory Honda rider Dani Pedrosa was third quickest, 0.003 seconds behind Lorenzo, after posting his best time of the day on his very last lap.
Valentino Rossi was fourth on the top Ducati, with Casey Stoner completing the top five on the second works Honda.
The 45 minutes were largely trouble-free, with Simoncelli's crash the only significant incident.
The Portuguese circuit was hit by rain as soon as the session ended.
Suzuki's sole rider Alvaro Bautista continued with his acclimatisation in his return to action after his injury, although the Spaniard was again slowest, over a second behind his closest rival Randy de Puniet.
Pos Rider Team/Bike Time Gap Laps 1. Marco Simoncelli Gresini Honda 1m37.663s 17 2. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 1m37.724s + 0.061s 21 3. Dani Pedrosa Honda 1m37.727s + 0.064s 19 4. Valentino Rossi Ducati 1m38.102s + 0.439s 21 5. Casey Stoner Honda 1m38.102s + 0.439s 15 6. Colin Edwards Tech 3 Yamaha 1m38.203s + 0.540s 22 7. Karel Abraham Cardion Ducati 1m38.473s + 0.810s 20 8. Ben Spies Yamaha 1m38.563s + 0.900s 21 9. Nicky Hayden Ducati 1m38.596s + 0.933s 20 10. Hector Barbera Aspar Ducati 1m38.611s + 0.948s 21 11. Hiroshi Aoyama Gresini Honda 1m38.645s + 0.982s 21 12. Andrea Dovizioso Honda 1m38.658s + 0.995s 22 13. Cal Crutchlow Tech 3 Yamaha 1m38.760s + 1.097s 19 14. Toni Elias LCR Honda 1m38.912s + 1.249s 21 15. Loris Capirossi Pramac Ducati 1m39.021s + 1.358s 20 16. Randy de Puniet Pramac Ducati 1m39.137s + 1.474s 20 17. Alvaro Bautista Suzuki 1m40.173s + 2.510s 21
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