Marco Simoncelli stays on top in practice two in Germany

Gresini Honda rider and morning pacesetter Simoncelli had been on top for much of the afternoon, before Lorenzo (Yamaha) edged ahead in the closing moments.

But Simoncelli was still out and able to respond with a 1m22.225s to retake the top spot by 0.095 seconds.

The factory Hondas claimed third to fifth positions, with Dani Pedrosa ahead of Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso.

Nicky Hayden was top Ducati in sixth, as his team-mate Valentino Rossi had another troubled session.

After this morning's crash, this time the former champion had to park his primary bike with mechanical problems and run back to the garage for his spare. He ended the session in 12th.

Ben Spies was seventh for Yamaha, followed by Randy de Puniet (Pramac Ducati), Alvaro Bautista (Suzuki) and Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Ducati).

Unlike practice one, this session only saw two crashes, with Tech 3 Yamaha's Cal Crutchlow and Aspar Ducati's Hector Barbera falling without injury.

Sylvain Guintoli brought up the rear as he settled back into MotoGP on the Pramac Ducati. He is standing in for Loris Capirossi for the rest of the weekend after the Italian found he had not recovered sufficiently from the chest and shoulder injuries he sustained at Assen.

Pos  Rider             Team/Bike       Time       Gap
 1.  Marco Simoncelli  Gresini Honda   1m22.225s
 2.  Jorge Lorenzo     Yamaha          1m22.320s  + 0.095s
 3.  Dani Pedrosa      Honda           1m22.432s  + 0.207s
 4.  Casey Stoner      Honda           1m22.542s  + 0.317s
 5.  Andrea Dovizioso  Honda           1m22.654s  + 0.429s
 6.  Nicky Hayden      Ducati          1m22.882s  + 0.657s
 7.  Ben Spies         Yamaha          1m22.894s  + 0.669s
 8.  Randy de Puniet   Pramac Ducati   1m23.037s  + 0.812s
 9.  Alvaro Bautista   Suzuki          1m23.261s  + 1.036s
10.  Karel Abraham     Cardion Ducati  1m23.352s  + 1.127s
11.  Colin Edwards     Tech 3 Yamaha   1m23.431s  + 1.206s
12.  Valentino Rossi   Ducati          1m23.533s  + 1.308s
13.  Hector Barbera    Aspar Ducati    1m23.625s  + 1.400s
14.  Cal Crutchlow     Tech 3 Yamaha   1m23.760s  + 1.535s
15.  Hiroshi Aoyama    Gresini Honda   1m23.906s  + 1.681s
16.  Toni Elias        LCR Honda       1m24.304s  + 2.079s
17.  Sylvain Guintoli  Pramac Ducati   1m25.964s  + 3.739s