Stoner tops very wet Motegi warm-up
Ducati's Casey Stoner topped the times in a sodden warm-up for this weekend's Japanese MotoGP round at Motegi
With on-track conditions very similar to those that saw all qualifying sessions cancelled yesterday, few riders set times early in the session, with a full ten minutes in the middle of the session with no riders on track.
Toni Elias was the first back out when they returned to the circuit, and set a succession of fast laps before Yuki Takahashi took over top spot. The final five minutes saw a flurry of action as everyone took to the circuit.
With a minute remaining in the session, Marco Melandri moved to the top of the times on his Kawasaki, only to be deposed 20 seconds later when Elias went nearly two seconds faster.
On his next lap Elias went another half a second faster again, but Stoner, who had started his final lap of the session 15 seconds before the chequered flag fell, was flying, putting in a 2:05.903, just over two seconds faster than Elias's best.
Less than a second behind Elias were three more Hondas in Takahashi, Alex de Angelis and Dani Pedrosa.
Behind a quartet of Hondas were two former Ducati factory riders in the form of Sete Gibernau and Marco Melandri, Melandri ending up seventh fastest nearly four seconds off the pace after topping the times just a minute before the chequered flag fell.
The fastest Yamaha was Jorge Lorenzo in tenth, with pole man Valentino Rossi ending the session 12th fastest, and Colin Edwards who topped yesterday's wet practice in 16th.
Both Suzukis were also well down the order, Chris Vermeulen in 14th and Loris Capirossi in 18th and last position.
Pos Rider Team Time Gap 1. Casey Stoner Ducati 2:05.903 2. Toni Elias Gresini Honda 2:07.945 + 2.042 3. Yuki Takahashi Scot Honda 2:08.224 + 2.321 4. Alex de Angelis Gresini Honda 2:08.572 + 2.669 5. Dani Pedrosa Honda 2:08.720 + 2.817 6. Sete Gibernau Hernando Ducati 2:09.169 + 3.266 7. Marco Melandri Hayate Kawasaki 2:09.866 + 3.963 8. Mika Kallio Pramac Ducati 2:10.275 + 4.372 9. Andrea Dovizioso Honda 2:10.350 + 4.447 10. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 2:10.718 + 4.815 11. Nicky Hayden Ducati 2:10.983 + 5.080 12. Randy de Puniet LCR Honda 2:11.315 + 5.412 13. Valentino Rossi Yamaha 2:11.472 + 5.569 14. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 2:11.588 + 5.685 15. Niccolo Canepa Pramac Ducati 2:12.703 + 6.800 16. Colin Edwards Tech 3 Yamaha 2:13.169 + 7.266 17. James Toseland Tech 3 Yamaha 2:19.224 +13.321 18. Loris Capirossi Suzuki 2:23.058 +17.155
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