Casey Stoner fastest for Honda in first practice at damp Valencia
World champion Casey Stoner and Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa prevented any giant-killing in a damp opening free practice session at Valencia
After a topsy-turvy session full of position swapping, Stoner resumed the usual order by putting in a 1m45.513s lap with five minutes to go, with Pedrosa joining him at the front a few minutes later, the Spaniard lapping 0.2 seconds slower.
Until the late Honda surge, a variety of unusual names took advantage of the slippery conditions and appeared at or near the top of the times.
The Ducatis seemed happier in the wet, with works men Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden both leading the way for spells, and Pramac's Loris Capirossi also taking a poignant turn in front at the start of the final weekend of his racing career.
Another underdog to hit the front was Toni Elias, the LCR Honda man twice leading the way.
When the times settled at the end of the session, Rossi, Hayden and Capirossi held third, fourth and fifth places, ahead of top Yamaha rider Ben Spies in sixth. Elias fell to eighth, behind Pramac's Randy de Puniet.
Hiroshi Aoyama was 14th on the sole Gresini Honda entered this weekend following the death of Marco Simoncelli at Sepang.
MotoGP debutant Josh Hayes, substituting for the injured Colin Edwards at Tech 3 Yamaha, beat factory test rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga - in for Jorge Lorenzo - to 15th.
The track remained consistently damp, with lap times only improving by five seconds through the course of the session. Despite the slippery surface the riders all stayed upright, with a trip through the Turn 1 gravel for Hector Barbera (Aspar Ducati) the only incident.
Pos Rider Team/Bike Time Gap 1. Casey Stoner Honda 1m45.513s 2. Dani Pedrosa Honda 1m45.736s + 0.223s 3. Valentino Rossi Ducati 1m45.828s + 0.315s 4. Nicky Hayden Ducati 1m46.073s + 0.560s 5. Loris Capirossi Pramac Ducati 1m46.108s + 0.595s 6. Ben Spies Yamaha 1m46.259s + 0.746s 7. Randy de Puniet Pramac Ducati 1m46.371s + 0.858s 8. Toni Elias LCR Honda 1m46.393s + 0.880s 9. Andrea Dovizioso Honda 1m46.402s + 0.889s 10. Cal Crutchlow Tech 3 Yamaha 1m46.581s + 1.068s 11. Alvaro Bautista Suzuki 1m46.922s + 1.409s 12. Hector Barbera Aspar Ducati 1m46.967s + 1.454s 13. Karel Abraham Cardion Ducati 1m47.079s + 1.566s 14. Hiroshi Aoyama Gresini Honda 1m47.581s + 2.068s 15. Josh Hayes Tech 3 Yamaha 1m48.037s + 2.524s 16. Katsuyuki Nakasuga Yamaha 1m48.382s + 2.869s
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Hamilton accepts blame for incident with Albon in F1 Brazilian GP
Ferrari drivers called to F1 stewards over Brazilian GP collision
Will Alonso's Indy failure end the age of versatility?
Lauda's 1976 German GP helmet to be auctioned at F1 Miami GP
Ocon wants set-up changes after China F1 sprint as "performance left on the side"
MotoGP schedule: When is the next MotoGP race and where will it be held?
Honda MotoGP boss "confused" by "good improvements" not working
Can anyone stop "changed" Bagnaia as Ducati tightens its grip on MotoGP?
The signs that MotoGP's Japanese powerhouses are changing for the better
The other Suzuki signing that could transform Honda's MotoGP form
How the MotoGP paddock has offered refuge to Suzuki's former team
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments