Gresini CRT rider Michele Pirro fastest in futile final MotoGP practice session at Sachsenring

Several riders, including joint championship leaders Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo, opted not to go out at all as track conditions fluctuated in the grey area between dry and wet conditions. Tech 3 Yamaha's Cal Crutchlow also elected not to complete a single lap.

Pirro was able to get out in the final minutes, and with the factory teams all calling an early halt to their own programmes the improving conditions allowed him to go top with a 1m30.692s on his Gresini FTR-Honda.

Fellow CRT rider Mattia Pasini (Speed Master), victim of a heavy pitlane crash on Friday, also banged in one lap at the flag to move into second, ahead of Ducati's Nicky Hayden, who had set the pace in the wet.

Hayden ended more than two seconds down on Pirro, emphasising the late gains available due to the rain abating in the final seven minutes.

The mixed conditions led to a jumbled order throughout.

Tech 3's Andrea Dovizioso was fourth, while Pramac's Hector Barbera - the only man to set a time in the first 10 minutes and consequently long-term leader - slipped to fifth, ahead of the works Yamaha of Ben Spies and Franco Battaini, deputising for the injured Karel Abraham at the satellite Cardion Ducati squad.

Ducati's Valentino Rossi and Alvaro Bautista (Gresini Honda) rounded out the top nine, with Avintia's Ivan Silva and Paul Bird's James Ellison knocking Honda's Dani Pedrosa down into 12th.

Pos  Driver            Team/Bike                 Time       Gap
 1.  Michele Pirro     Gresini FTR-Honda         1m30.692s
 2.  Mattia Pasini     Speed Master Aprilia      1m31.659s  + 0.967s
 3.  Nicky Hayden      Ducati                    1m33.132s  + 2.440s
 4.  Andrea Dovizioso  Tech 3 Yamaha             1m33.301s  + 2.609s
 5.  Hector Barbera    Pramac Ducati             1m33.302s  + 2.610s
 6.  Ben Spies         Yamaha                    1m33.597s  + 2.905s
 7.  Franco Battaini   Cardion Ducati            1m33.607s  + 2.915s
 8.  Valentino Rossi   Ducati                    1m33.658s  + 2.966s
 9.  Alvaro Bautista   Gresini Honda             1m34.693s  + 4.001s
10.  Ivan Silva        Avintia Inmotec-Kawasaki  1m34.761s  + 4.069s
11.  James Ellison     Paul Bird Aprilia         1m35.006s  + 4.314s
12.  Dani Pedrosa      Honda                     1m35.271s  + 4.579s
13.  Yonny Hernandez   Avintia FTR-Kawasaki      1m35.847s  + 5.155s
14.  Danilo Petrucci   Ioda-Aprilia              1m36.436s  + 5.744s
15.  Randy de Puniet   Aspar Aprilia             1m36.970s  + 6.278s
16.  Colin Edwards     Forward Suter-BMW         1m41.025s  + 10.333s
17.  Stefan Bradl      LCR Honda                 1m41.146s  + 10.454s
18.  Aleix Espargaro   Aspar Aprilia             1m42.117s  + 11.425s