Hayden dominates wet first session

A fired-up Nicky Hayden set the pace in the first free practice session for the MotoGP finale at Valencia this weekend

Amidst a backdrop of heavy rain and miserably cold conditions - fitting given the wet weather theme of this year's world championship - the American rider began his final weekend for Honda in dominant style.

Casey Stoner was second fastest for Ducati but was lucky to emerge unscathed from a nasty high-side at the top of the hill into the last corner.

Jorge Lorenzo was third fastest, sporting a new FIAT colour scheme on his Yamaha, while Malaysia poleman Dani Pedrosa was fourth fastest on the second Repsol bike.

Wet weather specialist Sylvain Guitoli was fifth fastest as he begun his last weekend with Alice Ducati well, ahead of Colin Edwards on the Tech 3 Yamaha.

The Texan was one of only a few riders to go on track late in the session, most having given up on the water-logged circuit long before the hour was up.

Newly-crowned world champion Valentino Rossi (13th), for example, spent most of the time in his garage talking to the Yamaha mechanics.

Anthony West was seventh for Kawasaki, with Chris Vermuelen, Shinya Nakano and Andrea Dovizioso completing the top ten.


Pos  Rider              Bike            Time
 1.  Nicky Hayden       Honda     (M)   1:47.694
 2.  Casey Stoner       Ducati    (B)   1:48.469 + 0.775
 3.  Jorge Lorenzo      Yamaha    (M)   1:49.037 + 1.343
 4.  Daniel Pedrosa     Honda     (B)   1:49.580 + 1.886
 5.  Sylvain Guintoli   Ducati    (B)   1:49.887 + 2.193
 6.  Colin Edwards      Yamaha    (M)   1:50.077 + 2.383
 7.  Anthony West       Kawasaki  (B)   1:50.397 + 2.703
 8.  Chris Vermeulen    Suzuki    (B)   1:50.760 + 3.066
 9.  Shinya Nakano      Honda     (B)   1:50.879 + 3.185
10.  Andrea Dovizioso   Honda     (M)   1:51.098 + 3.404
11.  James Toseland     Yamaha    (M)   1:51.210 + 3.516
12.  Loris Capirossi    Suzuki    (B)   1:51.251 + 3.557
13.  Valentino Rossi    Yamaha    (B)   1:51.721 + 4.027
14.  John Hopkins       Kawasaki  (B)   1:52.798 + 5.104
15.  Alex de Angelis    Honda     (B)   1:52.960 + 5.266
16.  Marco Melandri     Ducati    (B)   1:53.083 + 5.389
17.  Toni Elías         Ducati    (B)   1:53.119 + 5.425
18.  Randy de Puniet    Honda     (B)   1:54.199 + 6.505