Hopkins in doubt for Barcelona race

The Californian was high-sided by his ZX-RR Ninja 10 minutes into the second session and landed on his back. And, though he walked to the MotoGP medical centre, he was told he would need a further check up on Saturday morning before being cleared to ride.

"The first few laps on the bike this afternoon felt quite good, but when I started to push the front tucked going into turn two," he said afterwards. "When I gave it some gas to pick the bike up the rear came round on me and spat me over the highside.

"I landed heavily on my back and it was painful enough to stop me riding again during the session.

"I had the injury checked out at the Clinica Mobile, but they have insisted that I undergo another examination tomorrow before they pass me fit to ride. If I'm allowed to ride then my back is going to be sore, but I'll just have to grit my teeth and do the best I can."

Hopkins still managed to record a time 0.7s faster than his team-mate Anthony West, who is last of the runners. Nevertheless, the Australian was buoyed by the progress he made through the day.

"The position may remain the same, but we have made some progress with the bike today," said West. "We've all but eliminated the problems I had with the front-end of the bike in Mugello, and that's given me more confidence to push the front harder.

"Now we need to refocus on improving rear traction, which is so important here at Catalunya. So, while I'm not yet happy with my lap time or my position on the timesheet, I'm pretty pleased with the small steps we've made today, and I hope we can continue in this way tomorrow."