Lorenzo ends Jerez test on top

The Fiat Yamaha rider, who has been on pole position for his first two MotoGP races, followed on his podium finish in Sunday's race with a blistering lap on qualifying rubber - plus some consistent runs on race tyres too.

Lorenzo ended the day almost half a second clear of teammate Valentino Rossi, who spent most of his time focusing on tyre work as he continues to get to grip with Bridgestone rubber.

MotoGP champion Casey Stoner made up for his nightmare race on Sunday to set the third fastest time, which will have served as a bit of a confidence boost after his dramas. The Australian certainly felt much happier with the new set-up direction he had found.

"We've done a few different tests on the setting and with the tyres and I'm pretty happy with how it's gone," he explained. "We tried some different front tyres that gave me a better feeling than I had in the race yesterday, especially under braking, so I can say it was a really positive test.

"It's a bit of a shame because with just a few small changes to the set-up we had yesterday, the situation has improved a lot and we could have had a much better race if we'd gone with this in the first place.

"The test on qualifying tyres didn't go quite as well because on the best one I ran wide in one corner and without that I would have knocked a few tenths off my best time. It has been the best day we've had at Jerez and it's left me with a good feeling going to Estoril."

Stoner's teammate Marco Melandri did not have such a good time, as he escaped serious injury in a crash that brought an early end to his day.

Having damaged a nail in his left hand, Melandri was hopeful that the final corner fall would not be a problem for the next race in Portugal.

"The day started well and we were working with some success on finding more rear grip when I lost the front and crashed on the way into the final bend," said the Italian. "It happened suddenly and my hand got trapped underneath the handlebar.

"I was lucky not to break any bones in my fingers but it's still really painful because the nail on my middle finger has ripped in half. I don't think it will be a problem for Estoril though. Unfortunately we had to call time on a day that was proving to be important and positive."

Spanish Grand Prix winner Dani Pedrosa ended the day eighth overall.

Pos  Rider        Team             Time      Laps
 1.  Lorenzo      Fiat Yamaha      1:38.679   94
 2.  Rossi        Fiat Yamaha      1:39.117   91
 3.  Stoner       Ducati Marlboro  1:39.218   58
 4.  de Puniet    LCR Honda        1:39.484   97
 5.  Hopkins      Kawasaki         1:39.569   66
 6.  Capirossi    Rizla Suzuki     1:39.747   65
 7.  Nakano       Honda Gresini    1:40.034   78
 8.  Pedrosa      Repsol Honda     1:40.166   69
 9.  Hayden       Repsol Honda     1:40.389   80
10.  Dovizioso    JiR Team Scot    1:40.394   55