Lorenzo quickest in final practice

The Spaniard, who sustained injury in a massive qualifying crash a fortnight ago at Laguna Seca, said he was disappointed with his fitness yesterday after setting only the eleventh fastest time.

But it was a different story in today's dry conditions, with the Yamaha rider running more laps (35) than anyone else and dominating the last 15 minutes of the hour-long session. In the end he was the only man breaking the 1m22 barrier thanks to a 1m21.882s lap.

That was almost four tenths quicker than second-best Casey Stoner (Ducati), who by contrast ran less than anyone else for a total of 22 laps.

US GP winner Dani Pedrosa was third quickest with his Honda, half a tenth behind the Australian rival, thanks to a late lap achieved with the time already expired.

That lap pushed Ducati's Nicky Hayden, in strong form again, down to fourth, and Yamaha's Valentino Rossi in fifth, after the championship leader battled for top spot for most of the session.

Marco Melandri ended an impressive sixth with his Hayate Kawasaki, ahead of Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) and Mika Kallio (Pramac Ducati).

Gresini Honda's Alex de Angelis and Suzuki's Loris Capirossi complete the top ten.

Pos  Rider             Bike      Time
 1.  Jorge Lorenzo     Yamaha    1m21.882s
 2.  Casey Stoner      Ducati    1m22.258s + 0.376s
 3.  Daniel Pedrosa    Honda     1m22.311s + 0.429s
 4.  Nicky Hayden      Ducati    1m22.340s + 0.458s
 5.  Valentino Rossi   Yamaha    1m22.357s + 0.475s
 6.  Marco Melandri    Kawasaki  1m22.441s + 0.559s
 7.  Randy de Puniet   Honda     1m22.721s + 0.839s
 8.  Mika Kallio       Ducati    1m22.738s + 0.856s
 9.  Alex de Angelis   Honda     1m22.892s + 1.010s
10.  Loris Capirossi   Suzuki    1m22.899s + 1.017s
11.  Colin Edwards     Yamaha    1m23.041s + 1.159s
12.  Andrea Dovizioso  Honda     1m23.205s + 1.323s
13.  Toni Elias        Honda     1m23.374s + 1.492s
14.  James Toseland    Yamaha    1m23.655s + 1.773s
15.  Niccolo Canepa    Ducati    1m23.897s + 2.015s
16.  Gabor Talmacsi    Honda     1m24.579s + 2.697s
17.  Chris Vermeulen   Suzuki    1m24.718s + 2.836s