Melandri quickest in second practice

The Italian rider moved his Honda Gresini bike to the top of the timesheets with 20 minutes of the hour-long session remaining - and light drizzle meant that none of his rivals were able to challenge his effort.

Dani Pedrosa was second fastest, just 0.15 seconds adrift of Melandri, with veteran Carlos Checa once again returning to the sharp end of the timesheets with the third best time.

Colin Edwards was Fiat Yamaha's fastest rider, with the fourth quickest time. His teammate Valentino Rossi could manage no better than 11th after an early-session excursion across a run-off area after locking up on the then damp track.

Those tricky conditions, with the surface damp but not quite wet enough for wet tyres, caught out several riders.

Alex Hofmann lost it at the far end of the circuit, and just moments after his bike was recovered by the marshals world champion Nicky Hayden also lost control and spun out. Both riders were able to continue on their spare bikes.

John Hopkins was fifth fastest for Rizla Suzuki, with championship leader Casey Stoner recovering from a few wild moments finding the limits of his bike to set the sixth fastest time.

Hayden ended up 17th, after another run across a gravel trap later in the session, while Fonsi Nieto was again the slowest rider.

Stoner and Melandri also ran wide across gravel traps during the hour-long session. The Australian ran wide after what appeared to be a dispute over track position with Spaniard Toni Elias.

Pos  Rider             Team                   Time             Laps
 1.  Marco Melandri    Honda Gresini          1:35.319          22
 2.  Dani Pedrosa      Repsol Honda Team      1:35.467 + 0.148  27
 3.  Carlos Checa      Honda LCR              1:35.498 + 0.179  23
 4.  Colin Edwards     Fiat Yamaha Team       1:35.626 + 0.307  22
 5.  John Hopkins      Rizla Suzuki MotoGP    1:35.746 + 0.427  23
 6.  Casey Stoner      Ducati Marlboro Team   1:35.759 + 0.440  21
 7.  Toni Elias        Honda Gresini          1:35.818 + 0.499  22
 8.  Alex Barros       Pramac d'Antin         1:36.044 + 0.725  24
 9.  Loris Capirossi   Ducati Marlboro Team   1:36.139 + 0.820  25
10.  Randy De Puniet   Kawasaki Racing Team   1:36.352 + 1.033  26
11.  Valentino Rossi   Fiat Yamaha Team       1:36.391 + 1.072  23
12.  Chris Vermeulen   Rizla Suzuki MotoGP    1:36.491 + 1.172  20
13.  Sylvain Guintoli  Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3   1:36.705 + 1.386  23
14.  Kenny Roberts     Team Roberts           1:36.770 + 1.451  24
15.  Makoto Tamada     Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3   1:36.795 + 1.476  27
16.  Shinya Nakano     Konica Minolta Honda   1:36.855 + 1.536  23
17.  Nicky Hayden      Repsol Honda Team      1:37.205 + 1.886  21
18.  Alex Hofmann      Pramac d'Antin         1:37.751 + 2.432  16
19.  Fonsi Nieto       Kawasaki Racing Team   1:38.827 + 3.508  21