Pedrosa back on top in third practice

The Spaniard, who had also been quickest in Friday's dry session, hit the top of the timesheets early on with a 1:50.108 lap, and would hold the position for the majority of the hour.

Pedrosa's turn of speed could prove particularly useful if Friday's heavy rain is repeated during qualifying this afternoon. Under the 2007 regulations, if the weather is so bad that qualifying cannot be held, the grid will be decided by combined practice times.

However, although there was a threat of rain before this morning's session and the skies remained overcast throughout, a small amount of sunshine appeared at the end of the hour.

Championship leader Casey Stoner looked set for second until being usurped by Valentino Rossi in the final moments. Rossi's last two laps were both good enough for second place, but he remained three-tenths shy of Pedrosa.

Stoner's Ducati teammate Loris Capirossi took fourth on his upgraded bike, with the home team still looking ominously fast through the speed traps - where Stoner and the satellite Pramac D'Antin Ducatis of Alex Barros and Alex Hofmann held the top three positions, ahead of Pedrosa.

Marco Melandri and Barros completed the top six, ahead of Suzuki's John Hopkins, and surprise eighth-fastest man Makoto Tamada on the Tech 3 Yamaha.

Practice times:

Pos  Rider             Bike      Time
 1.  Daniel Pedrosa    Honda     1:50.108
 2.  Valentino Rossi   Yamaha    1:50.491  + 0.383
 3.  Casey Stoner      Ducati    1:50.742  + 0.634
 4.  Loris Capirossi   Ducati    1:50.773  + 0.665
 5.  Marco Melandri    Honda     1:50.871  + 0.763
 6.  Alex Barros       Ducati    1:50.874  + 0.766
 7.  John Hopkins      Suzuki    1:50.905  + 0.797
 8.  Makoto Tamada     Yamaha    1:51.036  + 0.928
 9.  Alex Hofmann      Ducati    1:51.082  + 0.974
10.  Chris Vermeulen   Suzuki    1:51.112  + 1.004
11.  Nicky Hayden      Honda     1:51.132  + 1.024
12.  Colin Edwards     Yamaha    1:51.153  + 1.045
13.  Randy de Puniet   Kawasaki  1:51.293  + 1.185
14.  Toni Elias        Honda     1:51.337  + 1.229
15.  Carlos Checa      Honda     1:51.351  + 1.243
16.  Sylvain Guintoli  Yamaha    1:51.369  + 1.261
17.  Shinya Nakano     Honda     1:51.390  + 1.282
18.  Olivier Jacque    Kawasaki  1:52.074  + 1.966
19.  Kenny Roberts Jr  KR        1:54.314  + 4.206
20.  Kurtis Roberts    KR        1:55.575  + 5.467