Pedrosa tops first Donington practice
Dani Pedrosa set the fastest time in the first MotoGP free practice session of this weekend's British round of the championship at Donington Park
The hour-long practice was wet throughout, with the track just beginning to dry towards the end of the session.
The Yamahas of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo traded quickest time between them while the circuit was at its wettest in the first half of the session, before Ducati's Casey Stoner joined in as the spray began to die down.
Stoner held the fastest time until the very last lap of the session, when Pedrosa's Honda blasted round a couple of tenths of a second quicker.
Rossi finished up third, ahead of Andreo Dovizioso on the second Honda, Lorenzo - who also set his best time on the last lap, and Marco Melandri, who was among the frontrunners throughout the session on his Hayate Kawasaki.
Mika Kallio was seventh quickest for Pramac Ducati, ahead of Colin Edwards (Tech 3 Yamaha) and Toni Elias (Gresini Honda), with Nicky Hayden completing the top 10 on the second factory Ducati.
Home rider James Toseland was 12th fastest, behind Loris Capirossi's Suzuki, and suffered a problem right at the end of the session that forced him to park on his slowing down lap.
Pos Rider Bike Time Gap 1. Dani Pedrosa Honda 1m38.627s 2. Casey Stoner Ducati 1m38.872s + 0.245s 3. Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1m38.917s + 0.290s 4. Andrea Dovizioso Honda 1m39.069s + 0.442s 5. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 1m39.105s + 0.478s 6. Marco Melandri Hayate Kawasaki 1m39.130s + 0.503s 7. Mika Kallio Pramac Ducati 1m39.209s + 0.582s 8. Colin Edwards Tech 3 Yamaha 1m39.379s + 0.752s 9. Toni Elias Gresini Honda 1m39.755s + 1.128s 10. Nicky Hayden Ducati 1m40.116s + 1.489s 11. Loris Capirossi Suzuki 1m40.419s + 1.792s 12. James Toseland Tech 3 Yamaha 1m40.522s + 1.895s 13. Gabor Talmacsi Scot Honda 1m40.850s + 2.223s 14. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 1m41.467s + 2.840s 15. Randy de Puniet LCR Honda 1m41.861s + 3.234s 16. Alex de Angelis Gresini Honda 1m42.210s + 3.583s 17. Niccolo Canepa Pramac Ducati 1m42.696s + 4.069s
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