Rossi leads Motegi warm-up
Fiat Yamaha's Valentino Rossi hopes of clinching the title at this afternoon's Japanese Grand Prix took a boost after he topped this morning's warm-up at Motegi
He set a best of 1:47.263 to end the session over three-tenths clear of Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa, having been consistently fast throughout the second half of the session, Rossi setting a post-chequered flag lap of 1:47.295 further illustrating the point.
Six and a half tenths behind Rossi in the warm-up was Casey Stoner on his Ducati, his closest challenger for the title. Polesitter Jorge Lorenzo led the next group of riders, separated by just over a tenth of a second, Lorenzo closely followed by Kawasaki's John Hopkins, Colin Edwards and Shinya Nakano.
After strong performances in practice and qualifying, Suzuki rider Loris Capirossi completed the warm-up in thirteenth place, 1.363 seconds behind Rossi's fastest effort.
Pos Rider Bike Time 1. Valentino Rossi Yamaha (B) 1:47.263 2. Dani Pedrosa Honda (B) 1:47.587 + 0.324 3. Casey Stoner Ducati (B) 1:47.913 + 0.650 4. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha (M) 1:48.142 + 0.879 5. John Hopkins Kawasaki (B) 1:48.175 + 0.912 6. Colin Edwards Yamaha (M) 1:48.204 + 0.941 7. Shinya Nakano Honda (B) 1:48.254 + 0.991 8. Marco Melandri Ducati (B) 1:48.383 + 1.120 9. Nicky Hayden Honda (M) 1:48.423 + 1.160 10. Andrea Dovizioso Honda (M) 1:48.495 + 1.232 11. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki (B) 1:48.496 + 1.233 12. Sylvain Guintoli Ducati (B) 1:48.600 + 1.337 13. Loris Capirossi Suzuki (B) 1:48.626 + 1.363 14. James Toseland Yamaha (M) 1:48.847 + 1.584 15. Alex de Angelis Honda (B) 1:49.023 + 1.760 16. Randy de Puniet Honda (M) 1:49.027 + 1.764 17. Anthony West Kawasaki (B) 1:49.710 + 2.447 18. Toni Elias Ducati (B) 1:49.859 + 2.596 19. Kousuke Akiyoshi Suzuki (B) 1:51.550 + 4.287
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