Stoner beats Rossi in Brno warm-up
Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi's battle continued in the warm-up at Brno, but it was the Ducati rider who emerged on top by a comfortable 0.4 seconds
For much of the session, which unlike yesterday's sodden qualifying hour took place in fine and dry conditions, Stoner was one second clear of the rest of the field, but Rossi closed in later in his run to end up 0.475 seconds adrift.
Once again, the title rivals had an enormous margin of superiority over the rest of the pack. Although Chris Vermeulen maintained his recent strong form in third for Suzuki, he was a vast 1.9 seconds slower than Stoner.
Alice Ducati continued their improved run as Sylvain Guintoli and Toni Elias took fourth and fifth places, ahead of Shinya Nakano's Gresini-run, factory-specification Honda.
Bridgestone maintained its weekend-long superiority regardless of the change in weather, with seventh-placed Dani Pedrosa (Honda) the best of the Michelin riders.
The Yamaha/Michelin package also continued to struggle. Colin Edwards managed to improve to ninth, but Jorge Lorenzo and James Toseland brought up the rear again.
Pos Rider Bike Time 1. Casey Stoner Ducati (B) 1:57.204 2. Valentino Rossi Yamaha (B) 1:57.679 + 0.475 3. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki (B) 1:59.126 + 1.922 4. Sylvain Guintoli Ducati (B) 1:59.163 + 1.959 5. Toni Elias Ducati (B) 1:59.210 + 2.006 6. Shinya Nakano Honda (B) 1:59.288 + 2.084 7. Dani Pedrosa Honda (M) 1:59.334 + 2.130 8. Alex de Angelis Honda (B) 1:59.422 + 2.218 9. Colin Edwards Yamaha (M) 1:59.495 + 2.291 10. John Hopkins Kawasaki (B) 1:59.523 + 2.319 11. Randy de Puniet Honda (M) 1:59.687 + 2.483 12. Loris Capirossi Suzuki (B) 1:59.715 + 2.511 13. Marco Melandri Ducati (B) 1:59.973 + 2.769 14. Andrea Dovizioso Honda (M) 2:00.148 + 2.944 15. Anthony West Kawasaki (B) 2:00.452 + 3.248 16. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha (M) 2:00.670 + 3.466 17. James Toseland Yamaha (M) 2:01.229 + 4.025
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