Stoner confident about wet pace

The MotoGP championship leader was quickest in morning practice and, although unable to match the times of Dani Pedrosa in the afternoon, he is confident that his bike and Bridgestone tyres will be in good shape if it is wet on Sunday.

"Since Mugello and Le Mans we have improved a lot the settings, and we can look forward to a good race if it happens to be wet," said Stoner.

"This afternoon I wasn't completely happy with the settings we had. We tried a completely different setting on the second bike and I preferred the first bike that we tested in the morning session.

"If I was on the first bike maybe we could have gone a bit faster again. I have a good feeling with the Bridgestone tyres and we are getting a better understanding with Ducati."

With Stoner having voiced fears about the track surface being too dangerous in the wet, he thinks it is vital to get at the front of the pack for the race to stay out of trouble.

"It would be nice if you got a front row place and took off at the beginning of the first lap, just to get a buffer in case other riders catch up," he said.

"I am a little bit worried about a lot of riders going into the braking zone together, especially on the first lap, because with the way it is now, a lot of people are having the front end lock up on them.

"You will be going into the corners at your normal braking point and the front will just lock. I expect a few riders to come together. That is why I feel it is a little bit dangerous, but if it rains we have to live with it and deal with it."