Stoner dominates first session

The Ducati rider led the way for virtually the entire hour - steadily improving on his initial 1:23.6 benchmark to reach 1:23.058 on his final run.

The opposition was always between six tenths and a full second adrift of Stoner.

Carlos Checa (LCR Honda) was in the top three for most of the morning and ultimately ended up second, 0.686 seconds off the pace.

Kawasaki's newly announced 2008 signing John Hopkins went third for current employers Rizla Suzuki, ahead of Yamaha's Colin Edwards.

After their punishing weekend in Holland, Gresini Honda's Sachsenring event got off to a better start with Marco Melandri in fifth place. Toni Elias' substitute Michel Fabrizio was 17th on the second Gresini bike, 1.7 seconds behind his teammate.

Stoner's title rival Valentino Rossi only managed eighth, behind Randy de Puniet and Nicky Hayden -  who both fell without injury during the session. De Puniet crashed his Kawasaki after putting a wheel over a kerb, while Hayden lost the front end of his Honda.

Pramac D'Antin Ducati's Alex Barros had the largest accident, crashing at the top of the hill. His left hand was trapped underneath the bike during the incident, but the Brazilian was able to get up and walk to the medical centre. He appears to have escaped with grazing.

Factory Yamaha rider Rossi was only just ahead of Sylvain Guintoli's satellite Tech 3 Yamaha, as the French rookie took an eye-catching ninth place.

Pos  Rider             Bike      Time
 1.  Casey Stoner      Ducati    1:23.058
 2.  Carlos Checa      Honda     1:23.744  + 0.686
 3.  John Hopkins      Suzuki    1:24.085  + 1.027
 4.  Colin Edwards     Yamaha    1:24.102  + 1.044
 5.  Marco Melandri    Honda     1:24.177  + 1.119
 6.  Randy de Puniet   Kawasaki  1:24.190  + 1.132
 7.  Nicky Hayden      Honda     1:24.200  + 1.142
 8.  Valentino Rossi   Yamaha    1:24.300  + 1.242
 9.  Sylvain Guintoli  Yamaha    1:24.420  + 1.362
10.  Anthony West      Kawasaki  1:24.470  + 1.412
11.  Daniel Pedrosa    Honda     1:24.476  + 1.418
12.  Loris Capirossi   Ducati    1:24.686  + 1.628
13.  Chris Vermeulen   Suzuki    1:24.709  + 1.651
14.  Alex Barros       Ducati    1:24.941  + 1.883
15.  Alex Hofmann      Ducati    1:24.969  + 1.911
16.  Shinya Nakano     Honda     1:25.572  + 2.514
17.  Michel Fabrizio   Honda     1:25.854  + 2.796
18.  Makoto Tamada     Yamaha    1:26.350  + 3.292
19.  Kurtis Roberts    KR        1:27.177  + 4.119