Stoner fastest in first practice

As the MotoGP field worked from the British Grand Prix venue's new pit complex for the first time, the Australian took the top spot early on and maintained a healthy cushion over his rivals.

At one stage Stoner's Honda was 1.3 seconds clear of the field, and his eventual 2m03.748s lap put him 0.659s ahead of second-placed Marco Simoncelli (Gresini Honda), who gained 0.3s on Stoner with his last run.

Last year's Silverstone winner Jorge Lorenzo was third for Yamaha, a second off Stoner's pace.

Nicky Hayden was top Ducati rider in fourth, as his team-mate Valentino Rossi learned the circuit in low-key fashion and ended up only 12th. He had a brief excursion at Abbey early on but rejoined without drama.

Britain's hope Cal Crutchlow (Tech 3 Yamaha) got as high as second before other riders' late improvements edged him back to sixth, behind Honda's Andrea Dovizioso, and just ahead of works Yamaha rider Ben Spies.

Aspar Ducati's Hector Barbera was eighth, with the Suzuki of Alvaro Bautista and Randy de Puniet's Pramac Ducati completing the top 10. De Puniet's team-mate Loris Capirossi had the only accident of the morning, sliding to the ground under braking for Vale. He was unhurt.

In his first appearance on the bike since breaking his collarbone in Spain a week ago today, Tech 3's Colin Edwards managed 13 laps and brought up the rear of the field.

Pos  Rider             Team/Bike       Time       Gap
 1.  Casey Stoner      Honda           2m03.748s
 2.  Marco Simoncelli  Gresini Honda   2m04.407s  + 0.659s
 3.  Jorge Lorenzo     Yamaha          2m04.756s  + 1.008s
 4.  Nicky Hayden      Ducati          2m04.778s  + 1.030s
 5.  Andrea Dovizioso  Honda           2m04.910s  + 1.162s
 6.  Cal Crutchlow     Tech 3 Yamaha   2m05.007s  + 1.259s
 7.  Ben Spies         Yamaha          2m05.130s  + 1.382s
 8.  Hector Barbera    Aspar Ducati    2m06.158s  + 2.410s
 9.  Alvaro Bautista   Suzuki          2m06.274s  + 2.526s
10.  Randy de Puniet   Pramac Ducati   2m06.573s  + 2.825s
11.  Karel Abraham     Cardion Ducati  2m06.774s  + 3.026s
12.  Valentino Rossi   Ducati          2m07.075s  + 3.327s
13.  Hiroshi Aoyama    Gresini Honda   2m07.459s  + 3.711s
14.  Toni Elias        LCR Honda       2m07.616s  + 3.868s
15.  Loris Capirossi   Pramac Ducati   2m08.225s  + 4.477s
16.  Colin Edwards     Tech 3 Yamaha   2m09.310s  + 5.562s