Stoner fastest in third practice
Casey Stoner was fastest by nearly half a second in the final free practice session at Catalunya
The championship leader had been disappointed with his set-up after Friday afternoon and pledged to try a different direction in the third session.
The changes appeared to pay off as he usurped early pacesetter John Hopkins within the first 20 minutes and remained on top for the rest of the hour.
Kawasaki's Randy de Puniet showed improved form to take second, 0.483 seconds behind Stoner, while Hopkins held onto third ahead of Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa, who had been quickest yesterday.
Rossi moved ahead of Pedrosa late in the session - one of very few changes in the order after the initial flurry of quick times in the opening quarter of an hour.
De Puniet's teammate Olivier Jacque suffered a high-speed accident and was taken to hospital in Barcelona so that a neck injury could be more closely examined.
Stoner's margin over the field aside, the times were extremely close, with less than a second covering second to 13th positions. The session was also notable for seeing five different bikes in the top five placings.
Pos Rider Bike Time 1. Casey Stoner Ducati 1:42.562 2. Randy de Puniet Kawasaki 1:43.045 + 0.483 3. John Hopkins Suzuki 1:43.105 + 0.543 4. Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1:43.212 + 0.650 5. Dani Pedrosa Honda 1:43.257 + 0.695 6. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 1:43.377 + 0.815 7. Loris Capirossi Ducati 1:43.649 + 1.087 8. Toni Elias Honda 1:43.675 + 1.113 9. Colin Edwards Yamaha 1:43.780 + 1.218 10. Nicky Hayden Honda 1:43.806 + 1.244 11. Alex Barros Ducati 1:43.986 + 1.424 12. Marco Melandri Honda 1:43.995 + 1.433 13. Carlos Checa Honda 1:43.998 + 1.436 14. Sylvain Guintoli Yamaha 1:44.181 + 1.619 15. Makoto Tamada Yamaha 1:44.268 + 1.706 16. Alex Hofmann Ducati 1:44.287 + 1.725 17. Kenny Roberts Jr KR 1:44.511 + 1.949 18. Shinya Nakano Honda 1:44.646 + 2.084 19. Olivier Jacque Kawasaki 1:44.923 + 2.361 20. Kurtis Roberts KR 1:45.304 + 2.742
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