Stoner leads final free practice
Reigning world champion Casey Stoner set the fastest time in the final free practice session before this afternoon's qualifying for the Japanese round of the MotoGP world championship at Motegi
The Australian went to the top of the times on his Ducati early in the session, and set a time in the first ten minutes that remained there until he himself went just over a tenth faster with just under twenty minutes remaining.
Then, with eight minutes left in the session, Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo went 0.143 seconds faster to take over top spot, before Stoner, in the final minute of the session, took back the fastest time with a time of 1:47.357, Lorenzo's time good enough to hold onto second.
Behind them, a group of four riders ended up split by less than two-tenths of a second, led by Valentino Rossi who was 0.435 seconds slower than Stoner, with Repsol Honda teammates Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden next and Suzuki's Loris Capirossi continuing on from yesterday's dry practice form.
Local rider Kousuke Akiyoshi continues to struggle for pace, nineteenth and last as he was also in yesterday's second practice session.
Pos Rider Bike Time 1. Casey Stoner Ducati (B) 1:47.357 2. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha (M) 1:47.521 + 0.164 3. Valentino Rossi Yamaha (B) 1:47.792 + 0.435 4. Dani Pedrosa Honda (B) 1:47.816 + 0.459 5. Nicky Hayden Honda (M) 1:47.881 + 0.524 6. Loris Capirossi Suzuki (B) 1:47.975 + 0.618 7. Colin Edwards Yamaha (M) 1:48.110 + 0.753 8. Randy De Puniet Honda (M) 1:48.120 + 0.763 9. Shinya Nakano Honda (B) 1:48.296 + 0.939 10. Sylvain Guintoli Ducati (B) 1:48.333 + 0.976 11. Andrea Dovizioso Honda (M) 1:48.436 + 1.079 12. John Hopkins Kawasaki (B) 1:48.471 + 1.114 13. Toni Elias Ducati (B) 1:48.522 + 1.165 14. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki (B) 1:48.681 + 1.324 15. Marco Melandri Ducati (B) 1:48.882 + 1.525 16. Alex De Angelis Honda (B) 1:49.020 + 1.663 17. James Toseland Yamaha (M) 1:49.061 + 1.704 18. Anthony West Kawasaki (B) 1:50.157 + 2.800 19. Kousuke Akiyoshi Suzuki (B) 1:50.306 + 2.949
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