Stoner leads first practice
Championship leader Casey Stoner set the pace in the opening practice session for this weekend's Dutch Grand Prix at Assen
After a busy opening 10 minutes in which six riders took turns to head the timesheets, Stoner moved to the top of the list and was never deposed.
He improved his time from 1:39.136 to first 1:38.498, then 1:39.323 by the end of the session, and was as much as 0.9 seconds ahead of the rest of the pack at the halfway point.
The opposition eventually closed in, with Valentino Rossi getting within 0.046 seconds of Stoner just before rain started to fall in the final four minutes of the session.
Nicky Hayden took third, ahead of Rossi's teammate Colin Edwards, with Alex Hofmann impressing in fifth on the satellite Pramac D'Antin Ducati.
Toni Elias suffered the only significant accident of the session - losing control over a bump and falling in the fast left-hand bends approaching the final chicane. He was taken to the medical centre and no information has yet been released regarding his condition.
Pos Rider Bike Time 1. Casey Stoner Ducati 1:38.323 2. Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1:38.369 + 0.046 3. Nicky Hayden Honda 1:38.507 + 0.184 4. Colin Edwards Yamaha 1:38.739 + 0.416 5. Alex Hofmann Ducati 1:38.894 + 0.571 6. Dani Pedrosa Honda 1:39.045 + 0.722 7. Randy de Puniet Kawasaki 1:39.139 + 0.816 8. Alex Barros Ducati 1:39.145 + 0.822 9. Loris Capirossi Ducati 1:39.327 + 1.004 10. John Hopkins Suzuki 1:39.483 + 1.160 11. Marco Melandri Honda 1:39.523 + 1.200 12. Toni Elias Honda 1:39.716 + 1.393 13. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 1:39.930 + 1.607 14. Carlos Checa Honda 1:40.165 + 1.842 15. Makoto Tamada Yamaha 1:40.182 + 1.859 16. Sylvain Guintoli Yamaha 1:40.324 + 2.001 17. Anthony West Kawasaki 1:40.330 + 2.007 18. Shinya Nakano Honda 1:41.450 + 3.127 19. Kurtis Roberts KR 1:43.604 + 5.281
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