Stoner quickest in opening practice
Casey Stoner led the way in the first practice session in Qatar today, while Jorge Lorenzo continued his good form from testing last week to trail the Australian by just half a tenth
Stoner made the early running in the first of today's two night practice sessions and was six tenths clear at the top for most of the session.
But Yamaha teammates Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi closed the gap in the final 10 minutes, along with Andrea Dovizioso, who finished third despite a fall earlier in the session.
With Stoner lowering his time to a 1:55.870 in the last five minutes, only Lorenzo was able to respond significantly and join the Ducati rider below the 1:56 barrier. Dovizioso and Rossi's best efforts a couple of tenths shy in the 56.2s.
Dani Pedrosa finished the session in fifth place, thanks to a dramatic improvement in the final five minutes which knocked nine tenths of his best time from the remainder of the hour-long session.
Briton James Toseland finished the session eighth. He matched the pace of the fellow Yamahas of Lorenzo and Rossi for the first half of the hour, but a fall limited his progress.
Stoner's Ducati teammate Marco Melandri continued to struggle, finishing 11th, 1.2 seconds off Stoner's time.
Pos Rider Team Time Laps 1. Casey Stoner Ducati Marlboro Team 1:55.870 19 2. Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team 1:55.924 + 0.054 22 3. Andrea Dovizioso JiR Team Scot MotoGP 1:56.221 + 0.351 15 4. Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 1:56.269 + 0.399 22 5. Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 1:56.478 + 0.608 23 6. Randy De Puniet LCR Honda MotoGP 1:56.525 + 0.655 22 7. Colin Edwards Tech 3 Yamaha 1:56.574 + 0.704 22 8. James Toseland Tech 3 Yamaha 1:56.950 + 1.080 21 9. Nicky Hayden Repsol Honda Team 1:57.069 + 1.199 22 10. John Hopkins Kawasaki Racing Team 1:57.085 + 1.215 20 11. Marco Melandri Ducati Marlboro Team 1:57.137 + 1.267 21 12. Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1:57.287 + 1.417 21 13. Alex De Angelis San Carlo Honda Gresini 1:57.561 + 1.691 22 14. Shinya Nakano San Carlo Honda Gresini 1:57.588 + 1.718 23 15. Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1:57.639 + 1.769 20 16. Toni Elias Alice Team 1:58.130 + 2.260 17 17. Anthony West Kawasaki Racing Team 1:58.912 + 3.042 21 18. Sylvain Guintoli Alice Team 1:59.006 + 3.136 16
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