Stoner remains on top in practice 2

Stoner was half a tenth quicker than Lorenzo in the first session earlier this evening, but the Spaniard got even closer in second practice, finishing up just 0.011 seconds behind.

Lorenzo had set the pace for most of the hour, but Stoner waited in the pits for most of the first 20 minutes. The Australian hit the top with 20 minutes remaining and didn't improve his time at the end of the session.

The was a gap of four tenths behind the leading pair, before James Toseland continued his impressive series debut with the third quickest time.

Colin Edwards pinched fourth spot from Andrea Dovizioso with his final lap of practice and Alex de Angelis completed the top six.

Valentino Rossi was only ninth, with the Repsol Hondas of Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden struggling even more, down in 11th and 13th places.

Marco Melandri's battle with the new Ducati continued as he finished up 14th, more than 1.5 seconds slower than teammate Stoner.

Pos  Rider             Make      Time
 1.  Casey Stoner      Ducati    1:55.442
 2.  Jorge Lorenzo     Yamaha    1:55.453 + 0.011
 3.  James Toseland    Yamaha    1:55.812 + 0.370
 4.  Colin Edwards     Yamaha    1:55.942 + 0.500
 5.  Andrea Dovizioso  Honda     1:55.963 + 0.521
 6.  Alex de Angelis   Honda     1:56.120 + 0.678
 7.  Randy de Puniet   Honda     1:56.234 + 0.792
 8.  Chris Vermeulen   Suzuki    1:56.279 + 0.837
 9.  Valentino Rossi   Yamaha    1:56.395 + 0.953
10.  Loris Capirossi   Suzuki    1:56.922 + 1.480
11.  Daniel Pedrosa    Honda     1:56.962 + 1.520
12.  Shinya Nakano     Honda     1:57.011 + 1.569
13.  Nicky Hayden      Honda     1:57.045 + 1.603
14.  Marco Melandri    Ducati    1:57.091 + 1.649
15.  Toni Elias        Ducati    1:57.311 + 1.869
16.  John Hopkins      Kawasaki  1:57.416 + 1.974
17.  Anthony West      Kawasaki  1:57.934 + 2.492
18.  Sylvain Guintoli  Ducati    1:58.500 + 3.058