Stoner tops wet second practice in Italy

The start of the session was delayed for 10 minutes after a huge downpour left track conditions too dangerous to ride in, but eventually the rain eased enough for the green light to be given.

Kenny Roberts Jr was the first rider to venture out onto the soaked track, and he was joined after 15 minutes of the session by a few other riders.

Carlos Checa had a wild moment after nearly slipping from his bike, but moved to the top of the timesheets just before the halfway point of the session - at one point being five seconds clear of every other rider.

But soon other riders began to get more comfortable in the conditions and at the halfway stage Chris Vermeulen moved to the top of the timesheets - having shown with his victory in France how good he is in the wet.

The times then quickly began to tumble and in the final minute Valentino Rossi, Vermeulen and then John Hopkins all briefly held the top spot before Stoner put in his best lap of 2:07.107 at the chequered flag.

Hopkins ended up second overall on his Rizla Suzuki, ahead of teammate Vermeulen, with Rossi down in fourth, the Italian perhaps wondering what might have been.

The Fiat Yamaha rider was quickest overall at the first two splits but then lost control of his bike under braking out the back of the circuit. The Yamaha tipped onto its side and pitched Rossi onto the track, before he slid across the grass and a gravel trap.

Rossi was uninjured in the accident, but his frustration was clear as he punched the air in disgust after getting back to his feet.

Roberts Jr ended up fifth quickest, ahead of Marco Melandri and Colin Edwards. Dani Pedrosa was 10th fastest, with world champion Nicky Hayden down in 14th.

Pos  Driver              Make       Time               Laps
 1.  Casey Stoner        Ducati     2:07.107             7
 2.  John Hopkins        Suzuki     2:07.125  + 0.018   14
 3.  Chris Vermeulen     Suzuki     2:07.209  + 0.102   11
 4.  Valentino Rossi     Yamaha     2:08.453  + 1.346    9
 5.  Kenny Roberts       Kr212V     2:08.802  + 1.695   19
 6.  Marco Melandri      Honda      2:09.195  + 2.088   12
 7.  Colin Edwards       Yamaha     2:10.039  + 2.932   12
 8.  Loris Capirossi     Ducati     2:10.220  + 3.113   12
 9.  Olivier Jacque      Kawasaki   2:10.228  + 3.121   11
10.  Dani Pedrosa        Honda      2:10.312  + 3.205    9
11.  Toni Elias          Honda      2:10.413  + 3.306   13
12.  Carlos Checa        Honda      2:10.943  + 3.836   14
13.  Randy De Puniet     Kawasaki   2:12.279  + 5.172   12
14.  Nicky Hayden        Honda      2:12.466  + 5.359   10
15.  Shinya Nakano       Honda      2:14.479  + 7.372    9
16.  Makoto Tamada       Yamaha     2:16.857  + 9.750    9
17.  Alex Hofmann        Ducati     2:17.161  + 10.054   6
18.  Alex Barros         Ducati     2:19.873  + 12.766   8
19.  Kurtis Roberts      Kr212V     2:23.432  + 16.325   7
20.  Sylvain Guintoli    Yamaha     2:36.112  + 29.005   2