West fastest in wet first practice

Heavy rain made conditions treacherous as the riders got their first taste of Indy road course's new motorcycle configuration in a specially extended 90-minute practice session.

Kawasaki rider West, who always excels in wet weather, took charge from the opening minutes, lapping up to two seconds faster than his rivals at first.

He was briefly pushed back to third late on as Casey Stoner (Ducati) and Suzuki's Ben Spies - the only man to have previously sampled the circuit - briefly moved to the front, but in the final minutes West responded with a 1:53.034 to end the morning in front.

Gresini Honda's Alex de Angelis leapt to second with his final lap, ahead of Stoner, leading Michelin runner Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Honda), John Hopkins on the second Kawasaki and Suzuki's Chris Vermeulen.

Jorge Lorenzo took seventh for Yamaha, with Nicky Hayden marking his return to action on home ground with eighth position on the Repsol Honda. His teammate Dani Pedrosa had an inauspicious start to his career on Bridgestones, finishing the session in last place.

Spies fell to ninth by the end, ahead of Alice Ducati's Toni Elias.

Despite the tricky conditions and the unfamiliar circuit, the session saw very few incidents. Stoner was the only man to suffer a fall, crashing with two minutes remaining. But the world champion escaped his high-side accident without injury.

Pos  Rider             Bike           Time
 1.  Anthony West      Kawasaki  (B)  1:53.034
 2.  Alex de Angelis   Honda     (B)  1:53.151  + 0.117
 3.  Casey Stoner      Ducati    (B)  1:53.190  + 0.156
 4.  Andrea Dovizioso  Honda     (M)  1:53.704  + 0.670
 5.  John Hopkins      Kawasaki  (B)  1:53.715  + 0.681
 6.  Chris Vermeulen   Suzuki    (B)  1:53.771  + 0.737
 7.  Jorge Lorenzo     Yamaha    (M)  1:53.850  + 0.816
 8.  Nicky Hayden      Honda     (M)  1:53.931  + 0.897
 9.  Ben Spies         Suzuki    (B)  1:54.297  + 1.263
10.  Toni Elías        Ducati    (B)  1:54.616  + 1.582
11.  Valentino Rossi   Yamaha    (B)  1:54.795  + 1.761
12.  Randy de Puniet   Honda     (M)  1:55.072  + 2.038
13.  Shinya Nakano     Honda     (B)  1:55.074  + 2.040
14.  Marco Melandri    Ducati    (B)  1:55.292  + 2.258
15.  Colin Edwards     Yamaha    (M)  1:55.731  + 2.697
16.  Sylvain Guintoli  Ducati    (B)  1:56.125  + 3.091
17.  James Toseland    Yamaha    (M)  1:56.271  + 3.237
18.  Loris Capirossi   Suzuki    (B)  1:56.345  + 3.311
19.  Daniel Pedrosa    Honda     (B)  1:56.851  + 3.817