MOTOGP VALENCIA: STONER FASTEST IN FIRST PRACTICE

By David Miller

Picture by: Ducati Corse

Marlboro Ducati's Casey Stoner has set the quickest time in the first MotoGP free practice at Valencia, snatching top spot from Fiat Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo in the dying minutes.

The Aussie took his time to get on the pace, waiting for 20 minutes of the session to start a run of laps which saw him pop into second place from sixth with a 1'34.056 which was tenth of the lead pace of Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa.

The hour-long session was dominated by Lorenzo, Stoner, Pedrosa and Valentino Rossi with Stoner taking top spot on a 1'32.813 while Lorenzo could only manage 1'33.195. Pedrosa occupies the final place on a theoretical front row, lapping in 1'33.241.

Rossi, meanwhile, was significantly slower than Stoner on a 1'33.499 and was being chased hard by LCR Honda's Randy De Puniet, who led the session early on, posting a 1'33.910.

Britain's James Toseland ended the hour down in 13th place after being as high as seventh while Sterilgarda Yamaha's Ben Spies was 15th on a 1'35.052.

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