Championship leader Casey Stoner has topped the timesheets in the first of Friday’s practice sessions for the Japanese MotoGP. At Motegi, the Honda rider set a benchmark of 1:47.289, comfortably out-pacing team-mate Andrea Dovizioso and Ducati’s Nicky Hayden who completed the first trio.
Stoner continued to control events as the circus finally got down to action in Japan, much to the delight of crowds who experienced the catastrophic earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster which hit the country in March. The Australian quickly recovered from an early off and was some three tenths quicker than anybody.
Behind Dovizioso and Hayden, the third works Honda of Dani Pedrosa was fourth ahead of reigning Champion Jorge Lorenzo’s Yamaha, with Valentino Rossi completing the top ten on the second Ducati.
Britain’s Cal Crutchlow managed 14th for Tech 3 as the field was completed by 28-year-old newcomer Damian Cudlin of Pramac, who is substituting for the injured Loris Capirossi and finished behind Honda test riders Kousuke Akiyoshi and Shinichi Itoh.
It was a difficult period for sixth-placed Marco Simoncelli, with the newly-re-signed Gresini man losing the front of his bike at Turn 9 and ending up on the ground with 15 minutes of the session still to go; however, his best lap time in fact came after running back to the pit lane and rejoining proceedings.
Practice 2 in Japan begins at 2:10pm local time (BST +8)
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  C. Stoner | Repsol Honda | 01:47.289 | 16 |
| 2. | A. Dovizioso | Repsol Honda | 01:47.566 | 21 |
| 3. | N. Hayden | Ducati | 01:47.732 | 18 |
| 4. | D. Pedrosa | Repsol Honda | 01:47.836 | 17 |
| 5. | J. Lorenzo | Fiat Yamaha | 01:47.912 | 16 |
| 6. | M. Simoncelli | Gresini | 01:47.942 | 15 |
| 7. | C. Edwards | Tech 3 | 01:48.169 | 17 |
| 8. | B. Spies | Fiat Yamaha | 01:48.197 | 18 |
| 9. | H. Barbera | Aspar Team | 01:48.406 | 15 |
| 10. | V. Rossi | Ducati | 01:48.667 | 20 |
| Full results | ||||
| Casey Stoner | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| More Casey Stoner photos | |||
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