Dani Pedrosa has topped the third and final practice session ahead of Saturday’s Dutch TT. As the weather played a part for the first time this weekend, the Spanish rider led the way from compatriots Jorge Lorenzo and Álvaro Bautista, but reigning Champion Casey Stoner found himself in the gravel after losing control of his Honda.
Stoner’s crash came in the early stages, with the Australian suffering a spectacular highside at Assen’s Turn 9, duly caught out by the first drops of rain. He later rejoined the session, but ended the 45-minute period with only seven laps to his name.
15 minutes before the chequered flag, Ducati and Valentino Rossi typically topped the timesheets amid the mixed conditions. As track conditions improved, the Italian tumbled down the order to a final slot of 11th, with Pedrosa setting the pace courtesy of his 1:34.522 lap time; this edged out the championship leader by one and a half tenths of a second.
Despite his injuries, Cal Crutchlow still comfortably made the top five as Nicky Hayden led the Ducati charge from eighth. Ben Spies, who had finished Thursday atop the classification, was tenth this morning but the weather naturally played a part. Continuing his strong weekend, Aleix Espargaró was the quickest CRT representative in 12th place.
Qualifying for the 2012 Dutch TT begins at 1:55pm local time (BST +1)
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MotoGP
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Dani Pedrosa
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Repsol Honda Team
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  D. Pedrosa | Repsol Honda | 01:34.522 | 13 |
| 2. | J. Lorenzo | Yamaha | 01:34.683 | 11 |
| 3. | A. Bautista | Gresini | 01:34.746 | 11 |
| 4. | C. Crutchlow | Tech 3 | 01:35.069 | 12 |
| 5. | A. Dovizioso | Tech 3 | 01:35.250 | 14 |
| 6. | C. Stoner | Repsol Honda | 01:35.312 | 7 |
| 7. | S. Bradl | LCR Honda | 01:35.400 | 14 |
| 8. | N. Hayden | Ducati | 01:35.428 | 13 |
| 9. | H. Barbera | Pramac | 01:35.559 | 13 |
| 10. | B. Spies | Yamaha | 01:35.640 | 11 |
| Full results | ||||
| Dani Pedrosa | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| More Dani Pedrosa photos | |||
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