Fresh from his victory at Indianapolis last Sunday, Dani Pedrosa has set the pace in the opening practice session for the Czech MotoGP at Brno. The sole Honda factory bike led the way from championship leader Jorge Lorenzo. Casey Stoner left the circuit for Australia on Thursday night and Nicky Hayden of Ducati is also missing this race.
Pedrosa led the way with his best effort of 1:57.003, edging out his Spanish compatriot by just over a tenth of a second. Ducati bound Andrea Dovizioso completed the top three from Tech 3 team-mate Cal Crutchlow, as Ben Spies managed fifth for Yamaha. Valentino Rossi, returning to Yamaha next season, could manage no more than seventh on the only Ducati.
There was a brief red flag when Rossi ran wide and threw gravel onto the circuit. This resulted in drama for Pedrosa, who was struck by flying stones; although he was limping when back in the pit lane, the Sabadell man went on to set his quickest lap time.
Both Stoner and Hayden were injured at Indianapolis and, even though the Australian could have competed this weekend, he was advised by his doctor to rectify the ankle injury as soon as possible. He is now in the process of returning home to Australia.
Second practice starts at 2:10pm local time (BST +1)
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Dani Pedrosa
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  D. Pedrosa | Repsol Honda | 01:57.003 | 16 |
| 2. | J. Lorenzo | Yamaha | 01:57.149 | 18 |
| 3. | A. Dovizioso | Tech 3 | 01:57.189 | 17 |
| 4. | C. Crutchlow | Tech 3 | 01:57.418 | 19 |
| 5. | B. Spies | Yamaha | 01:57.446 | 18 |
| 6. | A. Bautista | Gresini | 01:57.501 | 17 |
| 7. | V. Rossi | Ducati | 01:58.171 | 19 |
| 8. | S. Bradl | LCR Honda | 01:58.345 | 21 |
| 9. | R. de Puniet | Aspar | 01:58.687 | 16 |
| 10. | Y. Hernandez | Blusens | 01:59.256 | 15 |
| Full results | ||||
| Dani Pedrosa | |||
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