Stoner Starts Strong at Jerez

After a disappointing round at Qatar, Casey Stoner starts the weekend at Jerez the best way possible with the fastest time during the first free practice session. The Ducati Marlboro rider crashed out of contention at Qatar, but is looking to make up some MotoGP points at Jerez as he sets himself up for a solid weekend. Stoner set a best lap of 1’39.721 during the first free practice session before sliding out with two minutes to go. No injuries resulted from the fall.

Jorge Lorenzo was next across the finish line. The Fiat Yamaha rider was just over a tenth of a second behind Stoner. Nicky Hayden, Stoner’s Ducati Marlboro teammate, finished off the podium, .4 seconds behind pace.

Dani Pedrossa completed an impressive lap around the track in front of his home crowd at the Gran Premio bwin de Espana, putting the Repsol Honda team in fourth place, a half a second behind Stoner.

In fifth, came the battered Valentino Rossi. Rossi is still feeling the affects of a shoulder and hand injury he sustained shortly after his win at Qatar. Fellow Italian Loris Capirossi, Rizla Suzuki, came in 6th.

The top 6 riders were all within one second of Stoner. Monster Yamaha rider Colin Edwards was the first American across the finish line in 7th, followed by Hector Barbera (Paginas Amarillas Aspar) Avaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) and Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini) to complete the top ten.

MotoGP - FP1 - Results

1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 1m 39.731s
2. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 1m 39.875s
3. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 1m 40.148s
4. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team 1m 40.2s
5. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 1m 40.359s
6. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m 40.716s
7. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 40.913s
8. Hector Barbera SPA Paginas Amarillas Aspar 1m 41.034s
9. Alvaro Bautista SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m 41.093s
10. Marco Melandri ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m 41.19s
11. Ben Spies USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 41.200s
12. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 1m 41.277s
13. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 1m 41.293s
14. Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing 1m 41.297s
15. Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m 41.533s
16. Aleix Espargaro SPA Pramac Racing 1m 41.742s
17. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN Interwetten Honda MotoGP 1m 41.837s