Casey Stoner waited until the three minute to pick up the pace and top the timesheets during the first free practice at Valencia. Stoner was followed across the line by his teammate, Dani Pedrosa, and Ducati rider Valentino Rossi.
Stoner clinched the 2011 MotoGP championship last month, but it looks like the Honda rider is going to try to claim one more race win before the season is over.
As the MotoGP riders made their way around the drying Valencia track, the real story is more about what the motorcycles than the motorcycle times.
Several MotoGP riders stepped out onto the track wearing something in honor of Marco Simoncelli. Loris Capirossi's Ducati displayed Marco's number 58. Simoncelli's teammate, Hiroshi Aoyoma, ran his Ducati unbranded today. Instead, there was a message to Marco written on his bike.
Nicky Hayden crossed the line in fourth behind his teammate, while Capirossi was able to muster a fifth place finish ahead of his final GP race.
