US MotoGP: Valentino Rossi crashes as Casey Stoner goes fastest

Casey Stoner topped the timesheets in the third and final American MotoGP free practice as main world title rival Valentino Rossi escaped injury in a crash.

Stoner’s domination at Laguna Seca continued this morning as a best lap of 1.22.365 in a 30-lap stint saw him finish 0.358s clear of fellow Aussie Chris Vermeulen.

But there was more trouble for seven-times world champion Rossi, who could only finish ninth fastest after he crashed his Fiat Yamaha YZR-M1 with 12 minutes remaining.

Rossi slid off unhurt at the left-hand Turn Six before the steep uphill climb to the Corkscrew.

Rossi ended the session with a best time of 1.23.272 to finish nearly a second behind Stoner, who leads the Italian by 32-points going into tomorrow’s 32-lap race.
Stoner slashed 0.6s off his best time set yesterday as the new surface saw grip dramatically improved with more rubber laid down.

The 21-year-old had set the best time in the first two free practice sessions yesterday and continued his impressive form when he needed just 17 minutes to jump to the top of the standings with a 1.23.145 that moved him 0.130s clear of German MotoGP winner Dani Pedrosa.

Just three minutes and Stoner was knocked off the top for a rare moment when Italian Marco Melandri posted a 1.22.906 to move 0.239s ahead of the factory Ducati rider.

Stoner needed just two more minutes to reclaim top spot when a 1.22.693 saw him edge 0.213s ahead of Melandri, who eventually finished the session in fifth place with a best of 1.22.821.

It was the first time that Melandri has finished outside the top three this weekend.
Stoner had an off-track excursion just after the halfway point when he ran off at the first corner, but a 1.22.484 set with 20 minutes remaining put him 0.272s clear of home favourite John Hopkins. Factory Suzuki rider Hopkins had closed to within just 0.063s of Stoner when he logged a 1.22.756 just two minutes earlier.

Hopkins’ team-mate Vermeulen started to show the form that secured him pole position in Laguna Seca a year ago as he clocked the second best time.
Vermeulen, who is expected to stay with Suzuki’s factory team in 2008, posted a best of 1.22.732 set in the final two minutes. The closest he got to Stoner though all session was 25 minutes in when a 1.22.837 saw him just 0.144s off his compatriot’s pace.

Reigning world champion Nicky Hayden enjoyed his best session so far with the fifth best time. The American Repsol Honda rider set a 1.22.839.

British rider Chaz Davies, still in shock after landing an 11th hour ride with the D’Antin Ducati squad as replacement for injured Alex Hofmann, was 20th fastest. He was impressive again though with a best time of 1.25.219 that was just 2.854s behind Stoner riding a bike he’s ridden for less than two hours. His time was only 1.9s slower than Rossi.

He had to cut short a technical debrief with D’Antin mechanics to jump straight onto his Celtic Racing Yamaha R6 for Supersport practice.