Estoril MotoGP: Casey Stoner fastest in mixed conditions

Reigning world champion Casey Stoner has topped the timesheets in a first free practice session run in mixed conditions in Estoril this morning.

Stoner’s best time of 1.47.900 denied Valentino Rossi top spot by close to 0.7s as the Aussie made the perfect start to his bid to erase the memory of his worst Ducati result in Jerez last month.

Stoner clocked his best time with just over two minutes remaining as Rossi, Andrea Dovizioso, Chris Vermeulen and Shinya Nakano all took their turn at the top of the timesheets in a session that started under grey skies and a full wet track.

Strong winds and a break in the cloud though saw the track quickly dry, and Stoner took the spoils even though he had one brief off-track excursion just after the 20-minute mark, running wide at the first corner.

Rossi was second despite a big high-side crash just after the halfway stage, as Bridgestone dominated in the mixed conditions.

Only two Michelin riders claimed places in the top ten with Nicky Hayden sixth and Randy de Puniet 10th.

Nakano claimed third with a best lap of 1.48.754, which was a fraction ahead of factory Kawasaki rider and wet specialist Anthony West in fourth.

West was the last rider to lap within a second of Stoner as some of the early season title contenders struggled in the tricky conditions.

World championship leader Dani Pedrosa could only finish 16th fastest this morning with a best time of 1.52.045. Fellow Spaniard and rookie star Jorge Lorenzo was marginally better in 12th, but his best time of 1.50.588 was still 2.688s adrift of Stoner.

Tech 3 Yamaha duo Colin Edwards and James Toseland had a tough start as they got to grips with Yamaha’s new pneumatic valve motor for the first time.

American Edwards was 17th with a lap of 1.53.196, while British rider Toseland was last in 18th. He clocked a best of 1.53.907 as the weather hindered his progress in learning the circuit, which he has never raced on before this weekend.