Estoril MotoGP: Colin Edwards top free practice

Texan Colin Edwards looks a good bet to maintain his 100 per cent front row qualifying record after he ended free practice with the fastest time in Portugal.

The Tech 3 Yamaha rider clocked a best of 1.37.598 with 28 minutes remaining in this morning’s third and final free practice session and it was good enough to claim the best overall combined time

Fellow Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo got closest as 1.37.668 posted on his last flying lap got to within 0.70s of Edwards.

Double World Superbike champion Edwards has been using Yamaha’s new pneumatic valve motor for the first time in Estoril and he is delighted with the improved performance.

“The new engine is phenomenal. It is so good and I’m so happy. With the old engine when you went from third to sixth gear it didn’t really go anywhere. Whereas now, every time you shift a gear it feels like it’s building more steam.

“I got behind Valentino and for the first time I can remember I was able to stick with him. Normally he’d just get smaller as he disappeared into the distance.

“We have been lacking three-tenths at a track like this with a long straight, and now we have it in hand and it feels good. So I’m really, really happy and thanks to Yamaha because it is a big improvement, “said Edwards.

Four Yamahas claimed places in the top six combined times with Lorenzo second, Valentino Rossi fourth and British rookie James Toseland sixth on his first appearance at the challenging Portuguese circuit.

Nicky Hayden prevented a Yamaha clean sweep of the top three positions as he claimed third with a best lap of 1.37.863, which he clocked in the final 90 seconds.
That bumped world championship leader Dani Pedrosa back down to fifth place, even though he had been as high as second in the final seven minutes. The Spaniard ended with a best time of 1.38.016, which was just 0.292s clear of Toseland, who has signed a new deal for 2009 with the Tech squad.

Reigning world champion Casey Stoner continued to have a nightmare as he slumped to 11th. Plagued by front-end grip issues on his factory Ducati, the Aussie could only post a best of 1.38.736. He was frequently caught on camera on track and in the factory garage shaking his head in frustration.

LCR Honda rider Randy de Puniet was eighth quickest overall after he walked away from a crash at the final corner just 14 minutes into the session.