Dani Pedrosa set a commanding pace as Honda predictably led the way in opening practice at Sepang.
With Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo sidelined by the hand injury he sustained at Phillip Island, it was no surprise to see the four works-specification Hondas monopolising the leading positions in Malaysia.
Pedrosa was quickest, dipping under the lap record with his 2m01.916s, as he beat team-mates Casey Stoner and Andrea Dovizioso by 0.6 seconds. Newly-crowned champion Stoner only snatched second from Dovizioso with his last lap of the morning.
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Marco Simoncelli completed the top four on Gresini’s Honda. Alvaro Bautista was fastest non-Honda rider in fifth for Suzuki. Yahoo! Eurosport UK
Sixth place went to Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing), who is recovering after a big high last week in Australia that saw the Texan withdraw from the race. His lap of 2’03.586 was a little over a tenth quicker than the first Ducati in the line up of Randy de Puniet (Pramac Racing).
Colin Edwards was eighth followed by Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini) and Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team). Rossi’s team mate Nicky Hayden ranked 12th behind Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing).
Wildcard John Hopkins (Rizla Suzuki) rode the GSV-R to 14th in the timings, while Yamaha YZR-M1 test rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga, who is stepping in to replace injured Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo, ranked 17th. motogp.com
Pos. Num. Rider Team Time 1 26 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 2'01.916 2 27 Casey STONER Repsol Honda Team 2'02.557 3 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Repsol Honda Team 2'02.590 4 58 Marco SIMONCELLI San Carlo Honda Gresini 2'03.311 5 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2'03.558 6 11 Ben SPIES Yamaha Factory Racing 2'03.586 7 14 Randy DE PUNIET Pramac Racing Team 2'03.760 8 5 Colin EDWARDS Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2'03.778 9 7 Hiroshi AOYAMA San Carlo Honda Gresini 2'03.908 10 46 Valentino ROSSI Ducati Team 2'04.280 11 17 Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing 2'04.345 12 69 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team 2'04.474 13 65 Loris CAPIROSSI Pramac Racing Team 2'04.521 14 21 John HOPKINS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2'04.609 15 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2'04.666 16 24 Toni ELIAS LCR Honda MotoGP 2'04.890 17 89 Katsuyuki NAKASUGA Yamaha Factory Racing 2'05.390 18 8 Hector BARBERA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP 2'06.199
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