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Reigning world champion Valentino Rossi held the edge over Casey Stoner with the best time in opening free practice at the Australian Grand Prix here on Friday.
Rossi, who leads his Fiat Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo by 18 points heading into the third-last MotoGP of the season, set the fastest time in the session with one minute 31.032 seconds.
The Italian six-time premier class world champion looked comfortable in completing 31 laps of the island circuit in dry conditions.
“Today we made a great start,” Rossi said. “I am really happy to start in front at Phillip Island, which is where I love to ride.
“We were able to get a lot done in the practice session and we can definitely improve more, even though we already have a good pace.” AFP
Ducati’s Casey Stoner was impressive as he continued his comeback from a recent three-race absence due to illness.
The Australian, seeking a third win in succession at his home race, led for much of the session but was eventually pipped to top spot by Rossi by just 0.135secs.
Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa finished the session in third place, nearly half a second down on the best time set by Rossi, while Honda Gresini’s Alex de Angelis was fourth.
MotoGP: Australian Grand Prix - Friday First Practice Results
Tech 3 Yamaha’s Colin Edwards was fifth while the American’s team-mate James Toseland suffered a lowside on his way to seventh place, behind Lorenzo. The Press Association
Lorenzo meanwhile struggled today - he was feeling slightly unwell and also lacked grip, ending the session by sliding off at turn four. He was totally unhurt however and hopes that some overnight alterations to his setting and a good night’s rest to recover his strength will see him on the pace tomorrow.
“I just couldn’t go fast today. I wasn’t feeling too good - I think that I ate something last night which didn’t agree with me and I felt very weak, which made it very hard to ride the bike”, he explained. “We had some spin and not enough grip or confidence and there were two times where I nearly crashed before I actually did. Luckily I didn’t hurt myself at all and now I will just try to get a good night’s sleep and then hopefully I will be much better tomorrow.” Yahoo! Eurosport
It was certainly a case of ‘first round’ to Rossi in the psychological battle with his main championship rival and team-mate Jorge Lorenzo as the Majorcan rider lowsided near the end of the session and could only manage the sixth best time of the afternoon – more than a second off the Italian’s hot lap.
The top ten was completed by James Toseland (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda), Mika Kallio (Pramac Racing) and Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki).
Toseland and Kallio both had low speed crashes, whilst Kallio’s colleague Niccolò Canepa also hit the deck and was taken to the medical centre for a check-up on his right elbow - and has since been ruled out for the rest of the Grand Prix. MotoGP.com
MotoGP: Australian Grand Prix - Friday First Practice Results
