Lorenzo makes statement in Friday practice

Fiat Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo was the standout rider in Friday morning’s MotoGP practice session, turning up the heat in the final minute of the run to establish an advantage of four-tenths of a second over fellow championship leader Casey Stoner.

His 1’36.756 lap came on a softer Bridgestone rear after a session spent focusing on race performance with harder rubber. Lorenzo is the fastest rider of the week so far in preparation for the Alice TT Assen.

Stoner had an eventful outing, with a high speed wobble and a heated discussion with Randy de Puniet to liven up proceedings. His crew had worked overnight on engine braking to give the Ducati Marlboro rider a better feeling with the Desmosedici GP9.

Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso picked up his pace despite feeling at less-than-100%, third fastest ahead of Valentino Rossi, Colin Edwards and his own teammate Dani Pedrosa.

De Puniet lowsided his LCR Honda late on without consequences and, as on Thursday, a selection of riders took a shortcut on the final corner trying to find the limit of their bikes and lines.