Rossi takes initiative in Sunday morning practice

This weekend’s intriguing duel between Fiat Yamaha’s talented duo of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo swung in favour of Rossi in the warmup on Sunday morning at the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya, as he outpaced poleman Lorenzo by 0.048s.

In cooler conditions than the stifling heat of Saturday Rossi’s best effort of 1’42.743 was enough to give him a psychological edge in the 20 minute session which concluded at 10am, ahead of the sixth MotoGP race of the year at 2pm on Sunday.

Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) showed their good pace again in third and fourth positions, whilst third fastest qualifier Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro) was fifth in the session – almost exactly half a second down on Lorenzo.

Dani Pedrosa showed that he is fast enough over one lap to compete for points as he lapped sixth quickest, but this afternoon’s race will be a severe test of his resolve and stamina as he tries to repeat his 2008 win with an injured hip, from eighth on the grid.