Pedrosa assumes the momentum in FP2

A best lap of 2’01.427 from Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa saw the Spaniard rank as the fastest rider in the Saturday morning practice at Sepang.

Having finished on the podium in his three previous premier class races at the Malaysian circuit, and needing such a result this weekend to maintain his battle for third place in the championship standings with Casey Stoner, Pedrosa led the remainder of the field by a tight margin of 0.019s.

Pedrosa repeatedly set the fastest time in the session, with Valentino Rossi – who needs a top-four finish in Sunday’s race to secure the 2009 world title – posting a best lap of 2’01.446 to make him second quickest on the timesheet.

Stoner was next with a 0.058s deficit on Pedrosa, whilst Jorge Lorenzo – who set the fastest time in the first practice – was fourth in the order as he came in a further 0.319s adrift of the Ducati Marlboro man.

Pedrosa’s team-mate Andrea Dovizioso completed the top five order, with Toni Elías (San Carlo Honda Gresini), Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro), Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), Mika Kallio (Pramac Racing) and Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) all registering top-ten times as well.