Stoner takes control of warm up

With a notably cooler track temperature than in qualifying but a higher humidity level to contend with, the MotoGP riders were led around in the warm up session by Casey Stoner.

The Australian, who is fourth on the grid, set a lap time of 2’01.655 during the 20-minute session, coming in ahead of Dani Pedrosa, pole position holder Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo.

Pedrosa was 0.277s off Stoner’s pace, with Rossi a further 0.139s down and Lorenzo – who had discussed the issue of tyres following qualifying – just over half a second off the Ducati Marlboro rider’s pace.

The top four, who are the leading quartet on the grid, were the only riders able to break the 2’02 barrier.

Andrea Dovizioso, who qualified down in 11th position, was fifth quickest, with Loris Capirossi, Nicky Hayden, Randy de Puniet, Toni Elías and Colin Edwards also registering top-ten times.