Stoner warms up fastest at Le Mans

The Le Mans sun continued to shine on Sunday morning, presenting the MotoGP riders with a track temperature of 25ºC for the 20-minute warm up in which Casey Stoner set the fastest lap with a time of 1’34.558. The Ducati Marlboro man had a brief scare midway through the session when his Desmosedici GP10 experienced a momentary rear grip issue, but he managed to control the bike well and went on to post his fast time.

Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha), who will start from second position on the grid, was second quickest at just under a tenth behind Stoner, with second Ducati Marlboro rider Nicky Hayden third. LCR Honda’s Randy de Puniet warmed up for his home GP with the fourth fastest time.

Pole holder Valentino Rossi took his M1 round in the fifth fastest time, with Ben Spies defying his hurt left ankle to place sixth in the session. Repsol Honda pair Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa completed the top eight on the timesheet, with Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) and Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) ninth and tenth.

The MotoGP race is due to start at 2pm local time.