Stoner fastest in Qatar

From Marlboro Ducati

DOHA, QATAR -- Casey Stoner clocked the fastest time over two sessions of free practice at the GP of Qatar Friday, while Marco Melandri made a promising start but was unable to improve as he had hoped.

Not only was Stoner fastest in both sessions on the Losail circuit, he managed to improve his pace on the second outing by four tenths of a second, despite a notable drop in track temperatures. His final time was a 1:55.442.

Melandri also improved but it wasn't enough to hang on to 11th place on the time sheets after his performance in the opening practice. He ended up 15th with a lap at 1:57.091.