Stoner dominant in Assen practice

From motogp.com

Casey Stoner was three-tenths of a second quicker than the pole position record in practice for the A-Style TT Assen. The reigning World Champion put on an absolute masterclass in both Thursday MotoGP sessions, in particular the afternoon run at the historic Dutch track.

A 1:36.087 lap, three tenths of a second faster than John Hopkins´ pole position record from 2006, was the latest demonstration of Stoner and Ducati´s potential to fight for victory at this crucial phase of the season. Even a brief wobble seemed not to faze the 22-year-old.

"We´re very happy with the fact we´ve come to another circuit and the new set up is working as well as it did at Catalunya and Donington," Stoner said. "There don´t seem to be any bad points to it and it is helping me ride like I want to again. I´m able to use harder compound tires again and I´m just getting a better feel for the whole bike in general, without it bucking and weaving everywhere.

"We had a couple of moments today where it thought about trying to spit me but nothing to worry about. If you watch the race last year you can see the bike moving around a lot and we were struggling, whereas if you saw me ride today you can see what a huge step forward we´ve taken.

"In fact, maybe with the exception of Donington, this is probably the first time since Qatar where I can say that this bike is better than last year´s. Today we´ve gone faster than the pole record on a race tire so we´re delighted with how everything is coming together."

Doing his best to keep up with his rival, Fiat Yamaha´s Valentino Rossi came closest to matching Stoner´s marker. The winner of last year´s Assen showdown in a breathtaking battle between himself and Stoner, current World Championship leader Rossi was seven-tenths of a second down on the fastest lap of the day.

Colin Edwards also managed to keep within a second of Stoner´s time, onboard the Tech3 Yamaha version of the M1 at a track where he has maybe his best chance of victory this season. The rider who prevailed in their 2006 duel, Repsol Honda´s Nicky Hayden, was just behind him in fourth place.

Alex de Angelis and Shinya Nakano trailed Hayden as the next fastest Honda riders, competing for the San Carlo Honda Gresini satellite outfit. LCR Honda man Randy de Puniet and Kawasaki´s John Hopkins also separated Hayden from teammate and title contender Dani Pedrosa in the combined practice classification.

Tenth placed Chris Vermeulen had a small run-off during the afternoon session, but his was a minor setback in comparison to that of Rizla Suzuki teammate Loris Capirossi. The returning veteran -absent from Donington with a hand injury- suffered a brutal highside that ended with the Italian nursing a cut forearm in the Clinica Mobile.

He played no further part in the session, and his replacement in Britain Ben Spies is on-hand in the Netherlands should his services be required.

Practice session 2 Results

1. C. STONER AUS (Ducati Marlboro Team) 1:36.087
2. V. ROSSI ITA (Fiat Yamaha Team) +0.732
3. C. EDWARDS USA (Tech 3 Yamaha) +0.844
4. N. HAYDEN USA (Repsol Honda Team) +0.925
5. A. DE ANGELIS RSM (San Carlo Honda Gresini) +1.039
6. S. NAKANO JPN (San Carlo Honda Gresini) +1.050
7. R. DE PUNIET FRA (LCR Honda MotoGP) +1.100
8. J. HOPKINS USA (Kawasaki Racing Team) +1.164
9. D. PEDROSA SPA (Repsol Honda Team) +1.193
10. C. VERMEULEN AUS (Rizla Suzuki MotoGP) +1.195
11. A. DOVIZIOSO ITA (JiR Team Scot MotoGP) +1.239
12. S. GUINTOLI FRA (Alice Team) +1.270
13. J. TOSELAND GBR (Tech 3 Yamaha) +1.751
14. J. LORENZO SPA (Fiat Yamaha Team) +1.873
15. A. WEST AUS (Kawasaki Racing Team) +2.326
16. T. ELIAS SPA (Alice Team) +2.569
17. L. CAPIROSSI ITA (Rizla Suzuki MotoGP) +2.580
18. M. MELANDRI ITA (Ducati Marlboro Team) +3.127