Ducati's Casey Stoner topped both opening practice sessions today at Misano for this weekend's MotoGP round in San Marino. The Australian even succeeded in widening the gap between him and the runner-up in the afternoon practice. In the morning, Stoner was barely able to distance himself from Colin Edwards until his last lap when he lowered Edward's time by a mere two thousandths of a second. In the afternoon though, the current champion was able the take a comfortable lead of over 0.8 second until Valentino Rossi closed the gap to 0.4 seconds right at the end. John Hopkins was absent from the timesheets, the Kawasaki rider not taking to the track for problems believed to be related to his rib injury. Morning practice Pos Rider Team Time Laps1. Casey Stoner Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1:35.422 242. Colin Edwards Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 1:35.424 + 0.002 243. Alex De Angelis San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 1:36.145 + 0.723 264. Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 1:36.375 + 0.953 295. Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team (B) 1:36.464 + 1.042 276. Nicky Hayden Repsol Honda Team (M) 1:36.518 + 1.096 277. Andrea Dovizioso JiR Team Scot MotoGP (M) 1:36.602 + 1.180 268. Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1:36.608 + 1.186 249. James Toseland Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 1:36.740 + 1.318 2210. Shinya Nakano San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 1:36.883 + 1.461 2511. Toni Elias Alice Team (B) 1:37.099 + 1.677 2612. Randy De Puniet LCR Honda MotoGP (M) 1:37.196 + 1.774 2513. Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1:37.355 + 1.933 2714. Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team (M) 1:37.380 + 1.958 2715. Sylvain Guintoli Alice Team (M) 1:37.534 + 2.112 2816. Marco Melandri Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1:37.669 + 2.247 2217. Anthony West Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1:37.929 + 2.507 26 Afternoon practice Pos Rider Team Time Laps1. Casey Stoner Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1:34.806 212. Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team (B) 1:35.224 + 0.418 273. Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1:35.377 + 0.571 294. Randy De Puniet LCR Honda MotoGP (M) 1:35.620 + 0.814 275. Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1:35.743 + 0.937 276. Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 1:35.766 + 0.960 277. Alex De Angelis San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 1:35.861 + 1.055 238. Colin Edwards Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 1:35.913 + 1.107 249. Shinya Nakano San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 1:36.100 + 1.294 2710. James Toseland Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 1:36.105 + 1.299 2311. Nicky Hayden Repsol Honda Team (M) 1:36.189 + 1.383 2412. Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team (M) 1:36.219 + 1.413 2913. Andrea Dovizioso JiR Team Scot MotoGP (M) 1:36.356 + 1.550 2714. Toni Elias Alice Team (B) 1:36.425 + 1.619 2415. Sylvain Guintoli Alice Team (B) 1:36.619 + 1.813 2516. Marco Melandri Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1:37.096 + 2.290 2217. Anthony West Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1:38.239 + 3.433 25
MotoGP: So far so good for Casey Stoner at Misano