All of the riders took full advantage of the improved track conditions this morning, after grip levels had improved considerably after a day’s running from all support classes yesterday. The two Repsol Honda riders looked in good form as the duo traded positions at the front throughout the session. The current Australian World Champion ultimately come out on top, just under two tenths ahead of Pedrosa.
American Yamaha rider Ben Spies showed good pace after finishing only marginally behind Pedrosa, and cementing himself as the top Yamaha rider this weekend.
German LCR Honda rider Stefan Bradl put in an outstanding performance to finish fourth in the morning, ahead of Italian Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Andrea Dovizioso, who could not quite match his fourth place finish from yesterday.
Spanish San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Alvaro Bautista improved, placing his satellite Honda bike sixth. Surprise of the morning was Spanish Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo, who looked off colour throughout. In the final two sectors the Spaniard lost too much time, and looked unable to squeeze any more out of his Yamaha bike.
With Casey Stoner over a second off at the front, the current championship leader and his team will no doubt be looking for a drastic improvement this afternoon.
Italian Ducati rider Valentino Rossi improved slightly from yesterday finishing eighth, ahead of British Tech 3 rider Cal Crutchlow, who suffered a slow-corner crash with two minutes remaining in the session. His time was sufficient to hold off local rider, American Ducati rider Nicky Hayden in tenth.
Power Electronics Aspar rider Aleix Espargara was the top CRT rider, who made good use of a tow from compatriot Pedrosa.
Wildcard riders, Attack Performance’s Steve Rapp and GPTech’s Aaron Yates showed a marked improvement on yesterday and managed to get within 107 per cent of the top time. If they can repeat this in this afternoon’s qualifying they are guaranteed a slot on the grid for the race.
