Stoner fastest again

The world champion became the only rider to dip below the two-minute barrier on what was only his second lap of the morning.

The Honda rider remained unbeaten for the rest of the day, his 1m59.607s lap putting him over half a second clear of Jorge Lorenzo's Yamaha as Stoner spent the rest of the day evaluating shock absorber and clutch settings.

Dani Pedrosa was third on his Honda, using the day to compare the long and short-spec RCV 213V chassis available to him, while Ben Spies recovered from a crash midway through the day to set the fourth best time.

Valentino Rossi was fifth for Ducati - and more than a second off the pace - while Hector Barbera was next up on his Pramac-run version. Cal Crutchlow was the quickest of the Tech 3 Yamaha riders in seventh, one spot ahead of his team-mate Andrea Dovizioso.

Alvaro Bautista (Gresini Honda) and Nicky Hayden (Ducati) completed the top 10, while Colin Edwards was once again the quickest of the CRT riders on his Forward Racing Suter-BMW.

1 Casey Stoner Repsol Honda Team 1:59.607 21

2 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha Factory Racing 2:00.198 35

3 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 2:00.256 26

4 Ben Spies Yamaha Factory Racing 2:00.495 16

5 Valentino Rossi Ducati Team 2:00.824 42

6 Hector Barbera Pramac Racing Team 2:00.929 40

7 Cal Crutchlow Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2:01.108 26

8 Andrea Dovizioso Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2:01.257 40

9 Alvaro Bautista San Carlo Honda Gresini 2:01.384 34

10 Nicky Hayden Ducati Team 2:01.729 19

11 Stefan Bradl LCR Honda 2:01.894 38

12 Karel Abraham Cardion AB Motoracing 2:02.218 38

13 Katsuyuki Nakasuga Yamaha Factory 2:02.334 27

14 Franco Battaini Ducati Team 2:03.033 35

15 Colin Edwards NGM Mobile Forward Racing 2:04.722 36

16 Ivan Silva Avintia Racing 2:08.225 41

17 Robertino Pietri Avintia Racing 2:09.640 16

18 Jordi Torres Avintia Racing 2:10.184 29