Casey Stoner continued his awesome form of the past week on the opening day of 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.
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. `Curious´ to see how his new Bridgestone tyres would fare in Assen, Rossi will be pulling out all the stops to get the best out of his 2008 package in tomorrow´s qualifying session.
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.
250cc
Chasing a third consecutive pole position in the 250cc class, Alvaro Bautista put his name at the top of the provisional quarter litre grid with a 1´39.510 lap of the TT circuit in Assen. The Spaniard has been on the front row at every race thus far in 2008.
Set to line up alongside the Mapfre Aspar rider is another Spaniard, Team Toth Aprilia´s Hector Barbera. The Valencian was some two-tenths of a second slower than Bautista on his hot lap, and in his final run had a near-miss with frequent foe Alex Debon. Thankfully the two avoided contact, with raised blood pressure the only physical consequence of the duo´s coming together.
One rider who did suffer a hit was Metis Gilera man Marco Simoncelli. The Italian found his limit with a late lowside, but had already clocked the third fastest time of the afternoon session. The provisional front row is completed by Lotus Aprilia´s Aleix Espagaro, who has a special number 44 sewn onto his leathers this weekend to salute his brother and 125cc rider Pol as the youngster sits out Assen with a collarbone fracture.
Row two is headed by Thomas Luthi onboard the Emmi-Caffe Latte Aprilia, with the first KTM rider alongside him in the form of Julian Simon. Lukas Pesek and Debon complete the second line, whilst current World Championship leader Mika Kallio was tenth fastest.
125cc
Simone Corsi moved one step closer to his third pole of the season with the provisional 125cc top spot for the A-Style TT Assen, leading the way in the first qualifying session at the Dutch circuit.
The Jack&Jones WRB rider is currently second in the World Championship standings, and has been off the podium for the past two races, but is aiming to close the gap between himself and leader Mike di Meglio this Saturday. His fastest time of the afternoon was a 1´45.533, over three-tenths of a second quicker than another rider whose form has dipped in recent races, Bradley Smith.
Belson Derbi´s Joan Olive and the aforementioned Di Meglio complete the provisional front row. Olive´s teammate Pol Espargaro is not riding this week in Assen after a practice crash and collarbone injury suffered less than a week ago.
Sandro Cortese pencilled his name at the head of the second line, despite a run-off across the specially asphalted escape zone so pivotal in previous Dutch visits. Donington race winner Scott Redding also took a diversion in the session -into the heavily gravelled area- but joins Cortese, Onde 2000 KTM´s Raffaele de Rosa and second Jack&Jones WRB rider Nico Terol on row two.