Stoner fastest in afternoon MotoGP practice

Casey Stoner continued to set the pace during second practice at Le Mans this afternoon, posting an effort of 1:33.782 to finish the session almost half a second quicker than Marco Simoncelli. Estoril winner Dani Pedrosa completed the top three runners, almost seven tenths shy of his Repsol Honda team-mate.

Nicky Hayden was the leading Ducati rider this time out, leading championship leader Jorge Lorenzo by seven thousandths of a second. Italy’s Andrea Dovizioso was next up in sixth, almost a full second behind team-mate Stoner who has sent out a clear message to his rivals during the two practice session so far this weekend.

Colin Edwards moved ahead of fellow Tech 3 Yamaha rider Cal Crutchlow in the afternoon, setting the seventh quickest time. Hiroshi Aoyama claimed eighth ahead of seven-time World Champion Valentino Rossi, while Ben Spies ended the session narrowly ahead of Frenchman Randy de Puniet for the last spot inside the top ten.