Lorenzo leads the way during first Assen Practice

Just four days after his commanding win at Silverstone, Lorenzo served up more of the same form during the first free practice session at Assen today. The Mallorcan continued to keep the Fiat Yamaha Team at the forefront of the action despite Valentino Rossi's absence with a dominant performance at his favorite track on the opening day of the 80th Dutch TT.

Lorenzo found himself comfortable and fast on his M1 from the start of the session, taking the lead mid-way through and remaining at the top of the standings as he consistently improved his time. The 23-year-old tried both the soft and hard Bridgestone tires and worked especially on the front tire, having encountered some small problems in that area at this race last year. The track has undergone an alteration to the chicane at turns six and seven, meaning Lorenzo's time today was almost a second quicker than Rossi's pole of last year. Casey Stoner finished just 0.011 off Lorenzo today, with a further half-second gap back to Nicky Hayden in third.

Jorge Lorenzo – 1st, Time: 1'35.169, laps: 28
"I am happy with today and I feel very good on the bike; the weather is perfect and I love Assen! The new corner is very fast and I really like it, it's great fun to ride through the chicane at such a speed. We could probably have a bit more traction but we have two more sessions to work on this and then we will try to get the best possible grid position again. The team is working so well and the ambience and atmosphere in our garage is amazing at the moment."

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