CASEY STONER was back in action today on the first day of a two-day test at Brno. The Ducati rider finished the day fastest, ahead of arch rival Valentino Rossi, with a best lap of 1'56.261 after 28 laps - a full second quicker than the Italian.
Ducati's Tony Elias continued his current good form by posting the third fastest time of the day.
Britain's James Toseland struggled once again on his Tech 3 Yamaha, ending the day in 17th place. His team-mate Colin Edwards was on better form, clocking the 6th fastest time.
Casey Stoner, the day's fastest rider said: "It has been a really positive day. We didn't have too much to test - a couple of new tyres and that's about it - but we managed to find a new setting to improve on what was already a very good situation. I managed to drop my lap times by almost a second on yesterday and that's really positive. Unfortunately my physical condition on Friday and the rain on Saturday meant that we didn't head into the race in the best possible shape. In any case I'm happy because the things we've improved today will be useful for the upcoming races. Hopefully the weather's good to us again tomorrow so we can finish the job off with Bridgestone"
Brno test times
1.Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro 1'56.261
2.Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'57.332
3.Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team 1'57.457
4.Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'57.652
5.Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki 1'57.742
6.Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha 1'57.756
7.Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'57.826
8.Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team 1'57.859
9.Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'57.979
10.Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1'58.177
11.Niccolò Canepa (ITA) Ducati Test 1'58.204
12.Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro 1'58.325
13.Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 1'58.568
14.Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 1'59.067
15.Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki Racing 1'59.130
16.Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JiR Team Scot MotoGP 1'59.130
17.James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha 1'59.228
18.John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing 2'00.414
19.Tadyuki Okada (JPN) Repsol Honda Team 2'00.735
