2008 Misano Day 1 Roundup

The first day of practice at Misano took place under a hot Italian summer sun, heralding what looks like the first race weekend with completely predictable weather conditions for a very long time this year. No prizes for guessing who as fastest in both sessions, as Casey Stoner did what he always does: riding out of pit lane to the top of the timesheets.

There can be no doubt that Stoner is fast - during the afternoon session, he was once again regularly nearly a second clear of the field - but there's a problem. The Australian opened an old injury doing something as innocent as adjusting his back protector. The injury he aggravated was his scaphoid, the bone in his hand, a common racer's injury, and incredibly painful when riding. The injury didn't seem to slow him in the afternoon, but it may cause him problems over the full length of a race.

Valentino Rossi was 2nd fastest, though still 4/10ths behind the champion. Despite the gap to Stoner, Rossi was confident they could pick up the time he is losing through the 4th and final sector on Saturday, putting him in place to race.

Next fastest is Loris Capirossi, with both Suzukis quick after trying a new chassis. Capirossi is only a tenth off Rossi, and on current form, could be capable of staying with the two title contenders.

Fortunately for the riders and the fans, Michelin brought their A game, and have provided their riders with obviously competitive tires. Colin Edwards was 2nd in the morning session, just 0.002 slower than Stoner, but couldn't improve in the afternoon, ending up 4th fastest overall. Another Michelin man took 5th, Frenchman Randy de Puniet showing a decent turn of pace.

More disappointing were the times of the Repsol Honda riders, though both men were pleased enough with their progress, despite finishing 11th and 12th. Both Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa are still recovering from their respective injuries, and need to find their rhythm again.

After their collective resurgence at Brno, the usual suspects crowded the rear of the grid. The two Alice Ducati bikes were in front of Marco Melandri on the factory Ducati, while Ant West brought up the rear. Hopes of a resurgence may have been a little premature, but that could also be down to the radically different setup required at Misano in comparison to Brno.

John Hopkins sat out both sessions, which caused a flood of rumors that this was down to personal problems, with the more melodramatic - and Italian - version being that a marital difference of opinion was at the bottom of it. The official story, though, is that Hopper aggravated a rib injury during "light exercise" on Thursday evening, a problem which caused him too much pain to ride. He is expected to try and ride tomorrow.

The times from today's two sessions of practice can be found here (FP1) and here (FP2). Practice continues on Saturday.