Alex de Angelis topped the times in the morning warm-up for the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island.
De Angelis topped the times halfway through the session as he battled with Valentino Rossi for the top spot. With 11 minutes remaining Rossi retook the top spot, and followed it up with an even faster lap next time around.
But with two minutes remaining de Angelis took a quarter of a second out of that effort with a 1:30.807 to set the fastest time. Just a few second later, poleman Casey Stoner went second fastest with a 1:30.930.
Stoner, and even moreso Valentino Rossi, who was close behind in third, put in a string of consistently fast laps that should see both riders well placed for today's race.
Rossi's championship rival Jorge Lorenzo made a late jump up the times to finish fourth-fastest closely followed by Dani Pedrosa, with Randy de Puniet and Colin Edwards a couple of tenths further back.
Pos Rider Bike Time Gap
1. Alex de Angelis Gresini Honda 1m30.807s
2. Casey Stoner Ducati 1m30.930s + 0.123s
3. Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1m31.073s + 0.266s
4. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 1m31.204s + 0.397s
5. Dani Pedrosa Honda 1m31.346s + 0.539s
6. Randy de Puniet LCR Honda 1m31.526s + 0.719s
7. Colin Edwards Tech 3 Yamaha 1m31.542s + 0.735s
8. Toni Elias Gresini Honda 1m31.691s + 0.884s
9. Nicky Hayden Ducati 1m31.917s + 1.110s
10. Andrea Dovizioso Honda 1m31.918s + 1.111s
11. James Toseland Tech 3 Yamaha 1m32.072s + 1.265s
12. Mika Kallio Pramac Ducati 1m32.153s + 1.346s
13. Marco Melandri Hayate Kawasaki 1m32.555s + 1.748s
14. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 1m32.724s + 1.917s
15. Loris Capirossi Suzuki 1m32.925s + 2.118s
16. Gabor Talmacsi Scot Honda 1m33.158s + 2.351s