Jorge Lorenzo has topped the times in the second and final free practice session at Laguna Seca, ahead of today's qualifying for MotoGP's US Grand Prix.
The Fiat Yamaha rider exchanged quickest laps with teammate Valentino Rossi for the first half of the session, before Casey Stoner shot to the top of the timesheet with 24 minutes remaining in the one-hour session.
The Ducati Marlboro's time of 1m21.835s improved on yesterday's quickest time set by Rossi and looked set to remain the best time of the weekend thus far.
But Lorenzo, who until the final seconds of the session was two tenths slower than Stoner, managed first to get within 0.025s of the Australian's time, and then to clock the fastest time of 1m21.799s on the final lap.
Therefore Stoner ended up second, 0.036s behind the Spaniard, with Rossi third, over three tenths further behind.
Toni Elias's Gresini-entered works Honda beat the Repsol-backed factory entries of Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa, followed by Colin Edwards's Tech 3 Yamaha and Chris Vermeulen's Rizla Suzuki.
Nicky Hayden's performance with his works Ducati improved over yesterday's lowly 14th place with the American setting the ninth-quickest time, ahead of James Toseland (Tech 3 Yamaha) completing the top ten.
Pos Rider Bike Time
1. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 1m21.799s
2. Casey Stoner Ducati 1m21.835s + 0.036s
3. Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1m22.177s + 0.378s
4. Toni Elias Honda 1m22.367s + 0.568s
5. Andrea Dovizioso Honda 1m22.552s + 0.753s
6. Daniel Pedrosa Honda 1m22.561s + 0.762s
7. Colin Edwards Yamaha 1m22.781s + 0.982s
8. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 1m22.917s + 1.118s
9. Nicky Hayden Ducati 1m22.935s + 1.136s
10. James Toseland Yamaha 1m23.127s + 1.328s
11. Alex de Angelis Honda 1m23.368s + 1.569s
12. Randy de Puniet Honda 1m23.451s + 1.652s
13. Marco Melandri Kawasaki 1m23.452s + 1.653s
14. Sete Gibernau Ducati 1m23.849s + 2.050s
15. Loris Capirossi Suzuki 1m23.951s + 2.152s
16. Gabor Talmacsi Honda 1m24.114s + 2.315s
17. Niccolo Canepa Ducati 1m24.202s + 2.403s