Jorge Lorenzo struck a blow back at Valentino Rossi ahead of today's Assen TT by snatching the fastest time in the morning warm-up.
Lorenzo had been unable to match Rossi's pace in qualifying yesterday and complained of struggles with his Yamaha in a couple of the Dutch circuit's turns.
But, in preparation for this afternoon's race, the Spaniard hooked up a lap to eclipse the benchmark that his team-mate had laid down just seconds earlier.
Ducati's Casey Stoner held the top spot going into the last minute of the warm-up, but Rossi lowered the bar by three tenths of a second on his last lap, taking the time down to a 1m37.0s. But Lorenzo, who was half a lap behind on the road, found an extra tenth to dip into the 1m36.9s.
Stoner wound up third, just a tenth ahead of second-place starter for this afternoon's race, Dani Pedrosa. Andrea Dovizioso was fifth fastest on the second works Honda, while James Toseland headed Colin Edwards on the two Tech 3 Yamahas in sixth and seventh -- despite a fall towards the end of the session.
Nicky Hayden continued his improved form on the second factory Ducati in eighth, while Randy de Puniet and Loris Capirossi completed the top 10.
TIMES:Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 1m36.928s
2. Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1m37.035s +0.107
3. Casey Stoner Ducati 1m37.324s +0.396
4. Dani Pedrosa Honda 1m37.380s +0.452
5. Andrea Dovizioso Honda 1m37.827s +0.899
6. James Toseland Tech 3 Yamaha 1m37.963s +1.035
7. Colin Edwards Tech 3 Yamaha 1m38.001s +1.073
8. Nicky Hayden Ducati 1m38.100s +1.172
9. Randy de Puniet LCR Honda 1m38.108s +1.180
10. Loris Capirossi Suzuki 1m38.189s +1.261
11. Alex de Angelis Gresini Honda 1m38.368s +1.440
12. Toni Elias Gresini Honda 1m38.537s +1.609
13. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 1m38.711s +1.783
14. Mika Kallio Pramac Ducati 1m38.801s +1.873
15. Marco Melandri Hayate Kawasaki 1m38.871s +1.943
16. Sete Gibernau Hernando Ducati 1m38.938s +2.010
17. Yuki Takahashi Scot Honda 1m39.362s +2.434
18. Niccolo Canepa Pramac Ducati 1m39.651s +2.723
19. Gabor Talmacsi Scot Honda 1m40.593s +3.665