Marco Simoncelli continued to set the pace in second practice for the Portuguese MotoGP event at Estoril, despite a crash during the session.
The Gresini rider, using the same bike as the works Honda men, posted a best time of 1m37.663s early in the session, and that remained unbeaten until the checkered flag.
Simoncelli's session was interrupted with 20 minutes to go, when the Italian crashed at Turn 3 after losing control of his Honda. He walked away from the accident and returned to action a few minutes later.
In a very close session, world champion Jorge Lorenzo was second fastest with the Yamaha, the Spaniard just 0.061sec behind Simoncelli. Dani Pedrosa was third quickest, 0.003sec behind Lorenzo, after posting his best time of the day on his very last lap. Valentino Rossi was fourth in the top Ducati, with Casey Stoner completing the top five on the second works Honda.
The 45 minutes were largely trouble-free, with Simoncelli's crash the only significant incident. The Portuguese circuit was hit by rain as soon as the session ended.
Suzuki's sole rider Alvaro Bautista continued with his acclimatization in his return to action after his injury, although the Spaniard was again slowest, over a second behind his closest rival Randy de Puniet.
Pos Rider Bike Time Laps
1. Marco Simoncelli Honda 1m37.663s 17
2. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 1m37.724s + 0.061 21
3. Daniel Pedrosa Honda 1m37.727s + 0.064 19
4. Valentino Rossi Ducati 1m38.102s + 0.439 21
5. Casey Stoner Honda 1m38.102s + 0.439 15
6. Colin Edwards Yamaha 1m38.203s + 0.540 22
7. Karel Abraham Ducati 1m38.473s + 0.810 20
8. Ben Spies Yamaha 1m38.563s + 0.900 21
9. Nicky Hayden Ducati 1m38.596s + 0.933 20
10. Héctor Barberá Ducati 1m38.611s + 0.948 21
11. Hiroshi Aoyama Honda 1m38.645s + 0.982 21
12. Andrea Dovizioso Honda 1m38.658s + 0.995 22
13. Cal Crutchlow Yamaha 1m38.760s + 1.097 19
14. Toni Elías Honda 1m38.912s + 1.249 21
15. Loris Capirossi Ducati 1m39.021s + 1.358 20
16. Randy de Puniet Ducati 1m39.137s + 1.474 20
17. Alvaro Bautista Suzuki 1m40.173s + 2.510 21