Casey Stoner went quickest in the opening practice session for the season-ending MotoGP race at the Valencia circuit.
Stoner, who dominated last year's weekend at Valencia before falling down before the start of the race, moved to the top of the times with some six minutes of the session remaining. His time of 1m32.897sec was just four tenths of a second off the track record set by himself during the 2008 race.
The Ducati rider outpaced series champion Jorge Lorenzo, the local hero having to set for second position after finishing over half a second off the flying Stoner.
Honda's Andrea Dovizioso secured the third-quickest time with a last-gasp effort, ahead of compatriot Marco Simoncelli on the satellite Honda from the Gresini team. Valentino Rossi, in what is his final GP weekend with Yamaha, completed the top five from Nicky Hayden and Hector Barbera.
Randy de Puniet finished down in eighth position after topping the times for a significant part of the session in his last race with the LCR team. The Frenchman, competing in his 200th race in the championship, wound up in front of American Ben Spies, who was the protagonist of the only significant incident of the session when he fell down at the end of the 45 minutes. The Texan walked away from the accident unhurt.
Pos Rider Team Time Laps
1. Casey Stoner Ducati Team 1m32.897s 15
2. Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team 1m33.455s + 0.558 22
3. Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Team 1m33.500s + 0.603 18
4. Marco Simoncelli San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m33.631s + 0.734 21
5. Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 1m33.714s + 0.817 23
6. Nicky Hayden Ducati Team 1m33.757s + 0.860 20
7. Hector Barbera Paginas Amarillas Aspar 1m33.857s + 0.960 21
8. Randy De Puniet LCR Honda MotoGP 1m33.899s + 1.002 24
9. Ben Spies Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m33.929s + 1.032 24
10. Aleix Espargaro Pramac Racing Team 1m34.029s + 1.132 21
11. Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m34.053s + 1.156 19
12. Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 1m34.123s + 1.226 21
13. Marco Melandri San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m34.160s + 1.263 23
14. Alvaro Bautista Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m34.506s + 1.609 20
15. Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m34.864s + 1.967 18
16. Hiroshi Aoyama Interwetten Honda MotoGP 1m34.904s + 2.007 22
17. Carlos Checa Pramac Racing Team 1m35.172s + 2.275 20