The first qualifying practice of the season under the new rules proved that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Casey Stoner lead pretty much the entire 45 minutes while Valentino Rossi sat in 2nd place for much of the session.
Nicky Hayden suffered a last minute high side that looks like it may have him laying out for a while. Hopefully he’ll be fit for the race, but that Ducati sure isn’t suiting him very well yet.
| Pos. | Rider | Motorcycle | Lap time | Km/h | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Casey STONER | Ducati | 1’55.286 | 337.183 | |
| 2 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | 1’55.759 | 334.158 | 0.473 |
| 3 | Jorge LORENZO | Yamaha | 1’55.783 | 336.973 | 0.497 |
| 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Honda | 1’55.977 | 333.642 | 0.691 |
| 5 | Loris CAPIROSSI | Suzuki | 1’56.149 | 332.512 | 0.863 |
| 6 | Colin EDWARDS | Yamaha | 1’56.194 | 330.882 | 0.908 |
| 7 | Randy DE PUNIET | Honda | 1’56.358 | 327.868 | 1.072 |
| 8 | Chris VERMEULEN | Suzuki | 1’56.493 | 325.791 | 1.207 |
| 9 | Alex DE ANGELIS | Honda | 1’56.790 | 332.103 | 1.504 |
| 10 | Mika KALLIO | Ducati | 1’56.852 | 338.028 | 1.566 |
| 11 | Marco MELANDRI | Kawasaki | 1’56.962 | 330.983 | 1.676 |
| 12 | Toni ELIAS | Honda | 1’57.225 | 333.848 | 1.939 |
| 13 | James TOSELAND | Yamaha | 1’57.510 | 328.567 | 2.224 |
| 14 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | 1’57.729 | 338.557 | 2.443 |
| 15 | Sete GIBERNAU | Ducati | 1’57.899 | 330.882 | 2.613 |
| 16 | Nicky HAYDEN | Ducati | 1’58.215 | 332.614 | 2.929 |
| 17 | Yuki TAKAHASHI | Honda | 1’58.784 | 327.968 | 3.498 |
| 18 | Niccolo CANEPA | Ducati | 1’58.999 | 328.467 | 3.713 |