Stoner Stays Ahead Of Simoncelli After FP2

After dominating the morning session, Casey Stoner remained on top in second practice which was run in challenging conditions at Silverstone.

Rain which fell during the second 125cc practice session left the MotoGP class with a wet track for their second session and the circuit wouldn't dry fully before the end of the session.

It looked as though Stoner would be forced to settle for second after Marco Simoncelli had moved to the top of the timesheets with a minute to go, setting a best time of 2:16.463. But the Australian responded with a 2:15.666 to end the session on top. However, the times were 12 seconds slower than this morning so few conclusions can be drawn from the result.

Despite that the two riders immediately behind the Honda powered duo will be very pleased with their day's work. Nicky Hayden led the factory Ducati challenge all day and was third quickest on Friday afternoon while Cal Crutchlow went fourth fastest on the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha.

The Briton was 2.443s slower than Stoner but with the gaps between the riders so large on the 5.902km circuit he was still quick enough for fourth, ahead of the factory Yamaha of Jorge Lorenzo.

The World Champion dominated this event last year but was a full three seconds off the pace on Friday afternoon. His teammate Ben Spies was a tenth of a second further back in seventh, sandwiching the second Repsol Honda of Andrea Dovizioso.

For the second session in a row, MotoGP rookie Karel Abraham went quicker on his Ducati than Valentino Rossi could manage on his. The Italian found time on the drying track at the end of the session but his lap of 2:19.435 was only good enough for ninth.

Toni Elias got the LCR Honda into the top ten ahead of the Rizla Suzuki of Alvaro Bautista with Loris Capirossi recovering from his morning crash to go 12^th quickest. Behind him, Hector Barbera was 13^th ahead of Randy de Puniet on the second Pramac Ducati and Hiroshi Aoyama on the San Carlo Gresini Honda.

Colin Edwards brought up the rear again as he continued his recovery from the broken collarbone sustained at the Catalunya Grand Prix last weekend. The Texan took the safe option and ended his session early, finishing up nine seconds off the pace.

Combined Friday Practice Times: