MotoGP Phillip Island, Free Practice 2: Stoner is the fastest

The second free practice session of the Iveco Australian Grand Prix, the third to last stage of the 2011 world championship which will take place on Sunday on the Phillip Island track, saw Casey Stoner excel. The world championship leader (who was also the fastest in Free Practice 1) stopped the clock at a time of 1'30"535 and if on Sunday he wins with Lorenzo fourth or with a worse result he will be able to celebrate at home (on the day of his birthday) the second MotoGP title.

Compared to the first session he was much more cautious at the beginning and then took the lead and never left it. Marco Simoncelli finished behind him with the Honda Factory. The Team Gresini rider crashed again, repeating his crash in FP1, a crash with no physical consequences.

Behind the "Sic" we find Jorge Lorenzo, trailing Stoner by just over half a second and Ben Spies, with the other official Yamaha. Behind the Texan was Dani Pedrosa, who preceded the excellent Hiroshi Aoyama (with the Team Gresini customer Honda) and the first Ducati on the track, that of Randy De Puniet.

The Frenchman preceded the Spaniard Alvaro Bautista (eighth at 1"242 from Stoner), Colin Edwards and Andrea Dovizioso, who will take Edwards' place in Team Tech3 next year. The first official Ducati is that of Nicky Hayden, eleventh with the GP11.1. The rider from Kentucky did better than Cal Crutchlow and team-mate Valentino Rossi.

The nine-time world champion is in fact thirteenth at 1"479 from Stoner's Honda, a result in line with the performances of this 2011. Immediately behind the Pesaro rider we find the returning Loris Capirossi who precedes Abraham, Elias and Damian Cudlin, who replaces here the injured Hector Barberà.