SEPANG: Reigning world champion Valentino Rossi defied the pain of a sore shoulder to set the fastest time during Friday's first practice session at Sepang ahead of this weekend's Moto GP. The sevaen-time world champion notched a best lap of 2 minutes 02.724 seconds, O.109 sec faster than rival Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) of Italy who is fourth in overall standings. “I am feeling very comfortable on the bike and so far my shoulder is OK here. The track is quite dirty but that will get better and I love riding at this track, it's one of my favorites,” he said after the practice session. The Yamaha driver, fifth in the championship standings, notched a best lap of 2 minutes 2.724 seconds, O.109 sec faster than rival Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) of Italy who is fourth in the standings. Dovizioso said he would go all out Saturday to make it two pole positions in succession. “I am happy with the first session at Sepang because we were fast from the very beginning. Today the conditions were really extreme in terms of the heat,” he said. Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo, who is hoping to seal the world title in Malaysia, was third, 0.174sec behind Yamaha teammate Rossi, who pushed Lorenzo into fourth place on Japan's Motegi circuit after a close-fought battle. “Today's conditions were quite difficult with the high temperatures and dirty track. But I felt good on the bike, I rode fast and I was close to the first position,” Lorenzo said. Spaniard Dani Pedrosa (Honda), the only rider who has a mathematical chance of depriving Lorenzo of the championship, will miss the Malaysian race after fracturing his collarbone in Japan. Rossi lifted the world championship here last year with a podium finish and, of all the current MotoGP riders, has the most impressive record at Sepang. The 31-year-old suffered a shoulder injury in a motocross accident in April. The Italian also broke his leg in June. The 23-year-old Lorenzo is in a commanding position with a 69-point lead over Pedrosa and needs only to finish in ninth place or better to seal the title. Fourth fastest was Casey Stoner, who scored back-to-back victories at Aragon and Motegi. He crashed 12 minutes into practice. The determined Australian was soon back on the track but was 0.436sec behind Rossi. Stoner, third in the championship standings, could still finish second in the title race with a strong run of results. Alvaro Bautista of Spain secured a late fifth place for Rizla Suzuki while teammate Loris Capirossi (Italy) could only secure twelfth. French rider Randy de Puniet (Honda) was 10th while Stoner's teammate Nicky Hayden (USA) was just 15th in the free practice in hot and dry conditions. The final practice takes place Saturday. The race is Sunday, with teams making preparations for a tropical storm. – Agence France
