Ducati's Nicky Hayden has topped the opening MotoGP free practice timesheets at a wet Valencia this morning by one second after a tussle with the Repsol Honda of Dani Pedrosa.
The 2006 world champion had led until the final minutes but Spaniard Pedrosa stuck in a 1'45.490 to go quickest. Hayden, who revels in wet conditions on the GP12, then stuck in a final last flyer to go a second quicker with a 1'44.485.
Newly-crowned World Champion Jorge Lorenzo bagged third place with his last lap of the session but was nearly half a second slower than his counterpart while Andrea Dovizioso, who is riding for Monster Yamaha for the last time this weekend, went fourth on a 1'46.021.
Late charges from Alvaro Bautista, Aleix Espargaro and Valentino Rossi saw Britain's Cal Crutchlow bumped down to eighth place and 2.3s off the pace while Randy De Puniet put in the second quickest CRT time of 1'47.039 to go ninth. A cautious Casey Stoner did 14 laps but was only fast enough for tenth.
Colin Edwards placed 19th after more trouble with his electronics while James Ellison walked away from a crash at turn seven after he lost the front on a big puddle. Ben Spies' replacement Kats Nakasuga was also a crasher.
