Xerox Ducati's Noriyuki Haga has demonstrated he is back to full fitness by setting the fastest time in this morning's wet first World Superbike free practice session at the Nurburgring.
Haga, who hasn't ridden since his crash at Donington save for a test at Mugello earlier this week to test his bike fitness, completed 13 laps and set a 2'14.122 time.
Only Britain's Jonathan Rea, on the Ten Kate Honda, could anywhere the Japanese, lapping just over a tenth of a second slower while third-placed man Troy Corser was a second off the pace.
At the start of the hour-long session, Rea set the early pace with Stiggy Honda's Leon Haslam and Sterilgarda Ducati's Shane Byrne making it a British clean sweep at the top of the timesheets.
Byrne then went fastest with 12 minutes gone, lapping at 2'15.512 with Haslam second and Guandalini Ducati Jakub Smrz climing the order before going quickest with 40 minutes left to go.
The Czech Republic rider then crashed on his next lap but got up and made it back to the gargae for his second bike. Rea took the lead again a few minutes later while Richard Cooper, who is standing in for Ruben Xaus at BMW, went up to fifth.
On the half hour, Cooper's team-mate Troy Corser went to second on the sheets as Haga started his first run of laps, going into fifth, then second and finally setting his fastest lap of 2'14.122, which no-one could top.
Byrne ended the session in fifth, 1.3s off the pace, with Haslam just behind. Cooper finished in 11th, despite a crash, with Sterilgarda Yamaha's Tom Sykes 13th. His team-mate Ben Spies was a lowly 19th place.
