Pedrosa takes top spot

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The Spaniard stole top spot from Marlboro Ducati rider Casey Stoner in the final seconds of the hour-long session with a lap of one minute 38.627 seconds to put his Repsol Honda at the head of the pack.

Pedrosa, who is currently fourth in the standings behind overall leader Valentino Rossi, had looked off the pace for the majority of the session but with the track constantly drying out from an earlier downpour eventually pipped Stoner by 0.245 seconds.

Rossi was in third place with Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo rounding out the top five.

British hope James Toseland was lying fifth aboard his Tech 3 Yamaha with just a few minutes of the session remaining but ended up in 12th with a time of one minute 40.522 seconds.

The day's earlier 125cc practice session was blighted by heavy rain but the track had dried considerably by the time the top nine crept under the one minute 40 second barrier.

Stoner, the 2007 champion, has suffered in recent rounds with illness, originally diagnosed as 'mild anaemia', but looked back on form as he led for a long period before Pedrosa's late charge.

The field have a qualifying session on Saturday afternoon ahead of the race on Sunday, which will be the final Grand Prix at Donington ahead of the switch to Silverstone from 2010.