At the end of the day on Friday (in the UK), after both free practice sessions, Casey Stoner had noticeably faster times than the other riders. This may not mean a lot, in scheme of qualifying or in the actual race, but it does seem to indicate that Stoner has once again found his groove. It will be nice if Stoner can maintain this momentum until Sunday. He has been visibly frustrated with his equipment set up an other peripheral issues, in the last few races. Stoner won the race at this circuit last year (as well as the majority of the rest of the circuits). It would be good to see him competing at the top of his game on Sunday. As for the Japanese built bikes, Hayden was pulling down the fastest lap times on the new Honda RC211v with the pneumatic valves. The engine was first tested at Catalunya, but not used in the actual race. Hayden’s teammate Pedrosa who won in Catalunya, will still be racing the spring valve version of the RC211v. Pedrosa suffered a spill during Friday’s practice sessions, but appeared to be uninjured.
Jorge Lorenzo will be returning this week after a successful surgery on his hand. He is also recovering from a concussion that he suffered in the hand-breaking wreck during the Catalunya practice sessions. Lorenzo will be riding with special silk glove to protect the skin graft on the fourth and fifth fingers of his right hand. He says that he will be riding more cautiously this weekend, focusing more on regaining confidence in the bike, than getting results.