MOTORCYCLING Live

0' Stoner is clearly the fastest man out there by a long chalk and always does well here at Losail. He is favourite to win tomorrow - but anything can happen in motorcycle racing.

0' Toseland ended in 13th, with Melandri 11th behind Kallio, Pedrosa 14th and Hayden 16th.

0' Hayden highsided it and slid for at least two miles on his back. The doctors are seeing to him, but he is moving and everything so don't worry too much.

0' The time has run out but Hayden's incident will put a spanner in the works of the final laps of our riders.

1' HAYDEN DOWN HURT IN THE GRAVEL!! And he is in 16th - not a good night for him. The American slid into the gravel.

1' Dovizioso fourth while Capirossi manages fifth.

2' Capirossi on a quick one but hits traffic in the second half of the lap...

3' And Stoner improves to 1:55.286, carving a couple of tenths off his previous best.

4' Lorenzo up to third on a very quick 1:55.953. He had dropped to seventh.

5' Melandri up to ninth.

6' Mika Kallio continues his impressive showing since moving up from the 250s with 11th - and shows what can be done on a Ducati.

7' Canepa jumps ahead of the legendary Sete Gibernau, who slips to bottom spot.

8' Rossi wastes no time laying down a 1:55.774 for second place.

9' Rossi down in fifth at present behind De Puniet of LCR Honda, Edwards of Tech 3 Yamaha and Dovizioso of Repsol Honda.

11' It's white-knuckle time as the riders dig in for a few more flying laps. Rossi gets some fresh tyres on his Fiat Yamaha.

12' De Puniet jumps above Edwards just over a minute later. Pedrosa up to 12th.

14' Edwards goes second with a fast lap, followed by Rossi, Dovizioso and Lorenzo.

15' Stoner won here last year. His wrist doesn't seem to be bothering him; who will fight for the title this year? Let us know below.

16' It is a great feeling to have MotoGP back in full swing... what a race it will be tomorrow. Stoner still over a second quicker than anyone else, so he looks set for pole.

17' Toseland cannot improve his time, but he is looking better and better.

19' In 14th sits Dani Pedrosa on the Repsol Honda. He will not be happy with that - he fought for the title last year.

21' Nicky Hayden down in 16th of 18, terrible for someone on the same Ducati as Stoner - especially a former world champion. Toseland is 12th, not doing too badly...

23' Dovizioso third fastest behind Rossi on a 1:57.006.

24' Capirossi is up to third, while Vermeulen goes sixth quickest.

25' Stoner with a brilliant 1:55 - down to 1:55.504, in fact!! No one else is anywhere near that.

26' Talking of Britons, Bradley Smith is going great guns in the 125s, taking second on the grid. Let's hope the lad can compete for the title this season.

27' The Sheffield rider, a two-times World Superbike champion, knows that this is a crucial season for his ambitions in this series.

28' Little chopping and changing in the order at present. Toseland down near the bottom.

29' It must be strange for the riders to deal with these conditions. The lights are very good, but artificial light is no substitute for that from the sun.

31' Stoner's 1:56.319 still the fastest so far. They are all going for it, with limited time to work with under the rules.

33' Reigning champion Rossi goes P2 ahead of Dovizioso, Capirossi, Randy de Puniet, Jorge Lorenzo, Edwards, Vermeulen and Alex de Angelis.

34' He needs a push to get it going after he stalls it.

35' Marco Melandri, who has impressed recently with Hayate Racing, takes a trip to the gravel. The bike is very sexy - black and shiny. If sexy is the right word.

36' The top few are currently Stoner, Dovizioso, Valentino Rossi, Colin Edwards and Chris Vermeulen.

37' And Stoner back in P1 immediately, 1:56.462 the time.

38' The Italian back at the top with 1:57.701.

39' Stoner takes over at the top with 1:58.459.

40' Andrea Dovizioso goes P1 on a 1:59.433. It will be interesting to see how he gets on with Honda this year.

42' Casey Stoner has been quickest in practice this weekend on the factory Ducati, but that means nothing if he doesn't do it when it matters.

44' James Toseland on the Tech 3 is returning from a pair of dramatic crashes. How will be perform after his stunning MotoGP debut here last year?

45' Along with the limited practice this year to help reduce costs, the qualifying session lasts just 45 minutes.

- The riders mount their beasts and take them out on to the track.

- It is a floodlit race again this year so qualifying also takes places in the darkness under lights, lending everything a bizarre veneer.

- Qualifying for the season-opening Qatar MotoGP at Losail is about to start!!