The MotoGP class took to a drying track for the first practice outing of the 2011 season closer, with several tributes to Marco Simoncelli revealed as the bikes hit the asphalt. Loris Capirossi's Ducati displayed Marco Simoncelli's number 58 on his Pramac Racing machine and Hiroshi Aoyama's bike ran unbranded, instead featuring a message to his fallen team mate.

As the riders gingerly made their way around the slippery Ricardo Tormo circuit, various riders took turns at the top of the times, including Toni Elías (LCR Honda), Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team), Nicky Hayden and Capirossi. It wasn’t until the final three minutes that World Champion Casey Stoner claimed the top spot with a time of 1’45.513, with Pedrosa jumping into second, two tenths behind his Repsol Honda teammate.

The Ducati Team duo of Rossi and Hayden posted the third and fourth quickest laps, the Italian just 0.092s off Pedrosa’s pace and Hayden two tenths off his team mate.

For the first practice of his final GP, Capirossi was fifth in the field with a time of 1’46.108, ahead of Factory Yamaha’s Ben Spies. Randy de Puniet (Pramac Racing) was seventh ahead of Elias in eighth and Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) ninth. Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) completed the top ten times with a lap one second off the lead time of Stoner.

As Colin Edwards continues to recover from the injuries he sustained in Malaysia, his replacement American Superbike champion Josh Hayes made an impressive debut on a MotoGP machine, climbing as high as 13th position for not only his first experience in a GP field but also his first time at the Valencian circuit. Hayes concluded the session ahead of Jorge Lorenzo’s replacement on the Factory Yamaha team, Japanese rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga.

FP2

Wet conditions marked the second MotoGP practice outing, the slippery track requiring a fair amount of caution as the field all lapped slower than in the damp morning session. Various leaders topped the times, but the Rizla Suzuki of Albaro Bautista ultimately claimed the highest spot with a 1’47.975, two and half seconds slower than Stoner’s fast lap set in the morning.

Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) led the field until Randy de Puniet (Pramac Racing) knocked him out of the lead, the American concluding three tenths off Bautista to rank second and de Puniet seven tenths off the Spaniard to place third.

Karel Abraham was fourth, the Czech rider crashing heavily on his final lap of the session, while Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) place fifth ahead of Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team).

Casey Stoner was eighth in the wet session, though claimed the fastest lap of the day in a mixed condition FP1 with a time of 1’45.513. The Australian’s teammate Dani Pedrosa claimed the ninth spot, while Josh Hayes, the replacement rider for a recovering Colin Edwards on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team, placed an impressive 10 in the wet and 15th in the combined times in his first outing at the circuit and aboard a MotoGP machine.

The difficult conditions claimed riders Toni Elías (LCR Honda), who crashed out of 6th place 15 minutes into the practice, and a recovering Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing) when he touched a slippery edge of the track. Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini) also had a fall in the final four minutes of the session.

Moto2

Rain in the afternoon at the Ricardo Tormo circuit made for a wetter track surface as the Moto2 bikes headed out for their second session, and it was Alex de Angelis (JiR Moto2) who adapted best to the worsened conditions with the fastest lap of 1’52.026,

The morning session was run on a cold and damp track, but steady rain later in the day made for a comprehensive wet second session in which the Moto2 field lapped at around 10 seconds slower than their morning times.

Trailing De Angelis in FP2 were Italians Andrea Iannone (Speed Master) at +0.182s and Raffaele de Rosa (NGM Forward Racing) at +0.541s. The top five for the session was completed by Mattia Pasini (Ioda Racing Project) and Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing).

Championship leader Stefan Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing) was seventh in the session, and his FP1 lap time from the morning remained the fastest of the opening day.

125cc

Rainy conditions slowed the single cylinder field considerably during the second practice session of the Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana, after FP1 claimed more than ten riders on the treacherous damp track. FP2 was held under no less slippery conditions, as Sandro Cortese (Intact Racing Team Germany) rose to the top of the pile once again with a fastest posted lap of 1’59.126.

Harry Stafford (Ongetta-Centro Seta) posted the second fastest time behind Cortese just before the rain began to fall in earnest, nearly one second behind the German and 0.038s ahead of Championship challenger Johann Zarco (Avant-AirAsia-Ajo). Alberto Moncayo (Team Andalucía Banca Cívica) posted the fourth fastest time at four tenths off the Frenchman, though crashed out of the session with 11 minutes to go.

Luis Salom (RW Racing GP) was a close fifth, ahead of Adrián Martín (Bankia Aspar) in sixth and Jack Miller (Caretta Technology) claiming the seventh spot in the timings.

Louis Rossi (Matteoni Racing), Héctor Faubel (Bankia Aspar) and Maverick Viñales (Blusens by Paris Hilton Racing) finished the top ten riders, with Viñales crashing in the final ten minutes. The young Spaniard was up and back on the bike, though he had some trouble getting back to the pits when he opted to ride his bike on the service roads before re-entering the track.

A cautious Nicolas Terol posted the 12th fastest time behind wild card John McPhee (Racing Steps Foundation KRP). The Championship leader is 20 points ahead of Frenchman Johann Zarco in the run for the title, and on Sunday will only need a finish of 11th or higher to deliver him his first World title and the last ever 125cc Championship crown.