Randy de Puniet opened proceedings for the Polini Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix as the fastest MotoGP rider of the day, clocking a time of 2’02.917 onboard the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR800 in the afternoon session in Sepang.

The Frenchman stayed in his garage for the early part of the second free practice outing, alongside many other MotoGP stars holding out for a drier track and the ceasing of a light shower. As happened yesterday, an early afternoon downpour left the track wet after some early humidity, something which could make qualifying for the penultimate race of the 2007 season very eventful indeed.

New MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner was inevitably amongst the early frontrunners, just 11 thousandths of a second slower than De Puniet’s marker. The Australian was the fastest rider in the first free practice session, although all riders improved upon their times on their second opportunity to adjust to the track.

Marco Melandri, Dani Pedrosa, Anthony West and Toni Elias complete the top six, separated by just over a second in the early going. Practice sessions perhaps took extra importance today, with last year’s grid organised by combined times after a torrential downpour on the Saturday afternoon.

Sylvain Guintoli was seventh fastest onboard the Dunlop-shod Tech 3 Yamaha, trailed by the Suzuki duo of Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins. The third Suzuki bike, the base model for the 2008 GSV-R800, was ridden for the first time alongside the entire MotoGP field by test rider Nobuatsu Aoki, and the Japanese wild card was less than a second off Vermeulen’s time in 15th. 2006 MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden rounds off the top ten on day one.

250cc The only two riders still involved in the fight for the 250cc World Championship, it was almost inevitable that Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso would come out all guns blazing in the opening qualifying session at the Sepang circuit. The duo were separated by just nine hundredths of a second as reigning World Champion Lorenzo took provisional pole for Sunday’s race. Dovizioso made a late charge to reclaim the second spot from Alvaro Bautista, putting in a flying lap after the chequered flag had fallen.

The Italian is depending on a slip-up from Lorenzo to allow him any chance of closing the 45 point gap that divides them in the overall classification, and he saw his rival experience a light crash this morning on the final corner in the wet. Dovizioso now just has to go all-out for the victory and hope that the normally unflappable Lorenzo buckles under the pressure.

Thomas Luthi rounded off the provisional front row, still in search of his maiden 250cc podium despite a number of close calls. Mika Kallio, Marco Simoncelli, Hiroshi Aoyama and Roberto Locatelli make up the second line of attack.

125cc Wet conditions in the early afternoon saw riders in the 125cc category having only a brief run out in Sepang. Of those undertaking a reduced workload on a slippery surface, Pablo Nieto surprised by taking provisional pole on his final lap with the Blusens Aprilia machine. The 27 year-old was hardly on blistering pace with a 2’23.886 lap eleven seconds slower than the circuit record for a 125cc machine, but still carved out a sizeable gap of nearly three seconds on Polaris World’s Mattia Pasini, his closest rival on the board this afternoon.

Lukas Pesek, title challenger Gabor Talmacsi, Stefan Bradl and Mike di Meglio complete the provisional top six, ahead of Sandro Cortese, Esteve Rabat, Michael Ranseder and Bradley Smith. In the running for the World Championship this season, Hector Faubel suffered a minor setback when he failed to meet the 107% qualifying cut-off point. Drier conditions tomorrow would suit the Spaniard well, as he looks to put himself in a prime spot to take on team-mate Talmacsi for the title.

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