The injured Colin Edwards was replaced by Chris Vermeulen for this event.

1. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha Factory Racing (YZR-M1) 49m 39.743s
2. Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Team (GP12) 49m 49.648s
3. Casey Stoner AUS Repsol Honda (RC213V) 49m 51.041s
4. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda (RC213V) 50m 9.104s
5. Stefan Bradl GER LCR Honda MotoGP (RC213V) 50m 12.220s
6. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Team (GP12) 50m 12.585s
7. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Monster Yamaha Tech3 (YZR-M1) 50m 39.502s
8. Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech3 (YZR-M1) 50m 44.895s
9. Hector Barbera ESP Pramac Racing (GP12) 50m 47.589s
10. Alvaro Bautista ESP San Carlo Honda Gresini (RC213V) 50m 52.936s
11. James Ellison GBR Paul Bird Motorsport (ART CRT) 51m 6.406s
12. Mattia Pasini ITA Speed Master (ART CRT) 51m 7.376s
13. Aleix Espargaro ESP Power Electronics Aspar (ART CRT) +1 lap
14. Michele Pirro ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini (FTR-Honda CRT) +1 lap
15. Yonny Hernandez COL Avintia Blusens (FTR-Kawasaki CRT) +1 lap
16. Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing (YZR-M1) +1 lap
17. Chris Vermeulen AUS NGM Forward Racing (Suter-BMW CRT) +2 laps
18. Ivan Silva ESP Avintia Blusens (FTR-Kawasaki CRT) +2 laps

DNF:
Danilo Petrucci ITA Came IodaRacing (Ioda-Aprilia CRT)
Randy De Puniet FRA Power Electronics Aspar (ART CRT)
Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing (GP12)

The injured Colin Edwards has been replaced by Chris Vermeulen for this event.

1. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda (RC213V) 1m 33.638s
2. Casey Stoner AUS Repsol Honda (RC213V) 1m 33.941s
3. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Monster Yamaha Tech3 (YZR-M1) 1m 33.976s
4. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha Factory Racing (YZR-M1) 1m 34.104s
5. Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech3 (YZR-M1) 1m 34.178s
6. Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing (YZR-M1) 1m 34.669s
7. Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Team (GP12) 1m 34.907s
8. Alvaro Bautista ESP San Carlo Honda Gresini (RC213V) 1m 34.922s
9. Hector Barbera ESP Pramac Racing (GP12) 1m 34.950s
10. Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing (GP12) 1m 35.250s
11. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Team (GP12) 1m 35.291s
12. Randy De Puniet FRA Power Electronics Aspar (ART CRT) 1m 35.694s
13. Stefan Bradl GER LCR Honda MotoGP (RC213V) 1m 35.862s
14. Michele Pirro ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini (FTR-Honda CRT) 1m 36.646s
15. Yonny Hernandez COL Avintia Blusens (FTR-Kawasaki CRT) 1m 37.202s
16. James Ellison GBR Paul Bird Motorsport (ART CRT) 1m 37.666s
17. Aleix Espargaro ESP Power Electronics Aspar (ART CRT) 1m 37.760s
18. Danilo Petrucci ITA Came IodaRacing (Ioda-Aprilia CRT) 1m 37.767s
19. Ivan Silva ESP Avintia Blusens (FTR-Kawasaki CRT) 1m 38.198s
20. Mattia Pasini ITA Speed Master (ART CRT) 1m 38.511s
21. Chris Vermeulen AUS NGM Forward Racing (Suter-BMW CRT) 1m 38.658s

Fastest practice time:
Casey Stoner AUS Honda 1m 33.740s (FP2)

Official Le Mans MotoGP records:
Best lap:
Dani Pedrosa ESP Honda 1m 32.647s (2008)
Fastest race lap:
Dani Pedrosa ESP Honda 1m 33.617s (2011)

DNF:
Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing (GP12)
James Ellison GBR Paul Bird Motorsport (ART CRT)
Yonny Hernandez COL Avintia Blusens (FTR-Kawasaki CRT)
Mattia Pasini ITA Speed Master (ART CRT)
Ivan Silva ESP Avintia Blusens (FTR-Kawasaki CRT)

Live MotoGP Race Tweets from Estoril, Portugal

Fastest practice time:
Dani Pedrosa ESP Honda 1m 37.326s (FP3)

Official Estoril MotoGP records:
Best lap:
Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha 1m 35.715s (2008)
Fastest race lap:
Dani Pedrosa ESP Honda 1m 36.937s (2009)

DNF:
Randy De Puniet FRA Power Electronics Aspar (ART CRT)
James Ellison GBR Paul Bird Motorsport (ART CRT)
Michele Pirro ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini (FTR-Honda CRT)
Yonny Hernandez COL Avintia Blusens (FTR-Kawasaki CRT)

1. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha Factory Racing (YZR-M1) 1m 39.532s
2. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda (RC213V) 1m 39.667s
3. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Team (GP12) 1m 40.563s
4. Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech3 (YZR-M1) 1m 40.570s
5. Casey Stoner AUS Repsol Honda (RC213V) 1m 40.577s
6. Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing (YZR-M1) 1m 41.090s
7. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Monster Yamaha Tech3 (YZR-M1) 1m 41.180s
8. Alvaro Bautista ESP San Carlo Honda Gresini (RC213V) 1m 41.447s
9. Stefan Bradl GER LCR Honda MotoGP (RC213V) 1m 41.550s
10. Randy De Puniet FRA Power Electronics Aspar (ART CRT) 1m 41.700s
11. Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing (GP12) 1m 41.724s
12. Hector Barbera ESP Pramac Racing (GP12) 1m 41.871s
13. Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Team (GP12) 1m 42.961s
14. Aleix Espargaro ESP Power Electronics Aspar (ART CRT) 1m 43.135s
15. Michele Pirro ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini (FTR-Honda CRT) 1m 43.363s
16. Mattia Pasini ITA Speed Master (ART CRT) 1m 44.308s
17. Yonny Hernandez COL Avintia Blusens (FTR-Kawasaki CRT) 1m 44.467s
18. Danilo Petrucci ITA Came IodaRacing (Ioda-Aprilia CRT) 1m 44.645s
19. Ivan Silva ESP Avintia Blusens (FTR-Kawasaki CRT) 1m 44.717s
20. James Ellison GBR Paul Bird Motorsport (ART CRT) 1m 45.724s
21. Colin Edwards USA NGM Forward Racing (Suter-BMW CRT) 1m 46.200s

Fastest practice time
Ivan Silva ESP FTR-Kawasaki 1m 48.674s (FP1)

Official Jerez MotoGP records:
Best lap:
Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha 1m 38.189s (2008)
Fastest race lap:
Dani Pedrosa ESP Honda 1m 39.731s (2010)

You can be a certain amount off, for a certain time, but not this much” – Casey Stoner.

Former Ducati rider Casey Stoner increased the pressure on Valentino Rossi after another disappointing performance from the Italian at Jerez on Saturday.

Qualifying a disastrous 13th fastest while his team-mate, Nicky Hayden, will start from the front row of the grid has once again brought Rossi’s struggles aboard the Desmosedici firmly into focus.

Speaking after the qualifying session Repsol Honda rider Stoner was keen to discuss his former team’s prospects and the struggles of his rival.

“I spoke with Nicky the other day,” said Stoner. “He said he’s really happy with the bike, and it’s probably the best [Ducati] he’s ridden. He seems really confident with it but from the other side of the garage you hear the complete opposite.”

With seven times MotoGP champion Rossi still unable to adapt either his style to the bike or vice versa, his struggles are set to continue with only wet weather offering an opportunity to race at the front.

It is of little concern to Stoner, with the Australian continuing to say that, “it’s encouraging to see Ducati getting good results, especially with Nicky.”

When the conversation turned to Rossi’s prospects it was clear that Stoner felt that the Italian needs to do more if he is to return to the front of the field.

“You can be a certain amount of time off, for a certain time, but not this much,” said the 26 year old. “Nicky is doing a great job with it at the moment and every test he’s been to he’s been doing a good job, so I don’t think they’re too far off the pace.

Stoner also said that, “last year I don’t think there was too many problems. They started out the season more competitive. It’s really complicated to understand. We can see it’s not completely the bike because Nicky is getting good results and he is more and more happy with it.”

Stoner and Rossi famously clashed at Jerez last year, when Rossi fell and took down the Australian in the wet race.

The asphalt was wet enough in the second session to permit the use of rain tyres, and both Ducati Team riders were fast. The Italian was at the top of the time chart for some time before eventually finishing with the second-best time in FP2, behind Dani Pedrosa. His teammate finished the session a respectable fifth. In the combined times for the two sessions, Rossi and Hayden were third and sixth respectively, despite having sat out the morning.

Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) 3rd (1:51.440)
“We go pretty well in the wet. We’re happy to be second this afternoon because it confirms that the GP12 has the same good feeling in the wet that last year’s bike did, and that’s important. I felt good immediately today. We worked on the setting a bit but because we had already started with a good feeling, I was able to immediately ride at the limit and do some good times. Now we have to wait to see what the weather does tomorrow, and especially on Sunday.”

Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) 6th (1:52.254)
“It’s a shame about the weather. This morning it wasn’t really wet and wasn’t really dry. If we had unlimited rain tyres, I probably would have gone out and had a look, but with rain forecast for the whole weekend, I didn’t want to waste any. We did some laps in the afternoon and checked a couple things. It was hard to say if we made any improvements because the track dried out at the end and was almost ready for slicks. The bike felt decent in the wet, especially the geometry and turning, but it lacked some grip on the edge, which is where we’ll focus tomorrow.”

The Italian will race with the usual #46 on his 458 Italia for the Kessel Racing team in the VR46-Monster colours. He will be partnered by friend Alessio Salucci in the Pro-Am Cup class.

“We really decided on the last minute to participate in the Blancpain Endurance Series event in Monza and to race in partnership with my friend Uccio is a very big pleasure,” said the Ducati MotoGP rider.

Stephane Ratel, promoter of the Blancpain Endurance Series, is delighted to have secured Rossi’s participation.

“For many years I have been saying that from all of the world-class drivers and riders, the one I would most like to welcome in GT racing is Valentino Rossi,” Ratel said.

“He is the ultimate motorsport hero and we must hope he will consider joining our championships on a more regular manner at some point in his outstanding career.

“At Monza, in a Ferrari, we could not have expected a better combination to make the event a success. Welcome Valentino.”

The first round of the 2012 season will feature an entry list of 60 sportscars from 11 brands – Audi, Aston Martin, BMW, Dodge, Ferrari, Jaguar, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes, Nissan and Porsche.

Rossi will be up against a host of famous names including Le Mans 24 Hour winner David Brabham, former F1 stars Mark Blundell and Karl Wendlinger along with several sportscar and endurance specialists.

The event programme includes Pre-Qualifying on Friday, Qualifying on Saturday ahead of the three-hour Race starting at 14:15 local time on Sunday.

Rossi, who has tested Ferrari F1 cars and raced in the WRC, is taking part in the opening event of the 2012 MotoGP season at Qatar this weekend.