Marlboro Ducati's Casey Stoner once again showed that he was back to the top of his form as he continued to dominate both free practices at Essen for next week-end's MotoGP Dutch Grand Prix.

Although the Australian was in the front of all his colleagues, both Repsol Hondas, driven by Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa, were not too far behind in 2nd and 3rd place.

In the second session, Stoner even managed to improve his morning's time to lead the 60 minutes session. This time, series leader Valentino Rossi was second, still 0.8 seconds behind while Colin Edwards took his Tech 3 Yamaha to third place.

Bad news for Loris Capirossi who endured yet more bad fortune as he fell at Ramschoek, damaging his right forearm and throwing his continued participation this weekend into doubt.

Morning practice

Pos Rider Team Time Laps
1. Casey Stoner Ducati Marlboro Team 1:36.569 24
2. Nicky Hayden Repsol Honda Team 1:37.186 + 0.617 26
3. Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 1:37.398 + 0.829 25
4. Colin Edwards Tech 3 Yamaha 1:37.437 + 0.868 28
5. Alex De Angelis San Carlo Honda Gresini 1:37.470 + 0.901 27
6. Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 1:37.480 + 0.911 27
7. Andrea Dovizioso JiR Team Scot MotoGP 1:37.507 + 0.938 27
8. John Hopkins Kawasaki Racing Team 1:37.652 + 1.083 25
9. Shinya Nakano San Carlo Honda Gresini 1:37.821 + 1.252 27
10. Randy De Puniet LCR Honda MotoGP 1:37.951 + 1.382 24
11. Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team 1:37.987 + 1.418 28
12. Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1:38.082 + 1.513 27
13. James Toseland Tech 3 Yamaha 1:38.198 + 1.629 26
14. Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1:38.341 + 1.772 25
15. Sylvain Guintoli Alice Team 1:38.435 + 1.866 27
16. Anthony West Kawasaki Racing Team 1:38.768 + 2.199 28
17. Marco Melandri Ducati Marlboro Team 1:39.020 + 2.451 22
18. Toni Elias Alice Team 1:39.805 + 3.236 24

Afternoon practice

Pos Rider Team Time Laps
1. Casey Stoner Ducati Marlboro Team 1:36.087 27
2. Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 1:36.819 + 0.732 29
3. Colin Edwards Tech 3 Yamaha 1:36.931 + 0.844 24
4. Nicky Hayden Repsol Honda Team 1:37.012 + 0.925 29
5. Alex De Angelis San Carlo Honda Gresini 1:37.126 + 1.039 29
6. Shinya Nakano San Carlo Honda Gresini 1:37.137 + 1.050 28
7. Randy De Puniet LCR Honda MotoGP 1:37.187 + 1.100 25
8. John Hopkins Kawasaki Racing Team 1:37.251 + 1.164 26
9. Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 1:37.280 + 1.193 26
10. Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1:37.282 + 1.195 29
11. Andrea Dovizioso JiR Team Scot MotoGP 1:37.326 + 1.239 21
12. Sylvain Guintoli Alice Team 1:37.357 + 1.270 25
13. James Toseland Tech 3 Yamaha 1:37.838 + 1.751 19
14. Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team 1:37.960 + 1.873 26
15. Anthony West Kawasaki Racing Team 1:38.413 + 2.326 28
16. Toni Elias Alice Team 1:38.656 + 2.569 22
17. Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1:38.667 + 2.580 6
18. Marco Melandri Ducati Marlboro Team 1:39.214 + 3.127 21