Newcomer to the Honda work team Casey Stoner, showed once again that he will be one of the main contenders for the upcoming 2011 MotoGP season after finishing on top during opening day of testing at Sepang on Tuesday.

The former motoGP champion outpaced his team-mate Dani Pedrosa by nearly four tenths of a second; the Spaniard clearly feeling stronger every day following his shoulder injury.

Current MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo was third quickest on the Yamaha, with Colin Edwards on the Tech 3 bike and Andrea Dovizioso on the third works Honda completing the top five.

Lorenzo's team-mate Ben Spies was sixth fastest, while Valentino Rossi finished down in ninth, but quickest of the Ducati riders.

MotoGP Sepang Test Finals - Tuesday
Pos Rider Team/Bike Time Gap
1. Casey Stoner Honda 2m00.987s
2. Dani Pedrosa Honda 2m01.360s + 0.373s
3. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 2m01.468s + 0.481s
4. Colin Edwards Tech 3 Yamaha 2m01.654s + 0.667s
5. Andrea Dovizioso Honda 2m01.747s + 0.760s
6. Ben Spies Yamaha 2m01.808s + 0.821s
7. Hiroshi Aoyama Gresini Honda 2m01.939s + 0.952s
8. Marco Simoncelli Gresini Honda 2m01.996s + 1.009s
9. Valentino Rossi Ducati 2m01.999s + 1.012s
10. Alvaro Bautista Suzuki 2m02.224s + 1.237s
11. Etc…