Valentino Rossi expressed more concerns about his damaged right shoulder in Le Mans today, despite the Italian topping the timesheets in free practice. The reigning world champion could not have timed his attack more perfectly with the 31-year-old snatching top spot in the dying seconds. A best lap of 1.34.402 denied Ducati rival Casey Stoner the quickest time in hot conditions that saw temperatures hit 28 degrees at the French circuit.

Rossi, who goes into Sunday’s 28-lap race trailing Fiat Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo by four-points, said: “It was a very good practice and to be first is always a special taste. To make the best lap on the last lap is also more of a good taste even if it is just Friday. I’m happy because we continued with the modifications from the Monday test in Jerez and that provides us with good rear grip. This new setting could be important also for the future. We are competitive from the beginning and that is so important, but unfortunately I have a lot of pain in my shoulder still. In two or three braking points I have a lot of pain. I expected to be 100% but I’m still suffering a little bit. I’m in a better condition than Jerez but in the hard braking I suffer. We have to wait but I hope my shoulder is coming better tomorrow and Sunday. In Jerez it got better but maybe that was adrenaline.”

The nine-times world champion said he was surprised that his right shoulder was still causing him so much pain. He stretched ligaments when he crashed a motocross bike while training in Italy last month. Explaining the modifications made at the Jerez test to his factory YZR-M1, Rossi added: “We modified the rear suspension setting to create more stiffness and stability and the bike looks good. I followed a Honda and in this track we don’t suffer a lot in the straight.”

Italian Marco Melandri has made a shock switch to Showa suspension on the first day of the French GP at Le Mans today. The former world 250GP champion ended opening practice in 10th place on the San Carlo Gresini Honda RC212V that didn’t feature Ohlins suspension. Melandri clocked a best time of 1.35.643 but made a shock switch back to Showa to try and solve some of the handling issues that have plagued him since he returned to Honda.

During winter testing, all of Honda’s six riders opted to run Ohlins suspension. But Melandri and factory rider Dani have found the switch difficult to cope with and have struggled with a range of handling issues. It was strange to see Melandri in such trouble as he had previous Ohlins experience with Ducati and Hayate. Pedrosa though had spent his entire career riding with the Japanese manufactured Showa forks and rear shock.

When asked about Melandri’s switch in Le Mans today, Spaniard Pedrosa denied he had made a request to HRC to revert back to Showa. And he said such a change was not an option given Honda’s contract with Ohlins. HRC first decided to switch its factory RC212Vs to Ohlins in Brno last August, but unlike teammate Andrea Dovizioso, Pedrosa ended 2009 using Showa.

Was it possible for Pedrosa to switch?

"Impossible,” he said.

Did he understand why Melandri had taken the decision to move back to Showa?

Pedrosa, who finished today’s practice in fifth position with a best time of 1.34.989, added: “I also had a big problem in the winter but now it is coming better and we are reaching the point where we need to be. It has been a long time since I used Showa, so I wouldn't change back. We've started racing so now it is not a good idea to change."

Having failed to claim a podium finish in the opening two races of the 2010 season, Casey Stoner is confident he can mount a serious rostrum threat in this weekend’s French GP at Le Mans. The Australian was denied top spot in today’s opening free practice by a last lap attack from Valentino Rossi. But the factory Ducati rider was still satisfied with his performance as a lap of 1.34.508 was only 0.106s adrift of the Italian Rossi at the end of a relatively uneventful session. Stoner has been troubled by front-end stability issues in Qatar and Jerez but after this afternoon’s session he said: "I'm more comfortable than normal here. We've always started with a good setting here and improved it but today it was the opposite although step-by-step we improved as the session went on and I got comfortable. But we are still a long way from where we need to be.”

The 24-year-old ran a new triple clamp on his GP10 machine today but said it was not designed to help with the front-end issues that saw him crash out in Qatar and finish in a lowly fifth in Jerez.

“We've tried front and rear balance to get the bike better on braking but we haven't had to change anything to get the front feeling better here. Maybe the different tire and weather has made it feel better. Today we changed the chassis to make things feel better but for sure compared to the past this (Big Bang) engine feels better. I exit the final corner more smooth and consistent with a lot less wheelie and it feels a lot more progressive rather than aggressive coming out of the corners. The feeling is very nice and I have a lot more confidence and understanding,” said Stoner, who has been strongly linked with a switch to Repsol Honda in 2011.

Stoner was losing crucial tenths in the final section of the track and added: “My ideal time isn't too far off the others but I'm always a bit slower in the corner after the back straight chicane. That next right-hander I struggle to get the bike turned so once we get that better I'll be faster through there. I used the same tires from Lap 1 to the end and I know Valentino changed to new tires so this is probably a big reason." 

Nicky Hayden went some way to burying his Le Mans jinx this afternoon when the 2006 world champion ended the first free practice session in seventh place. The Kentucky rider has never scored a front-row start or a podium finish at the legendary circuit, but rear ride height changes today helped him finish under a second off the pace of Fiat Yamaha’s Rossi.
 
Hayden posted a best time of 1.35.223 to finish just 0.134s away from the top six and 0.068s clear of fellow American Ben Spies. Hayden said a mid-session change to his factory Ducati GP10 had helped transform his fortunes after he’d languished outside of the top ten for much of the opening session.

The former Repsol Honda rider said: “About midway through the session I wasn’t really improving and I started struggling but the last run the team made a couple of little changes and immediately I was able to drop half-a-second. I’m quite positive and hopefully we can take another big step for tomorrow. I was trying to get some more weight pitch, especially on the braking and we also needed to make the change of direction quicker and get more traction. It seems like the bike wasn’t getting enough weight on the front under braking and acceleration it wasn’t transferring enough to get a good bite. We raised the rear but tomorrow we’ll raise the front too and change springs to compensate.”

Hayden said the progress was testament to the improvements made in the way he now works and communicates with his Ducati crew. Hayden initially struggled with Ducati in 2009 before the Bologna factory hired Sete Gibernau’s former crew chief Juan Martinez to step in as his lead engineer.

Hayden added: “The one thing I’m really positive about is the way we were able to make progress during the session. With a little bit of information those guys were able to take that and do their job to help me get around the track easier. We did the same thing in Jerez on Friday and that’s really important. You need the right guys that can take the information you give them and check that data and find a direction. Crucially we won’t have to wait until tonight and try it in the morning. Those guys at the front don’t wait. In the winter we were able to develop a lot better chemistry and now it is very encouraging for me.” 

Ben Spies wasted no time in mastering the iconic Le Mans circuit after he ended opening practice in an encouraging eighth place. The Texan clocked a best time of 1.35.291 to finish just 0.889s slower than Rossi despite only having an hour on track at the French venue, home of Spies’ Monster Yamaha Tech 3 squad.

Spies missed the top six by just over 0.2s as he demonstrated again what a fast learner he is, quickly getting to grips with a circuit he’d only ever seen on TV. Spies, who was forced to retire from the last round in Jerez after a mysterious front tire issue, said: “It was a pretty good session. Early on the main focus is just to learn the track and I felt good pretty much all over the track apart from a couple of points that I figured out right at the end. The track doesn’t have anything super tricky to learn but I’ve still got to get my bearings at Turn 1 a little bit, but for an hour I got a lot accomplished. We can make some changes and I’m sure we can find a bit of time in the bike. The front-end can be dialed in a little bit better but because I don’t really have the experience at this track, it is hard to know what the bike is capable of. But I feel like there’s a couple of tenths in the bike and me. I’m under a second off the best time and in the top ten and that is my target right now. I don’t believe in the next session I’ll be running at the front, but I can certainly cut the gap and move up a bit more.”