Dani Pedrosa sets pace at Sepang practice

Dani Pedrosa set the fastest time in practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix as he boosted his hopes of cutting into Jorge Lorenzo's MotoGP World Championship lead.

Ben Spies was sixth on the second factory Yamaha, ahead of Stefan Bradl and Nicky Hayden, who was the quickest of the Ducatis. Alvaro Bautista was ninth for Gresini Honda as the team return to the circuit where their rider Marco Simoncelli was killed in a horrific crash last year. Valentino Rossi, the 2010 winner in Sepang, finished 11th quickest as his spell with Ducati heads for its conclusion.