The Ducati Marlboro star was a full 0.828secs clear of nearest rival Nicky Hayden by the end of the afternoon - and claims the new set-up found could well have been good enough to topple Dani Pedrosa in Sunday's season ending Valencian Grand Prix.

"We didn't change so much from the race, we just worked on a new front fork to get a bit more feeling, something we had learned from the race. We were running exactly the same race tyres as Sunday and everything seemed to be working very well," confirmed Casey. "We had a very good feeling and were able to do some very fast lap times - if we had had these settings at the weekend I believe we could have fought for the win. Anyway, we're looking towards next year now, so it's very important to try all these things and to get everything ready for the future."

Stoner had a new partner on the other side of the Ducati pits, with former Honda Gresini rider Marco Melandri making his Desmosedici debut. The Italian, who has replaced countryman Loris Capirossi, set the 12th fastest lap time, just over two seconds behind Stoner.

"I'm very pleased with my first day at Ducati," declared Melandri after his 44 laps. "I've had my first ride on the bike with the aim of understanding it as much as possible. The thing that has impressed me most is the way the team works. I'm not used to so many people asking so many questions and listening to me every time I ride into the pit. It has been a new and very pleasant experience, they make me feel appreciated and I'm very happy to be here. We have a lot of work to do but I'm very motivated and ready to do what is necessary to exploit this bike's great potential. I'm really looking forward to getting back onboard tomorrow."