Peugeot continued to fly out front as the Le Mans 24 Hours entered the witching hour, holding a steady advantage over the best of the Audis which provides its closest opposition.
Stuart Moseley showed just why the Barazi-Epsilon team had taken a punt on his abilities for the forthcoming Le Mans 24 Hours by setting the team's fastest time in pre-race testing after just four dry laps in the Zytek 07S.
With veteran Jamie Campbell-Walter sidelined by the injury he sustained in practice for Monza's Le Mans Series round, the Creation-AIM team has opted for proven experience in selecting its drivers to partner regular pilot Stuart Hall at Le Mans.
The Repsol Honda star began the event on pole position and holding the world championship lead, but was overtaken by Casey Stoner into turn one and couldn't get around the Ducati rider.
Fractures to both ankles at the previous Shanghai round have left Lorenzo needing a wheelchair or crutches when off the bike, and the Estoril winner raised serious doubts about his ability to race at Le Mans when he fell twice in practice - in addition to several other off-track moments.
Most of the field chose intermediate tyres for the wet but drying conditions, under which Lotus Aprilia's pole sitter Debon emerged into an early lead from KTM's Hiroshi Aoyama.
And superstitious '12+1' world champion Nieto - six times ruler of the 50cc class in addition to seven 125cc titles - played a central part in Rossi's post-race celebrations.
Both Marco Melandri and Ducati Marlboro team-mate Casey Stoner chose to pit for their wet weather bikes, after suffering mechanical problems with their number one machines.
Embassy Racing has announced its driver line-up for the 2008 Le Mans 24 Hours, with Warren Hughes, Jonny Kane and Joey Foster set to share driving duties in the lone WF01 entered into the race.
The young Frenchman stunned the Le Mans fans by briefly leading his wet home race, as a MotoGP rookie, whilst riding for Tech 3 Yamaha last season - but has endured a tough time in his first three races as a Ducati rider, with a best finish of 14th...
By Andrew Cotton. Johnny Herbert emerged from the eight hours of qualifying for this year's Le Mans 24-hours with his first ever pole position in the French endurance classic.
RML have today [Friday] announced that Nathan Kinch will join the outfit for this year's Le Mans 24 Hours, linking up with Mike Newton and Thomas Erdos in the team's Lola MG Prototype. Kinch is familiar with Le Mans having tested and qualified for the race in 2003 with Lister Racing.