Rossi fastest in free practice for Czech Moto

Rossi's compatriot Danilo Petrucci finished second, followed by Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo.

Valentino Rossi rounds the bend during free Practice at the Brno Circuit in Czech Republic.

Italian ace Valentino Rossi underlined his intentions for the Czech leg of the Moto GP by setting the fastest time in Saturday's three practice sessions.

Rossi, a seven-time world champion in motorcycing's top category, is currently second in the world championship standings for Yamaha and has claimed no less than five victories on the Brno circuit.

Stopping the clock at 1min 55.175sec, Rossi finished 0.086sec ahead of compatriot Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Pramac), with Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati) third at 0.151.

Spain's four-time world champion Marc Marquez (Honda), the current championship leader with a 46-point advantage on Rossi, set the fourth-fastest time, at 0.283 behind the Italian.

Another Spaniard, Dani Pedrosa (Honda), was sixth-fastest at 0.342.