Qualifying at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca was halted just over 10 minutes into the 60-minute period for a crash involving Gresini Honda’s Marco Melandri. Melandri had just turned the second-fastest time of the short-lived session when he clipped his right arm against the leg of a slowing Kurtis Roberts between Turns Two and Three. Melandri was knocked off line and veered off track at high speed. The Italian rider tried to slow in the dirt run-off area but apparently realized he was running out of room and bailed off the right side of his RC212V. Melandri went for a violent tumble, did not get up and the session was stopped so that medical crews could attend to him and so track workers could replace the sections of inflatable safety barrier his bike impacted. Melandri was seen being loaded into an ambulance while sitting up on a stretcher. Melandri finished third in last year’s U.S. Grand Prix and had been one of the quickest riders so far this weekend at Laguna Seca. Roadracingworld.com will update Melandri’s medical condition as soon as details become available. Update: Moments after his crash, Melandri was seen limping heavily on his left leg while his crew were busy preparing his second bike. The MotoGP qualifying order at the time of the red flag: 1. Stoner 2. Melandri 3. Edwards 4. Hopkins 5. Barros 6. Checa 7. Nicky Hayden 8. Tamada 9. Pedrosa 10. Roger Hayden 11. Rossi 12. West 13. Davies 14. Guintoli 15. Vermeulen 16. Roberts 17. Nakano 18. Duhamel 19. Capirossi 20. De Puniet