FIM MotoGP World Championship Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana August 18, 2012 MotoGP Qualifying Results (all on Bridgestone tires): 1. Dani Pedrosa, Spain (HONDA), 1:38.813 (new Circuit Best Record) 2. Jorge Lorenzo, Spain (YAMAHA), 1:38.913 3. Andrea Dovizioso, Italy (YAMAHA), 1:39.235 4. Ben Spies, USA (YAMAHA), 1:39.279, crash 5. Stefan Bradl, Germany (HONDA), 1:39.437 6. Casey Stoner, Australia (HONDA), 1:39.465, crash 7. Cal Crutchlow, UK (YAMAHA), 1:39.549 8. Nicky Hayden, USA (DUCATI), 1:39.748, crash 9. Alvaro Bautista, Spain (HONDA), 1:40.072 10. Randy De Puniet, France (Aprilia-ART), 1:40.437 11. Valentino Rossi, Italy (DUCATI), 1:40.763 12. Aleix Espargaro, Spain (Aprilia-ART), 1:40.803 13. Yonny Hernandez, Colombia (Kawasaki-BQR-FTR), 1:41.197 14. Karel Abraham, Czech Republic (DUCATI), 1:41.295 15. Mattia Pasini, Italy (Aprilia-Speed Master/ART), 1:41.370 16. Michele Pirro, Italy (Honda-FTR), 1:41.449 17. Toni Elias, Spain (DUCATI), 1:41.866 18. James Ellison, UK (Aprilia-PBM/ART), 1:41.978 19. Danilo Petrucci, Italy (Aprilia-IODA), 1:42.553 20. Colin Edwards, USA (BMW-SUTER), 1:42.599 21. Ivan Silva, Spain (Kawasaki-BQR/FTR), 1:42.768 22. Steve Rapp, USA (Kawasaki-Attack Performance Racing APR), 1:43.673 23. Aaron Yates, USA (Suzuki – BCL GPTech), 1:44.312 107% of Fast Time = 1:45.729 More, from a press release issued by Speed Master: FIFTEENTH TIME IN THE QUALIFYING SESSION AT INDIANAPOLIS FOR MATTIA PASINI The third free practice session and the qualifying session for the MotoGP class were held today, at the circuit of Indianapolis. In the practice of the morning, Pasini and his crew improved the setting of the ART machine, focusing on some details and working on the pace in view of the race. The qualifying session was important to determine the choice of the tyres for tomorrow and set better lap times thorughout the time at disposal. The Italian ended in fifteenth position, and tomorrow he’ll start from the fifth row. Mattia Pasini #54 – 15th with 1’41.370 “I’m quite happy with how things went today. We could have done a little bit better, but we didn’t manage to take advantage of the new tyre as we had planned because of the red flag, as the session was stopped. We worked well and we are quite fast, tomorrow we are going to put in our best effort to fight in the race with the other ART machines and to achieve a good result in this GP.” More, from a press release issued by Cardion AB Motoracing: Fifth row for Karel Abraham after crazy qualifying practice at Indy Karel Abraham finished fourteenth in crazy quaylifing practice to Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Czech MotoGP rider reached his maximum 1:41,295 in last lap with 2,482 second gap to the fastest Dani Pedrosa. Karel Abraham “Lot of red flags, lot of brutal crashes. This was really tough qualifying practice. The track is better than last year, but it still slips a lot. I don´t remember so much highsides during one session. Unfortunately the last red flag brought lot of complications to us. It became in the moment when we had started to push hard. In the last eight minutes we were able to get faster, but only in last two laps. And it wasn´t enough. Fifth row is not good, of course. But the most important thing is to adapt to the specific condition of Indy track.” Marco Grana, Cardion AB Motoracing chief mechanic “We tried lot of options to improve grip of the bike, but the track is very slippery. There were three hard crashes during the qualifying practice. We have the same problems as anyone other. The track has no grip and it´s very hard to find ideal setup. The positive thing is that we are going faster and faster each session and we haven´t seen problems with tyres like last year. Karel feel good on the bike, but the feeling is not everything. We will try some other options tomorrow, but it´s obvious that it will be really difficult race.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha MotoGP Team: Lorenzo Flies to Indianapolis Front Row Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo gave it everything this afternoon in an incident packed qualifying session to take second on the grid for tomorrow’s Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Having struggled to find pace all weekend the team made a big step for qualifying, dramatically improving his speed and resulting in a qualifying time just 0.1 seconds from pole. Team mate Ben Spies continued to show the impressive pace he’s displayed all weekend for qualifying. The Texan looked on target for a record breaking pole lap nearly half a second clear until a big high side between T13 and T14. The difficult track conditions at that corner also claimed Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden with serious crashes. Spies was able to rejoin for the last eight minutes of qualifying but was unable to improve on his time so will start from fourth on the grid tomorrow with a time 0.4 seconds from pole. Jorge Lorenzo Position : 2nd Time: 1’38.913 Laps: 29 “A really tough weekend so far, I really thought I wouldn’t be able to deliver but finally we modified the bike a lot with some weight on the rear to enter the corners with more confidence. I felt great as a result, could lean a lot and open the throttle quickly so I got second and was close to Dani. We don’t have a bad pace but not as good as Dani yet, we need to improve a little in the morning.” Ben Spies Position : 4th Time: 1’39.279 Laps: 26 “My shoulder is really sore after that crash, maybe some torn ligaments so it’s pretty painful. I’m getting some treatment and we’ll see how it is tomorrow. It’s frustrating as we’ve been going really well all weekend and I’ve been feeling really confident with the bike, I think we could have been on pole. The track surface is pretty tricky at the end there, it seems to have caught a few people today.” Wilco Zeelenberg Team Manager “A very positive qualifying, Jorge found a way to ride the infield better to go with the bike improvements, over a second quicker than this morning. We’re happy with the result and the consistency which is important for tomorrow’s race so let’s see what happens.” Massimo Meregalli Team Director “Everything was perfect for qualifying apart from the last 500 metres of Ben’s great lap. His rhythm is very good which is important. Unfortunately due to the crash Ben is very sore now and we hope he will be ok to ride tomorrow. Jorge did a great job, they solved the problems and he found his speed so it will be an interesting race tomorrow. It’s going to be quite hot so I think the physical condition will make the difference.” More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Front row for Dovizioso in dramatic Indianapolis qualifying A Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider will start from the front row of the grid for the fifth time this season after Andrea Dovizioso set the third fastest time in an incident-packed MotoGP qualifying session at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway today. In a session twice red flagged after reigning World Champion Casey Stoner and home crowd favourite Nicky Hayden fell heavily, Dovizioso produced a confident display to secure only his second front row start of the 2012 campaign. Qualifying took place in gloriously sunny conditions with temperatures reaching close to 25 degrees and Dovizioso started the session confident he could challenge for a top three grid position. The Italian rider had worked closely with his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 crew to improve grip throughout the weekend and he ended practice this morning in a morale-boosting fifth place after clocking a best time of 1.40.018. Dovizioso, who is bidding for a fifth rostrum of the season in tomorrow’s 28-lap race, was an impressive 0.8s faster in qualifying and his best lap of 1.39.235 clinched his first front row start since the French Grand Prix at Le Mans. British rider Cal Crutchlow will head the third row of the grid after he qualified in seventh pos ition. A small crash this morning left the 26-year-old in ninth position at the end of practice but he too was able to demonstrate a significantly faster pace in qualifying to lap almost a second quicker. Crutchlow set a best time of 1.39.549 and he was only 0.112s away from the top five and he is optimistic that he will be in the mix for another strong finish in tomorrow’s race. Andrea Dovizioso 3rd 1.39.235 30 laps: “Honestly I didn’t really expect to be on the front row today because Ben and Casey have both been very fast all weekend and I knew it was going to be difficult to finish in front of them. I am sorry for what happened to them but I am really happy to be on the front row because that is always important. It is even more at this track beca use the first section is very tight and it will be important to try and break with the leading group. I’m sure I could have gone a little bit faster but I was just on a new tyre when Nicky crashed and the red flags came out again. I am looking forward to the race now because we have improved the bike in each session and made some really positive progress. I am confident that we can make another step forward for tomorrow but the race is going to be very hard. This track is very slippery and you really have to pay attention and at the end of the race there will be a lot of sliding. I am sure I can fight close to the front to put myself in contention for a strong result.” Cal Crutchlow 7th 1.39.549: “I’m reasonably happy to be starting from seventh on the grid but obviously it would have been good to be further up the grid. The first couple of corners here are really tight, so you have to be pretty careful to avoid any trouble. If I can get away with those guys at the front I can do a good job but it is going to be a tough battle. There is a big group of guys close together, so there could be some close action out there tomorrow. For qualifying we made some good steps with the set-up of the bike but it was mayhem out there to try and go fast and get in a clean lap. Everybody was holding each other up and you’d waste a lot of time just cruising around trying to get space. That’s why I’m seventh but I felt I could have done a better job but I’ve got no excuses. I’ve got to get a good start and try and get away with the leading group.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Pedrosa sets new record on way to Indy pole position Round 11: Indianapolis Grand Prix Qualifying Practice Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Saturday 18 August 2012 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium, Extra-hard. Rear: Medium, Hard (Asymmetric) Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Hard (Main), Soft (Alternative) Weather: FP1 – Dry. Ambient 19-22°C; Track 29-34°C (Bridgestone measurement) FP2 – Dry. Ambient 25-27°C; Track 49-51°C (Bridgestone measurement) Dani Pedrosa was again the quickest rider at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Repsol Honda setting a new pole position record to take the top slot on the grid for tomorrow’s Indianapolis Grand Prix. Pedrosa set a lap time of time of 1’38.813 on his twenty-fifth lap of the session to finish 0.100 seconds ahead of Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo who found some pace after a difficult FP3 session where he was only seventh fastest. Completing the front row was Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Andrea Dovizioso who claimed his first front-row start for his new team. Power Electronics Aspar’s Randy de Puniet was top CRT rider in qualifying, the Frenchman setting an impressive time of 1’40.437 to qualify tenth on the grid for tomorrow’s race and just 1.6 seconds off the pole position time. With track temperatures heading towards 50°C for the start of qualifying, most riders selected the harder option slicks front and rear for the first half of the qualifying session, before the field switched to the softer rear slicks when trying to set a quick time towards the end of the session. With similar track temperatures expected for tomorrow’s race, tyre choice could trend towards the harder compound options front and rear. The lights will go out for tomorrow’s race at 14:00 local time (GMT -4), though before that the riders will take to the track for the 20 minute Warm Up session that starts at 9:40. Masao Azuma Chief Engineer, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department “We had warmer weather today which pushed track temperatures past 50°C in qualifying and so teams used the first half of the session to do race simulations as we can expect similar temperatures tomorrow. Based on feedback from today’s sessions, at this stage we expect most riders, particularly those on works bikes, to select the harder slick tyres front and rear for the race, though some CRT riders could still opt for the softer rear option. Tyre temperatures recorded during the race simulations were well within operating limits, so our special construction rear slicks are coping well with the demands of this circuit.” More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: BRADL PLACES HIS RCV ON THE FIFTH SPOT AHEAD THE INDIANAPOLIS GP Indianapolis, 18 August: in a thrilling Red Bull Grand Prix qualifying session marked with several heavy crashes, LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl was again a strong performer on soft rubber managing to put his bike fifth on the grid at the iconic Indianapolis circuit. After yesterday’s first outing the German was looking for improvements ahead today’s qualifying and he took full advantage of the improved track conditions this morning (4th overall), after grip levels had improved dramatically. Bradl did incredibly well pushing hard in the 60-minute qualifying session setting a fastest lap time of 1’39.437 which secured him a second row start ahead tomorrow’s 28-lap race. Bradl: “I am very pleased with the adjustments we made on the bike and P5 is a good place for us. Basically we are quite fast on both tyres: we had a good pace on hard tyre and I was expecting a bit more from the soft one but it’s okay anyway. I think we have a good race pace and a good overall package because today I felt very comfortable on the bike. The qualifying session was a bit weird with a lot of crashes: I found it a bit dangerous because out of the ideal line the surface was very slippery. The grip surely improved from yesterday but the track condition is not perfect”. More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: Dani on pole in Indy with Casey receiving medical check up after big crash In a dramatic qualifying for the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix, Dani Pedrosa took pole position after his team mate Casey Stoner suffered a nasty crash on his fourth lap, in the first 10 minutes of the session. Casey had a heavy highside in turn 13 and was immediately taken to the circuit medical center. The first X-Rays ruled out any serious injury, suggesting torn ligaments in the right ankle. Casey was taken to the local Methodist Hospital for further checks and scans. The Repsol Honda team will release a statement later today, as soon as more information is known. With a final flying lap of 1’38.813, Dani set a new lap record on his way to his second pole position at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and his third of the 2012 season. Casey, who was fastest in the last free practice this morning, finally finished in sixth position with 1’39.465. DANI PEDROSA 1st. 1’38.813 “It was a tricky session because the asphalt was very slippery and we saw many nasty crashes already in Moto3 and then in MotoGP. It felt that you could control the slide, but suddenly many riders found themselves on the floor. It was crucial to keep the concentration on our riding and not make any mistake and achieve the lap time. To be in pole position is great at a track where the first sector is very tight and it’s always good to have a clean start. We did a very good job today, testing the tyres, working on the bike and being ready for the hot laps. I feel we have a good setting for tomorrow. We are confident for the race, but other riders look strong as well. Lorenzo picked up his pace, Spies is strong here and I hope Casey has nothing serious and can be on the grid. We will need to fight at the maximum tomorrow”. More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Pedrosa on pole for Indianapolis with Stoner a doubt after crash In a dramatic Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix qualifying session that was marred with heavy crashes, it was Repsol Honda Team’s Dani Pedrosa who grabbed pole position in front of Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso. Pedrosa’s teammate Casey Stoner remains a doubt for tomorrow’s race, while Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden has been ruled out after suffering concussion. Pedrosa put in a new fastest ever lap in the high 1.38s, relegating Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo into second on the grid, after he had struggled with his bike in the preceding sessions. Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Andrea Dovizioso completes the front row, having improved steadily all weekend on his satellite machine. Heading up the second row in fourth is Lorenzo’s teammate Ben Spies, who did incredibly well to walk away from a big crash whilst pushing hard on a hot lap. LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl will be very pleased with his day’s work, after the German rookie managed to put his bike fifth on the grid. Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner, who set the sixth fastest time, suffered a monstrous highside early in the session, causing the red flag to appear, which resulted in small marginal fractures in the ankle. He is undergoing further checks at the Indianapolis Methodist Hospital to confirm his injury and determine his race fitness for tomorrow. In seventh place on the grid, Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow was unable to match his teammate’s feat, but will no doubt be pleased with his session, after having suffered two crashes in previous outings. Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden was viciously thrown off his bike in the same bend as Stoner and Spies (Turn 13), in the latter part of the session, briefly rendering him unconscious. The red flag was once again shown while Hayden received medical attention. He was spared any serious injuries, though has been declared unfit to race and fractures to his 2-3 metacarpus. His time would have placed him eighth on the grid. This moved San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Álvaro Bautista into eighth, with Power Electronics Aspar’s Randy de Puniet putting in a terrific performance to place ninth on his CRT machine. Ducati’s Valentino Rossi could only manage 10th place, after suffering a scare in turn 13 with his bike, causing him to abort his fast lap. Attack Performance’s Steve Rapp and GPTech’s Aaron Yates, both CRT wildcards this weekend, managed to qualify for the race, in 22nd and 23rd place respectively. Many of the riders spoke out about the track surface after the qualifying session sighting safety concerns after the three heavy crashes. Pramac Racing Team’s Héctor Barberá, who has been replaced by Toni Elías after fracturing three vertebrae in his back, is currently on his way back to Barcelona for further medical assessments. Moto2™ Under sunny skies at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix it was Pons 40 HP Tuenti’s Pol Espargaró who stormed to pole position in front of Marc Márquez and Andrea Iannone in Moto2™ qualifying. Espargaró put in yet another record-breaking lap with a 1.42’602 to beat his compatriot Márquez on board the Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol Suter machine. The championship leader was pushing hard towards the end of the session to try and put his bike on pole, causing some near falls whilst dodging other lapping traffic. Speed Master’s Andrea Iannone looked to have no such troubles as he put his machine on the outside of the front row, improving drastically from the morning practice. Blusens Avintia’s Julián Simón made a rare appearance at the front and will undoubtedly be pleased with today’s efforts, as he looks to get back to fighting for a podium step. Technomag-CIP’s Dominique Aegerter was also on top form as he placed him machine in fifth, with Marc VDS Racing Team’s Scott Redding completing the second row. Redding, who had been quick all weekend, sighted a slipping clutch as one of the issues he was having during qualifying. Italtrans Racing Team’s Claudio Corti heads the third row, ahead of Redding’s teammate Mika Kallio and Interwetten-Paddock’s Tom Lüthi. Lüthi still looked to be struggling at the Indianapolis circuit, where he has failed to find his rhythm in any session so far. Mapfre Aspar Team Moto2’s Nico Terol however continued his resurgence in form as he put his Suter in the top ten. NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Alex de Angelis crashed his FTR early on, yet was able to re-join and finish the session in 16th. Moto3™ It was Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Sandro Cortese who was on top from during an eventful qualifying for the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix as he took a superb pole position ahead of Danny Kent and Maverick Viñales. The session got off to a bad start as Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3’s Héctor Faubel suffered a huge highside in the final turn, sending him summersaulting over the handlebars. Qualifying was red-flagged for approximately ten minutes while Faubel was taken to the medical centre, where he was cleared of any serious injury. He was however been taken to Indianapolis Methodist Hospital which revealed a belly trauma with abdominal free liquid. He will be kept there overnight and reassessed in the morning. Once proceedings got back under way it was Cortese who put in a top time of 1.48’545 to earn him a start from the front in tomorrow’s race. Lining up next to him in second is teammate Kent who will be frustrated that he was pipped to pole by a very small margin. Blusens Avintia’s Viñales completes the front row after being caught up in traffic on his final laps. The second row is headed by RW Racing GP’s Luis Salom, with fifth spot on the grid going to AirAsia-SIC-Ajo’s Zulfahmi Khairuddin. Sixth place is occupied by Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Alex Rins, who was unable to repeat his practice performance. JHK Laglisse’s Efrén Vázquez finished the qualifying session in seventh, after having to abort a fast lap in the final seconds. Next to him in eighth, Team Italia FMI’s Romano Fenati put in a solid showing, while completing the third row in ninth is Andalucia JHK Laglisse’s Alberto Moncayo. The session was marred with further accidents, as Caretta Technology’s Jack Miller suffered an unfortunate crash shortly after the restart, which saw his bike slide into and take out JHK Laglisse’s Adrián Martín. The Spaniard was able to re-join, yet Miller broke his left collarbone for the second time this season, having also broken the right side this year. With only ten minutes left, San Carlo Gresini Moto3’s Niccolò Antonelli added to the crash list with a tumble at turn 11, though was able to ride back to the pits. This was followed shortly by Mahindra Racing’s Danny Webb, who highsided his machine at turn four, sighting serious pain in his right arm and wrist. New addition to the Moto3 field, Ambrogio Next Racing’s Alex Márquez, suffered three crashes throughout the session, with the latter one, a big highside, bringing out the red flag with only 23 seconds left on the clock. Márquez also went to the medical centre sighting pain in his foot. More, from a press release issued by NGM Mobile Forward Racing: Complicated qualifying session for Edwards at Indy Yesterday’s good performance with the hard tire did not repeat itself today when the NGM-Mobile Forward-Racing Team and Colin Edwards were hard at work during the qualifying session. The American rider will start the race in the middle of the 7th row, a position that does not reflect the hard work done by the team during these last two days. Even thought the lap times are not excellent, the race pace with the hard tire could be good enough to be able to fight and gain some positions in the second and last American race in this 2012 season. Colin Edwards 20th (1´42.599) “Today wasn’t exactly what we wanted as far as position but from where we started this morning we actually made some improvements. We went faster, we went back to an old (beginning of the year) electronics setting and it felt a lot better. Chassis side we changed the link with the one we usually use in the rain. The track is very bumpy and we thought it would have been a good idea to try it, and it worked; it was kind of a surprise. I just feel a little more confident, just need to get a good start and get some more laps under us.” Sergio Verbena Crew Chief “We have had a very complicated weekend, towards the end of the qualifying session we found some interesting solutions in terms of the electronics. We know that our performance are not at the same level as the other CRTs, specially not the ARTs, so we have concentrated on the race setting that will probably include the hard tire for tomorrow’s race. We starting position is not ideal but we are hopeful for the race.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: MIXED DAY FOR HONDA RIDERS It was a day of mixed fortunes for the Honda team in MotoGP qualifying at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa earned his third pole position of the season with the fastest ever lap by a motorcycle at the famed 4.216Km Brickyard, while team-mate Casey Stoner ended up in the medical centre after a vicious high-side crash early in the twice red flag-interrupted one hour session, held on a warm, sunny day in Speedway, Indiana. The team-mates had dominated practice for the 11th round of the 2012 MotoGP World Championship. Stoner was fastest in Free Practices 1 and 3, with Pedrosa second in both sessions. Pedrosa was fastest in FP2-Stoner was second-and again in qualifying. Once Pedrosa took command of qualifying, just over 22 minutes into the session, he was never headed. Over the course of the final 38 minutes he strengthened his pole position three times, ending with a new fastest ever lap of 1m, 38.813s. Stoner held the circuit best lap of 1m, 38.850s from 2011. It did not hurt that he also clocked the fastest ever top speed by a motorcycle at IMS, 335.5Km/h Pedrosa’s MotoGP pole tally reached 22 all-time, two at IMS, and three this year; he was also on pole at Le Mans and Mugello. Stoner was one of three riders to fall victim to the same section of track, the double left turns 13-14. The reigning world champion was exiting turn 13 when the rear of Repsol Honda RC213V came around, caught traction, and spat him into the air. Stoner landed face down, first hitting his toes and knees. When he tried to stand up his knees buckled. He was transported to the infield care centre where it was initially determined he may have a torn ligament in his right ankle. With debris on the track, the session was red flagged. Stoner was fastest at the time of his crash, but fell to sixth overall. The team will make a decision later this evening on Stoner’s fitness to race on Sunday. Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP RC213V) had his second best qualifying performance of the season. The German MotoGP rookie qualified fifth fastest-he had been fourth in Assen-on his first visit to the Brickyard on a MotoGP machine. Bradl had shown promise in the cooler morning temperatures by finishing fourth fastest, then took advantage of the warmer track in the afternoon to up his pace on the softer option rear tyre. Alvaro Bautista (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC213V) qualified ninth fastest after his work programme was interrupted by the red flags. (In addition to the Stoner red flag, a second one came with only eight minutes remaining.) The Spaniard and his crew were trying to make the most of the hard rear tyre, the presumptive race rubber, but the interruptions made it difficult to get a gauge on their effectiveness. And when he fitted the softer option his lap times did not improve. San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Michele Pirro also could no make the most of the softer tyres. The Italian MotoGP rookie, attacking the Brickyard for the first time on the Honda-powered San Carlo Honda Gresini CRT machine, ended up setting his fastest time on well worn hard rear tyre. Pirro qualified 16th in the top half of the CRT pack. The Moto2 class had an extended summer break following the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello. The time off served Pol Espargaro (Pons 40 HP Tuenti Kalex) well, with the Spaniard taking his second pole in a row and third of the year after the four weekend respite. Espargaro finished the session with a new Moto2 circuit best lap of 1m, 42.602s, lowering the previous time of 1m, 44.038s set last year by title rival Marc Marquez (Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol Suter). In addition to poles here and in Italy, Espargaro earned his first pole at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, a race he won. Marquez had been the fastest rider until the 22-minute mark when Espargaro dropped him to second. Marquez spent the rest of the hour trying to regain his supremacy, only to fall short by .231s. Still, he hasnbeen on the front row for every race except Silverstone, where he qualified fifth. Marquez enters Sunday’s tenth round of the Moto2 World Championship 34 points ahead of Espargaro and Andrea Iannone, the Speed Master – Speed Up rider who qualified third. Iannone was an identical distance from Marquez that Marquez was from Espargaro, .231s. Iannone concentrated on his race set-up and testing tyre durability during much of qualifying. Maverick Vinales (Blusens Avintia FTR-Honda) qualified on a very tight front row and top 12 for Sunday’s Moto3 race. Vinales was third fastest behind KTM team-mates Sandro Cortese and Danny Kent, but less than a tenth of a second from pole. Vinales starts the second half of the season trailing Cortese by nine points (164-155) and after having ended the first half with a win from pole in the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello. Alex Rins (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Suter Honda) was sixth fastest and exactly half a second from the pole time. Just behind Rins came JHK Laglisse FTR-Honda rider Efren Vazquez. Vazquez was .529s off pole and one of 12 riders on the same second as the pole-sitter. MotoGP Rider Quotes: Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: Pole position 1m, 38.813s “It was a tricky session because the asphalt was very slippery and we saw many nasty crashes already in Moto3 and then in MotoGP. It felt that you could control the slide, but suddenly many riders found themselves on the floor. It was crucial to keep the concentration on our riding and not make any mistake and achieve the lap time. To be in pole position is great at a track where the first sector is very tight and it’s always good to have a clean start. We did a very good job today, testing the tyres, working on the bike and being ready for the hot laps. I feel we have a good setting for tomorrow. We are confident for the race, but other riders look strong as well. (Jorge) Lorenzo picked up his pace, (Ben) Spies is strong here and I hope Casey has nothing serious and can be on the grid. We will need to fight at the maximum tomorrow.” Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP: 5th 1m, 39.437s “I am very pleased with the adjustments we made on the bike and P5 is a good place for us. Basically we are quite fast on both tyres: we had a good pace on hard tyre and I was expecting a bit more from the soft one, but it’s okay anyway. I think we have a good race pace and a good overall package because today I felt very comfortable on the bike. The qualifying session was a bit weird with a lot of crashes. I found it a bit dangerous because out of the ideal line the surface was very slippery. The grip surely improved from yesterday but the track condition is perfect.” Alvaro Bautista, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 9th 1m, 40.072s “We worked hard today and took a step forward with the setting from yesterday although it is still not where we want it. In the afternoon we concentrated on getting some race data on the hard tyres and unfortunately the red flag interrupted us. Anyway, I was happy with our pace. On the soft tyre I actually had less grip and couldn’t improve my lap times or grid position, but I am confident for the race and with a good start I think I can be fighting for a top result.” Michele Pirro, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 16th 1m, 41.449s “Unfortunately I wasn’t able to make the most of the new tyres and so my best lap was on the hard option with ten laps on it. It’s a shame but the positive thing is that the race pace is close to the guys in front of me and if I get a good start we can be with them in the race.” Moto2 Rider Quotes: Pol Espargaro, Pons 40 HP Tuenti Kalex: Pole position, 1m, 42.602s “I am very happy with this third pole position of the season, achieved with an amazing time that I didn’t think I was going to make yesterday afternoon. The track is complicated and the asphalt is very special, but we have adapted to it and I managed to be the fastest. To be the first on the grid does not guarantee anything and I know that tomorrow will be a tough race. And not just Marc (Marquez), because surely (Andrea) Iannone, (Scott) Redding and some others will also be there to put forward difficult races. I’ve always been on the podium at this circuit, four times and with a win in the 125cc class, and I hope the fifth tomorrow, possibly ahead of Marquez to close the gap that he has in the standings.” Marc Marquez, Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol Suter: 2nd, 1m, 42.833s Andrea Iannone, Speed Master Speed Up: 3rd, 1m, 43.064s “I’m very happy for the result we got today. Yesterday we were struggling a little, but we worked hard and we managed to improve the set up of my bike and to achieve a good feeling. Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaró were very fast since the beginning of the session. The race of tomorrow will be tough and there’ll be some great battles. We’ll do our best and we’ll see what happens.” Moto3 Rider Quotes: Maverick Vinales, Blusens Avintia – FTR Honda, 3rd 1m, 48.643s “I am fairly satisfied with how we are progressing, step-by-step. We will continue working in tomorrow’s warmup to continue our improvement. I am satisfied with the times that we are setting and motivated for tomorrow. The KTM bikes are performing better at this GP and we will have to put up with that this time, but soon we will get to tracks at which we have the advantage.” Alex Rins, Estrella Galicia 0,0 – Suter Honda, 6th 1m, 49.045s “I am satisfied with the performance of the team today, despite there being a few aspects that we will need to improve tomorrow. We got a good time in the afternoon, although some problems with the rear slowed us down a little. In any case, I am calm about tomorrow and sure that my team will solve these problems for tomorrow. (Sandro) Cortese has the best pace at the moment, but the race will be run in groups and we have to be up at the front in order to fight alongside the rest.” Efren Vazquez, JHK Laglisse – FTR Honda, 7th 1m, 49.074s More, from a press release issued by Avintia Blusens Racing Team: Hernández third among the CRT’s in a session full of crashes. Silva twenty-first for his first time in Indianapolis Indianapolis, 18 August 2012. Many crashes occured in this qualifying practice for MotoGP and the session has been put on hold on a couple of occasions. Many riders complained about the state of the track and the lack of grip even if surprisingly enough most riders crashing among which Stoner, Hayden and Spies did so in the same turn. The Avintia Blusens riders have suffered from the lack of grip but Hernández managed to adapt well and reached the third position among the CRT’s and ranked in front of Elias and Abraham. Silva has been satisfied with the evolution and the setting-up of his bike but the lack of grip and knowledge of the track have been detrimental to the confidence he needed to get the few thousandths that would have made the difference. Both say to be motivated for tomorrow’s race especially Yonny who remained among the best CRT’s throughout the weekend. Yonny Hernández (13th, 1’41.197 +2.384): “I couldn’t complain until the end as I managed to stick up to the front throughout the weekend. On Friday’s training practice I even finished first. I am truly glad. The practice was a bit complicated because of the sudden stops caused by the numerous crashes and the lack of grip. When the last crash occured with eight minutes to go I was in a good position and I could have improved. But it proved to be difficult to do so on getting back to the track. The pace was broken and there was a lot of traffic. In spite of it I am very satisfied, the bike is fine and I hope to finish among the best CRT’s, score and make up for the result in Laguna Seca”. Iván Silva (21st, 1’42.768 +3.955): “The practice was very complicated and I suffered from the lack of grip more than in the morning’s sessions. I was sure I could put myself in “42 below” but it didn’t prove to be possible. The team has done a great job and the bike is very much to my liking and I gave my best peformance of the weekend in the qualifying practice. The lack of grip didn’t allow me to feel self-confident enough to attack but we will carry out the ultimate testings in tomorrow’s warm-up to attempt to be more competitive in the race”. More, from a press release issued by Power Electronics Aspar Team: RANDY DE PUNIET EQUALS SEASON BEST GRID IN TENTH POWER ELECTRONICS rider just 1.6 seconds off pole and team-mate Espargaró only three tenths behind in twelfth After a crash-strewn qualifying practice for the Moto3 class, MotoGP followed suit this afternoon and the session was also interrupted twice by the red flag. Casey Stoner’s pole challenge was ended ten minutes into the session by a nasty highside, leaving his team-mate Dani Pedrosa to take pole. Turns 13, 14 and 16 were the worst, with Spies and Hayden also crashing heavily to add to that of Hector Barberá yesterday. With Stoner’s participation in the balance tomorrow the overnight favourite will be Pedrosa, the pair having dominated the weekend so far. The Spaniard broke the pole record by almost a second today but he will surely be challenged by series leader Jorge Lorenzo from second on the grid. It was a good day for the POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar Team and all that remains to be decided for tomorrow is tyre choice. Randy De Puniet and Aleix Espargaró are delighted with their progress so far, the Frenchman today lapping just 1.6 seconds off Pedrosa’s pole time to qualify tenth and equal his best grid position of the season from the Spanish Grand Prix. Just three tenths and two grid positions behind him is his team-mate Aleix Espargaró, who hopes to put up a strong challenge in the fight for the top CRT position in tomorrow’s race. 10th Randy De Puniet 1.40.437 (27 laps): “I am very satisfied with the result from qualifying. Tenth place is a product of our hard work here since yesterday. We found a good electronic setting which has allowed us to control the engine braking perfectly and we were able to use the first two outings this afternoon to try the hard tyres in case we want to use them tomorrow. We’re still not sure because there is a big difference between them and the softs but they both offer good performance. I think I could have improved my lap time a little more but I caught one of the protective poles into turn one and it cut through the brake cable so I was lucky not to crash. Tenth place is a good result, it equals my best grid of the year from Jerez. It is hard work at this track but we have worked well and I hope we can back it up tomorrow.” 12th Aleix Espargaró 1.40.803 (21 laps): “I’m really happy – even more so than when I have qualified as the top CRT in the past. I really enjoyed myself on the bike and I needed it after such a strange weekend at Laguna Seca. We have done a great job and the bike is working perfectly. I know we need to put a better lap together if we want to be close to Randy but I am not concerned about that right now. The important thing is that the bike set-up is great and we have found something that works at a difficult circuit. I’m looking forward to the race and the objective is to be fighting with my team-mate to be the top CRT.” More, from a press release issued by Indianapolis Motor Speedway: PEDROSA BREAKS TRACK RECORD, WINS RED BULL INDIANAPOLIS GP POLE INDIANAPOLIS, Saturday, Aug. 18, 2012 – Dani Pedrosa turned the quickest lap ever by a motorcycle at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 1 minute, 38.813 seconds, on his Repsol Honda to win the pole Saturday, Aug. 18 for the Red Bull Indianapolis GP MotoGP race. Pedrosa, from Spain, broke the record of 1:38.850 set by his teammate, Casey Stoner, during qualifying in 2011. Pedrosa became the first rider to win the pole more than once for this event, as he also captured the top spot in 2009. “I think the track will be a little bit different,” Pedrosa said about the race Sunday. “But sure, most important is that more or less the setting is good. And the race here is always tough. It’s warm, and we have tough competitors, and it’s long. But sure confident, and I’ll try to keep focus on the race and do a good race.” The 28-lap MotoGP race starts at 2 p.m. Sunday. 2012 MotoGP points leader Jorge Lorenzo of Spain and Andrea Dovizioso of Italy will join Pedrosa on the front row. 2010 World Champion Lorenzo continued his streak of qualifying on the front row all five years of this event with a lap of 1:38.913 on his Yamaha Factory machine. Dovizioso will start on the front row at IMS for the first time after turning a top lap of 1:39.235 on his Monster Tech 3 Yamaha. American Ben Spies qualified fourth at 1:39.279 on his Yamaha Factory machine. But Spies was one of three top riders to suffer heavy, high-side crashes during the one-hour qualifying session, falling in Turn 13. He suffered a bruised right shoulder and was cleared to race by medical officials. Fellow American Nicky Hayden will not race Sunday after suffering a concussion and a fracture of two bones in his right hand in a crash between Turns 14 and 15 on his Ducati Team bike. Hayden ended up eighth on the grid. It remains uncertain whether defending World Champion Casey Stoner will race after his crash in Turn 13 on a Repsol Honda. He suffered small fractures to his right ankle and will be re-evaluated Sunday morning before his status to race is determined. He qualified sixth. Americans Steve Rapp and Aaron Yates both qualified for the MotoGP race on wild-card entries fielded by American teams. Rapp earned the 22nd spot on the grid at 1:43.673 on his Attack Performance APR, while Yates will start 23rd at 1:44.312 on his GPTech BCL. Pol Espargaro of Spain won the pole for the 26-lap Moto2 race, which starts at 12:20 p.m. Sunday. Sandro Cortese of Germany won the pole for the 23-lap Moto3 race, which starts at 11 a.m. Hector Faubel of Spain was admitted to Methodist Hospital with trauma to his abdomen after crashing in Turn 16 during the early stages of Moto3 qualifying. A CT scan showed no major injuries. PJ Jacobsen, from Montgomery, N.Y., was declared the winner of the first AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series race even though he fell out of the lead on Lap 6. Jacobsen’s spill triggered a four-bike pileup, causing AMA officials to red-flag the race short of its scheduled 10-lap distance. Kyle Wyman took the lead when Jacobsen crashed. But since the race was red-flagged before Wyman reached the Yard of Bricks start-finish line, the final race order was determined by the running order on the last completed lap, Lap 5. Wyman ended up second, with Bennie Carlson third in the first of two races for Harley-Davidson XR1200 machines. The second 10-lap race is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Public gates open at 7 a.m. *** Race Day tickets: $50 General Admission, with 12 and under free with purchase of adult General Admission ticket. Reserved seats begin at $75. Tickets can be purchased or picked up from 7 a.m.-2 p.m. at the IMS Ticket Office at the IMS Administration Building on the corner of 16th Street and Georgetown Road. Remote locations also are available for ticket sales from 7 a.m.-2 p.m. at Gates 3, 6, 9 and 10.