FIM MotoGP World Championship Indianapolis Motor Speedway Indianapolis, Indiana August 28, 2010 Qualifying Results (all on Bridgestone tires): 1. Ben Spies, USA (Yamaha), 1:40.105 2. Jorge Lorenzo, Spain (Yamaha), 1:40.325 3. Nicky Hayden, USA (Ducati), 1:40.336 4. Andrea Dovizioso, Italy (Honda), 1:40.559 5. Dani Pedrosa, Spain (Honda), 1:40.637 6. Casey Stoner, Australia (Ducati), 1:40.664 7. Valentino Rossi, Italy (Yamaha), 1:41.005, crash 8. Marco Simoncelli, Italy (Honda), 1:41.092, crash 9. Colin Edwards, USA (Yamaha), 1:41.232 10. Loris Capirossi, Italy (Suzuki), 1:41.512 11. Alvaro Bautista, Spain (Suzuki), 1:41.534 12. Marco Melandri, Italy (Honda), 1:41.623 13. Hiroshi Aoyama, Japan (Honda), 1:41.631 14. Aleix Espargaro, Spain (Ducati), 1:41.649, crash 15. Mika Kallio, Finland (Ducati), 1:41.856 16. Hector Barbera, Spain (Ducati), 1:41.896 17. Randy De Puniet, France (Honda), 1:41.923 More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Spies secures first MotoGP pole position; race tyre choice undecided Round 11: Indianapolis GP Qualifying Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Saturday 28 August 2010 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Medium, Hard. Rear: Hard, Extra Hard (asymmetric) Ben Spies scored his career first MotoGP pole, and his first on Bridgestone tyres, with a stunning lap in the closing stages of the hour-long qualifying session for the Indianapolis Grand Prix. The American Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider topped the order by 0.2seconds, the only rider to lap under the existing Indy lap record, using Bridgestone’s harder front and softer asymmetric rear slick tyres. Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo will start second for Fiat Yamaha, just 0.01seconds ahead of the second American on the front row, Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden who also recorded his best qualifying performance of the season and indeed his best qualifying result since moving to Bridgestone tyres at the start of the 2009 season. Every rider set his fastest qualifying lap using the harder front and softer rear slick tyres, but today all riders continued to assess both tyre compound options in order to make their choice for the race tomorrow. The track temperature reached a scorching 52 degrees Celsius today, and the forecast for tomorrow is hotter still. The softer option rear tyres delivered the fastest times in qualifying because of the additional grip they offer, but with the high track temperature the harder option rears will offer better consistency over race distance, so many riders are still undecided and will use tomorrow’s warm-up session to confirm their race choice. Tohru Ubukata Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department “Firstly I want to congratulate Ben and the Monster Yamaha Tech3 team for his first MotoGP pole position in only his rookie season, and also to Nicky and Ducati for his best qualifying performance on Bridgestone tyres. The softer rear tyre provided a grip advantage over the harder option during the qualifying session, even with such a high track temperature, but the harder rear will certainly have more consistency over race distance tomorrow. “Conditions will be tough for riders and tyres in the race, but I think that the primary choice will be the softer option rear because of the grip advantage it provides and the extra confidence the riders have in this, even if race distance consistency is not as good as the harder option rear slick. I think there will be a mix between those riders who want the extra grip and those who choose to have better consistency over the 28 laps, so the race could provide an interesting comparison of the performance of both rear tyre compound options.” Top ten from qualifying (Saturday 13:55 14:55 GMT-4) Pos Rider Team Fastest lap Gap Compounds Front, Rear 1 Ben Spies Monster Yamaha Tech3 1m40.105s Hard, Hard 2 Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team 1m40.325s +0.220s Hard, Hard 3 Nicky Hayden Ducati Team 1m40.336s +0.231s Hard, Hard 4 Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Team 1m40.559s +0.454s Hard, Hard 5 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 1m40.637s +0.532s Hard, Hard 6 Casey Stoner Ducati Team 1m40.664s +0.559s Hard, Hard 7 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 1m41.005s +0.900s Hard, Hard 8 Marco Simoncelli San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m41.092s +0.987s Hard, Hard 9 Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech3 1m41.232s +1.127s Hard, Hard 10 Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m41.512s +1.407s Hard, Hard Weather: Dry. Ambient 30-31°C; Track 50-52°C ( Bridgestone measurement) More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Rizla Suzuki racers Loris Capirossi and Álvaro Bautista will start tomorrow’s Indianapolis Grand Prix alongside each other on the fourth row of the grid. Capirossi (P10, 1’41.512, 25 laps) will begin tomorrow’s 28 lap race from the front of row four, with team-mate Bautista (P11, 1’4.534, 29 laps) next to him. The pair both made steps to improve their respective Suzuki GSV-Rs around the 4,216m American circuit and they are confident that these measures will help them in tomorrow’s race. Capirossi is still looking to unlock some more of the potential of his GSV-R and will probably make a couple of changes in tomorrow’s warm-up ahead of the race, whilst Bautista made big advances with learning the circuit on a MotoGP machine and is confident that he can improve even more during the race. Today’s qualifying was held in warm and sunny conditions with track temperatures again over 50ºC. Ben Spies took his first ever MotoGP pole position, as he rode his satellite Yamaha to the front of the grid ahead of World Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo in second. Tomorrow’s event is the 11th race of the season and the action gets underway at 15.00hrs local time (19.00hrs GMT). Loris Capirossi: “We saw a little bit more promise in the qualifying; it was like the sun started to shine on us. We had struggled a bit in practice and we tried to fix things and improve the feeling and it seemed like we have started to do that. We are still struggling a bit with front feeling, but the whole team has worked really hard to fix this and we are pretty close to a solution now. My bike is not very good on top-speed here and we don’t know why, we have compared the data from last year and we are a bit slower so we will have to try and do something about that. I am quite happy with this afternoon because we improved a lot from this morning and yesterday. The rhythm we have is not too bad and if we can do the same in the race I think we should be ok. I am positive for the race and will start will full throttle I’m just going to go for it.” Álvaro Bautista: “We had a good qualifying and I was able to follow a pack that included Rossi, Dovizioso and Pedrosa and I didn’t lose too much time to them on every lap, so that was good for me as I needed to get an idea of how I was doing in comparison to other riders around here. After that I tried to push myself a bit more, but I still had a bit of a problem with rear grip and it made things a bit hard. We made some small changes to the bike and improved things quite a bit. At the end I tried to follow someone to get more reference points because they are so important here, but there was nobody to follow so I had to work alone and set my times by myself. I think our set-up for the race is not too bad and if I get a good start tomorrow and get into the group in front I can stay with them.” Stuart Shenton Loris Capirossi’s Crew Chief: “It was not a bad qualifying, especially considering we had a couple of issues in the two practice sessions. Loris was a lot happier with the bike this afternoon, but it does seem to be tough for us to get in the top-10 in qualifying and we’ve just managed to scrape in there today. We still might make a couple of little changes in the warm-up tomorrow and then we’ll be looking for Loris to get a good start and see if he can move a couple of places forward and be battling well inside the top-10.” More, from a press release issued by Interwetten Honda: PRESS RELEASE – Qualifying – GP Indianapolis 2010 INTERWETTEN HONDA MotoGP TEAM – 13th place on the grid for strong performer Aoyama Hiroshi Aoyama was surprised himself about the great result of the qualifying for the U.S. Grand Prix in Indianapolis today and gave also the Interwetten Honda MotoGP Team a big motivation for the remaining weekend. Aoyama finished the session as 13th after he has to stay home for two months with a broken vertebra. Aoyama says that he did not expect such a result, but knows that in Qualifying you only need one fast lap and not 28 laps like in a race. Nevertheless the 28 year old Japanese will not start the race tomorrow with pressure as the concentration will not lay on the result in the race here in Indianapolis. It is more important that he gets back into the racing flow. The strong performance let the Interwetten Honda MotoGP Team and Aoyama peek at a better result in the race as well though. Hiroshi Aoyam a, 13 – 1’41.631: “If you look at the conditions I am here with, I really did not expect such a result today. The gap to the other riders is not big though, neither in front, nor in the back. All possibilities are open, to the front, but also to the back. We have to be realistic. I was quite at the limit today, but I think after a two months break this was not a bad start and I am happy about that.” Daniel M. Epp, Team Manager: “The Qualifying went better than we expected. Nevertheless we don’t want to expect too much for the race tomorrow as I think Hiro cannot keep this pace during a whole race yet. But this is not the target and never was for Indy. Hiro needs a little bit more time and then we will see where he can be.” More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Super Spies storms to sensational maiden pole position Ben Spies’ remarkable rookie MotoGP campaign hit a new high today when the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider stormed to a stunning maiden pole position at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Texan thrilled a large and sun drenched home crowd with a startling performance at the historic 4.216km circuit, Spies topping the timesheets with an incredible late attack to claim a first pole position for the Tech 3 squad since the China Grand Prix in 2008. Spies had spent most of the qualifying session, which was run in searing temperatures that peaked at a punishing 33 degrees, concentrating on a crucial race set-up for tomorrow’s 28-lap encoun ter. But as soon as the field switched to the softer compound Bridgestone rear tyre, Spies was in devastating form and always looked like challenging for a second successive front row start. There were 12 minutes left on the clock when a lap of 1.40.465 saw him rocket from ninth to the top of the timesheets. That impressive pace put him a fraction ahead of Jorge Lorenzo. Lorenzo and compatriot Nicky Hayden were both able to lap faster than Spies in the closing stages and relegate him momentarily to third. But the 26-year-old wasn’t finished and he produced an immaculate lap of 1.40.105 to seize back the initiative by 0.220s from Lorenzo. Spies was denied pole position in the dying moments at the previous round in Brno, but his pace today was unmatched and only Lorenzo, Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso lapped within 0.5s of the reigning World Superbike champion. Colin Edwards will start tomorrow’s race from ninth, his final grid position certainly not a reflection of his pace on race tyres. The 36-year-old has shown strong form all weekend on the harder compound Bridgestone rear tyre but was unable to significantly improve his pace on the softer option this afternoon. Sizzling track temperatures that hit 54 degrees meant grip was at a premium this afternoon and although Edwards did find himself in the top six at one stage, he had to settle for a spot on the third row with a best time of 1.41.432. Ben Spies 1st 1.40.105 28 laps “This is a great feeling for me to get my first MotoGP pole position and for it to come in front of the American crowd and here at Indianapolis with all the history makes it even more special. And I’m glad for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team too. This team helped catapult me into this position and I’ve been trying to give as much for them as I can, even though I’ll be moving to Yamaha’s factory team next year. I’ve got to say I really put it on the line this afternoon. I’d come so close at Brno a couple of weeks ago to getting my first pole position and I really wanted to finish the job on home soil. And being on the front row with Nicky too is pretty incredible for MotoGP racing in America. There was no way coming into this weekend that I thought this result was possible. Bur I’ve been able to do it and now I’m going to concentrate on getting a good start and giving it everything in the race. I’d love a podium and my best result at home but I’m not going to get ahead of myself. But right now I’ll certainly enjoy today.” Colin Edwards 9th 1.41. 232- 27 laps “Honestly I expected to be a bit higher up than ninth and after this morning I felt I could get into the mid-40s and be on the second row. But it was really hot out there this afternoon and it made the track quite slippery. When you put the soft tyres on you expect to go a fair bit faster but I didn’t really improve much at all. Normally I’d expect to shave off three-quarters-of-a-second but I just didn’t have the grip in the heat. On the hard tyre for the race we’ve got a good setting and I’m confident of a strong race. I’ve had a good pace on the hard tyre all weekend so a top six and my best result of the season is not out of the question. I’d like to congratulate Ben too because his performance today was just fantastic. He did an awesome job and it is great for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team too.” More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: DÉJÀ VU FOR BATTLING DE PUNIET AT INDIANAPOLIS RACE TRACK Indianapolis, 28 August: The sun shined at Indianapolis Speedway race track today for final qualifying which saw the 800c riders struggling with grip level as the asphalt temperature rose up to 54 degrees. With the bumps and surface changes at this track presenting a particular set of problems to the MotoGP riders, LCR Honda MotoGP racer Randy De Puniet worked hard with his crew to understand the best approach for the Indy circuit. The Frenchman riding the LCR RC212V completed 26 laps in this afternoon qualifying session, setting his fastest time of 1’41.923 on the penultimate of those and placed 17th on the timesheet ahead 28-lap race that will get underway at 3.00 pm local time. De Puniet spent the two hour-long sessions today narrowing down the set-up options for his Honda race bike at the 4.216km circuit battling through the pain but could not find his rhythm. De Puniet 17th 1’41.923 De Puniet: “Before coming here I knew that it was not going to be easy for me because of my injured leg and this track layout is not helping my physical condition. I had the same experience last year when I raced with a broken ankle. Then, from the beginning of the weekend, we have had some issues on the bike and we have been trying different adjustments so far, but I do not feel comfortable enough yet. I have tried hard to close the gap to the others but I am struggling a lot especially on the brakes. We still have tomorrows warm up to fine-tune the bike because my target is to score as many points as possible”. More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: HAYDEN ON FRONT ROW FOR HOME RACE, STONER JUST BEHIND HIM Nicky Hayden will start a MotoGP race from the front row of the grid for the first time in Ducati Team colours tomorrow after a sensational qualifying performance at Indianapolis. The American rider’s fastest ever lap of his home circuit moved him into provisional pole position with just a few minutes remaining of this afternoon’s session but he was nudged out to third place by late efforts from his compatriot Ben Spies and series leader Jorge Lorenzo. Casey Stoner will start from directly behind his team-mate after qualifying sixth fastest. The Australian found a good pace on race tyres but did not experience the same leap in quality as Hayden when switching to a softer tyre, so despite being amongst the pacesetters all weekend he lines up on the second row. NICKY HAYDEN (Ducati Team) 3rd (1’40.336): “I finally got my first front row with Ducati – it only took a year and a half! We’re really happy for it though especially because it’s so important for tomorrow’s race. If I want to be running up front tomorrow I have to be there from the start and I told Juan [Martinez – Nicky’s crew chief] before the session that we were due a front row and today was the day to get it. We found a decent setting on race tyres and when we put the soft compound in the jump was so big it felt like the kind of qualifying tyres we used to have. To have two American’s on the front row is great for MotoGP in this country and for everybody who supports it over here. Hopefully it brings out a big crowd tomorrow and we’ll do our best to put on a good show.” CASEY STONER (Ducati Team) 6th (1’40.664): “I’m not very happy with this afternoon’s qualifying session, we expected to be a little faster. During the session we struggled to find the grip with the hard tyre so we spent a lot of time trying to fix it and unfortunately we tried a couple of different things and then when we switched immediately to soft tyres we had trouble with the setting and we didn’t have a lot of feeling. I’m a little disappointed for sure but I think we can expect a little bit better race pace, so I’m confident enough for tomorrow. I think we should have a bit better race pace than some of the riders in front of us today.” More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing Team: UNLUCKY QUALIFYING SESSION FOR THE PRAMAC RACING TEAM RIDERS. ESPARGARO’ AND KALLIO WILL START THE RACE FROM THE FIFTH ROW. Unlucky qualifying session for the Pramac Racing Team riders that had conquer the fourteenth and fifteenth position on the starting grid respectively with Espargar and Kallio. The Spaniard had finished this morning free practice in tenth position with just a second of gap from the first of the ranking. It was expected much more from him in this afternoon qualifying session but due to a fall that saw him lose nearly fifteen minutes, he was unable to improve his time clocked in the first part of qualifying. Pity, because the time clocked by Aleix in this morning free practice would made him be in tenth position. Mika Kallio, who has recovered slightly by the flu which has affected his yesterday performance, managed to decrease by almost one second his fastest time recorded in yesterday morning free practice, but this was not enough to climb the rankings. Both riders will start tomorrow in the fifth row and they will try to significantly improve their position to get a positive result in the race that will begin at 2 pm local time. Fabiano Sterlacchini – Technical Director “During qualifying session we tried various technical solutions that could allow Mika to be faster in all areas. Unfortunately he still has some problems in the second sector of the track. We saw something very positive at the end of the qualifying session but due to excessive traffic he had found on the track, Mika was not able to improve his best lap time. Tomorrow I certainly expect from both riders a better position. We think we have found a good setup that we will try tomorrow morning during the warm up. We’ll start from the back of the grid, but we aim to achieve a good result in tomorrow’s race. ” Aleix Espargar – Pramac Racing Team – 14th fastest time in 1’41 .649 “Pity for the fall, I was pushing hard to try to get a good position on the starting grid, but I lost the rear tyre and I slid on the asphalt. I immediately tried to get back on my bike but it had got some damage during the fall. Unfortunately when I return in the box I hadn’t got new qualifying tyres. I tried in all the way to lower my lap time and improve my starting grid position but with no good results. The good thing is that the gap from the tenth position is less than two tenths. This gives me a huge charge for tomorrow race.” Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing Team – 15th fastest time in 1’41 .856 “Fortunately I feel better than yesterday, but I was not able to greatly improve my position on the starting grid. Unfortunately due to my yesterday’s not perfect conditions, I hadn’t got the right feeling with my bike. We worked hard with my technician during qualifying session and tomorrow during the warm up we will try some solutions that should allow me to be faster in all the sectors. The gap from the tenth position is not so big, I’ll give everything to offer to my Team a good race result. ” More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: ANOTHER FRONT ROW FOR LORENZO AS ROSSI HAS A DIFFICULT DAY Jorge Lorenzo took his eleventh straight front row of the season in Indianapolis today to extend his spotless 2010 qualifying record, but it was a difficult day for his Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi as the World Champion slid out in the closing minutes of the session and will start from seventh. Another hot day in Indiana brought about tricky conditions on the bumpy asphalt this afternoon, with surface temperatures in excess of 50 degrees during the session. Despite the hindrance Lorenzo looked in fine fettle and as the minutes ticked down he abandoned race set-up to concentrate on qualifying times, being rewarded soon after with provisional pole. However Tech 3 Yamaha rider Ben Spies had other ideas today and the Texan edged Lorenzo into second by two tenths. The Championship Leader will be sandwiched between two Americans when the lights go out tomorrow after Nicky Hayden qualified third. Rossi suffered a torrid day on track, unable to find a comfortable set-up and hitting the gravel in this morning’s free practice session, in which he finished ninth. Some major set-up changes before qualifying left him and the team hopeful of improvement this afternoon and his race pace was considerably better, although he still lacked some grip. Inside the final minutes and with a softer Bridgestone tyre fitted he was ready to push for a fast time but he lost the front when he hit a bump on the track and slid out for the second time today, with not enough time left in the session to go out again on his second bike. The Italian was relieved to discover he was not further down than seventh and he is looking to try to charge through the field tomorrow when the lights go out at 1500 local time. Jorge Lorenzo Position: 2nd Time: 1’40.325 Laps: 28 “This was a really difficult session because it was so hot and the track was very slippery and bumpy, it was hard to know what to expect! Luckily we managed a good lap and I’m happy with second place, Ben’s lap was amazing so well done to him. A good start will be really important tomorrow because there are many fast riders behind and I think it will be a tough battle for everyone. Our setting is good and we are happy with the choice for the tyre so we will try our best and see what we can do here in Indy.” Valentino Rossi Position: 7th Time: 1’41.005 Laps: 23 “We worked hard today to try to recover the feeling we’ve lost and we have made some improvement. Unfortunately I crashed at the worst point in the session, with the soft tyre in and doing some fast laps but with not enough time left to try again. It could have been worse because I thought I would end up much further back than seventh, so we can be happy for this. This track is very bumpy and I really think something needs to be done to some parts of it to improve it. I don’t know when the last time I crashed twice on one day is but for sure it was many years ago, back in the 90s perhaps! Luckily I am okay, nothing is hurt and this is the most important thing. I think tomorrow is going to be a very interesting day because me, Pedrosa and Stoner are all behind the front row which is unusual. It could be fun!” Wilco Zeelenberg Team Manager “The conditions were really bad today with the heat and the grip levels so it was easy for the riders to be caught out. Luckily Jorge kept his head and we have a good result, as well as a good feeling with both our bikes. We know which Bridgestone tyre we’re going to use and we are starting from the front row so we’re ready for a fight. Well done to Ben Spies for this pole position, he did an amazing lap at his home race.” Valentino Rossi Team Manager “We are not having the best weekend but we made some improvements today and our race pace is not too bad. Unfortunately Valentino crashed at the end of qualifying and there wasn’t time for him to go out on the second bike, but considering this then the third row isn’t too bad and luckily he hasn’t hurt himself in any way. We have some work to do tonight and we will focus on tomorrow, anything can happen and we’re looking forward to it.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: DOVIZIOSO AND PEDROSA QUALIFY FOURTH AND FIFTH AT INDY Repsol Honda Team riders Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa steered clear of trouble in an incident packed MotoGP qualifying session today and will start tomorrow’s Indianapolis Grand Prix from the front of the second row. As temperatures soared into the thirties and many riders came unstuck on the bumpy surface in today’s two sessions, the factory Honda pair established a good race pace and looked on course to contest the front row grid positions. Indeed Pedrosa held top spot for the bulk of the hour-long qualifying period – but in the final moments neither Repsol Honda rider was quite able to extract the maximum performance from the softer option Bridgestones, and so in the end settled for fourth and fifth places on the grid. Dovizioso had been on promising form in the morning practice session, held in conditions that were 15 degrees cooler than this afternoon, and finished in third place only 0.1s from top spot. In the afternoon, the 24-year-old Italian upped the pace further and went to the top of the timesheets with fifteen minutes to go with a lap time of 1m 40.559s. It proved to be his fastest time and Dovizioso will head the second row when the lights go out to start tomorrow’s 28-lap race. With a good start, he is confident of his chances. Pedrosa was also quick in the morning session, finishing in second place just 0.058s behind Casey Stoner at the head of the field. A repeat of Pedrosa’s Indy pole position from last year looked distinctly on the cards as Pedrosa took top spot early in qualifying and displayed impressive pace on the hard option Bridgestone tyres. He too was unable to improve on his final runs on softer rubber but, with the high temperatures encountered at Indianapolis so far this weekend expected to continue, Pedrosa also looks in a strong position ahead of round 11 of the MotoGP World Championship, which begins at 15.00 local time tomorrow (GMT – 4 hours). ANDREA DOVIZIOSO 4th 1m 40.559s +0.454s “I’m satisfied with the front of the second row, especially because our race pace is fast – so I’m confident for tomorrow. It will be important to make a good start. I think it will be a tight group going into the first turns, and Spies and Nicky will be very determined in front of their home fans, but actually the fastest person in terms of race pace is Dani. He has a margin of two or three tenths compared to us so it will be a tough race because there isn’t much grip and you need to ride smoothly to exploit what grip there is – this can be difficult to do in a race situation. The team did a good job today, we improved the stability at the front a lot and we made a big improvement with the electronic set-up – especially with the traction control. I think the tyre choice will have to be the hard compound, and this means we look in pretty good shape for the race.” DANI PEDROSA 5th 1m 40.637s +0.532s “We improved our times quite a lot from yesterday and made some good progress with the machine set-up and race pace. In the final moments of qualifying though we couldn’t go any faster on the softer tyre and so we have to settle for the second row – which isn’t perfect – but still I think we can make a good start and compete at the front tomorrow. With these high track temperatures it looks like the harder option tyre will be the one to go with and we have a decent pace on this tyre, although I don’t know if all the riders will make the same choice. Tomorrow it will be a very tough race physically, and also for the tyres because it will be very difficult to control the tyre temperature in the race. I’m sure the American riders will be very strong, and also the riders who are normally at the front, so here maybe we will have more rivals to consider. Still, my fee ling with the hard Bridgestone is good so I think we can do a good race tomorrow.” TOSHIYUKI YAMAJI – REPSOL HONDA TEAM MANAGER “Today we have qualified on the second row which gives both Repsol Honda riders the chance to get away at the front of the race – this is positive. Of course we would have preferred the front row and I think both Andrea and Dani had the chance for that today – but we struggled to improve as much as our rivals on the softer options Bridgestone tyres at the end of the session. We will look into the reasons for this, but still, Andrea and Dani both have a good race pace on the harder compound and, considering the high track temperatures we have experienced so far this weekend, the harder option looks like the one for the race. So the Repsol Honda Team is in reasonable shape and we’ll work hard for the best result tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Ben Spies will start a MotoGP race from pole position for the first time on Sunday after he laid down a fantastic hot lap in qualifying for the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rookie posted a best time of 1’40.105 on his final flying lap to delight the home crowd and mark another highlight in what has already been an eventful weekend following confirmation of his factory ride for 2011. The Texan celebrates a first pole after already having tasted podium champagne at Silverstone in June in what is quickly becoming an impressive debut season in the premier class of motorcycle racing. Spies was 0.220s quicker than Championship leader and last year’s race winner Jorge Lorenzo who took his Fiat Yamaha M1 machine round in the second fastest time, and there was further joy for the American fans as Nicky Hayden took his first Ducati front-row place with third. Hayden was just a hundredth of a second behind Lorenzo on the timesheet in a typically action-packed and frantic hour-long session. Riders who were quick in the morning session found the going tough as the temperature soared and grip levels decreased, with Andrea Dovizioso holding top spot briefly before his best time of 1’40.559 eventually placed him fourth on the starting grid, with his Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa fifth just under eight-hundredths further back. A visibly frustrated Casey Stoner, who had been fastest in both free practice sessions, could only qualify in sixth as he lapped 0.559s off the pace of Spies on his Ducati Desmosedici GP10. The third row will be headed up by Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha) with the Italian left bewildered but uninjured when he fell at turn six with little over five minutes to go his second fall of the day following an earlier one in practice. The reigning World Champion has struggled to match the speed of the front-runners this weekend and will hope to find some improvements with his crew overnight. Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini) also had a crash in the final stages of the session but managed to secure eighth place, equalling his best qualification so far this season, with Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) completing the top ten. Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP Team) was 13th in his first qualifying practice since returning from injury, whilst Aleix Espargaró (Pramac Racing) had a fall at turn 13 and subsequently qualified in 14th. Moto2 Julián Simón achieved his first Moto2 pole at Indianapolis on Saturday with a late surge in qualifying, posting a best time of 1’46.139 on his final lap to shoot to top spot on the starting grid for Sunday’s race. Scott Redding had looked on course to convert his dominance of both practice sessions into a first ever World Championship pole, but his Marc VDS team-mate Héctor Faubel overtook him with a fantastic lap that moved him to the top. However, Simón eventually secured pole, 0.148s ahead of Faubel and with Redding just a further 0.047s down on his Spanish colleague. Simone Corsi (JiR Moto2) completed the front row in fourth place. It was a tight affair on the second row with Anthony West (MZ Racing) taking fifth, just three-thousandths of a second ahead of Championship leader Toni Elías (Gresini Racing) who had a fall at turn six with ten minutes to go and climbed straight back on his bike. Ratthapark Wilairot (Thai Honda PTT Singha-SAG) and Sergio Gadea (Tenerife 40 Pons) were seventh and eight respectively. There were falls in the session for Andrea Iannone (Fimmco Speed Up) 26th and Fonsi Nieto (G22 Holiday Gym) 12th who both had to go to the medical centre for attention, whilst Raffaele de Rosa (Tech 3 Racing) escaped such misfortune when he crashed, eventually qualifying in tenth. Yusuke Teshima (JiR Moto2), who had a big crash in the morning practice session, was on track after suffering a bruised left foot and qualified 37th. 125cc Marc Márquez set an ominous challenge for his rivals as he set a new 125cc pole position record in qualifying for Sunday’s race at Indianapolis, taking over a second off Julián Simón’s 2009 record. The Red Bull Ajo Motorsport rider’s effort of 1’48.124 left him almost half a second clear of the rest of the field as he prepared to attempt to extend his Championship lead in Sunday’s race. In second place was Nico Terol (Bancaja Aspar), whose best lap was 0.479s off that of Márquez’s, with Terol’s team-mate Bradley Smith third at a further 0.423s off his colleague. Sandro Cortese’s solid form from practice carried through as he took the final spot on the front row. Heading up the second row of the grid will be last year’s race winner Pol Espargaró, who failed to qualify on the front row for the first time this season. The Tuenti Racing rider was 1.540s off title rival Márquez as he experienced a difficult session, sliding off on his Derbi machine early on but avoiding injury. His team-mate Efrén Vázquez, Luis Salom (Stipa-Molenaar Racing), and Johann Zarco (WTR San Marino Team) will complete the second row. Tomoyoshi Koyama (Racing Team Germany) and Esteve Rabat (Blusens-STX) finished inside the top ten, with Danny Webb (Andalucia Cajasol) missing much of the session due to an early crash but still managing to qualify in 11th. Luca Marconi (Team Ongetta) suffered mechanical issues early in the session and Zarco had a fall towards the end, as did rookie Jakub Kornfeil (Racing Team Germany). More, from a press release issued by Honda: Final Qualifying Indianapolis Indianapolis Grand Prix, Indianapolis MotoGP and Moto2 qualifying August 28, 2010 Weather: Hot and sunny Track temperature: 54 degrees Ambient Temperature: 33 degrees HONDA MEN TO START FROM ROW TWO AT THE BRICKYARD Repsol Honda team-mates Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa will start from the second row for Sunday’s Indianapolis Grand Prix after the pair narrowly missed out on the front row on a hot and sunny day at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The front row was a crowd-pleaser, with American Ben Spies (Yamaha) taking his first ever pole and fellow countryman Nicky Hayden (Ducati) third fastest. In between came world championship leader Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha). Both Pedrosa and Dovizioso took turns at the top of the qualifying leaderboard. Pedrosa was the first of the two to go to the top when he became the first rider into the 1:40’s on his eighth lap of the 4216m road course, near the 15 minute mark. Pedrosa remained in control into the second half of the hour when riders began fitting the softer of the two Bridgestone rear tyres. The Speedway is one of the bumpier and more abrasive tracks on the calendar and the options were hard and extra-hard, the latter of which was likely the consensus race choice. Dovizioso made the most of his softer option when he topped the time charts in the 44th minute, moving his team-mate to second. By now everyone was on the softer option and the fast laps came more quickly. Dovizioso was still on the front row with ten minutes to go when Hayden moved to the fore and Dovi was dropped to fourth, which is where he would finish with a best lap of 1m, 40.559s. Pedrosa had a quick lap three laps from the end, but didn’t improve on his 1m, 40.637s lap, which was less than a tenth of a second off Dovizioso’s time. Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini) was happy to be in eighth place, despite believing he could do better after finishing the morning practice seventh fastest. The difference was the track temperature. The ground was 22C hotter in the afternoon and traction was at a premium. With the race scheduled for an hour later than normal, at 3:00 p.m local time, 9:00 p.m. CET, the heat promises to be a factor in the outcome of Sunday’s 11th round of the MotoGP World Championship. Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini) worked very hard during the hour, with little reward. Melandri was having a difficult time in two key areas, rear traction and engine management, both of which affected his corner speed and drive onto the straightaways. Melandri is known for his impressive corner speed and being robbed of that tool will make it difficult to compete in Sunday’s race. Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP) qualified a valiant 13th fastest in his first race since breaking his back warming up for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on June 20. Riding with a special back brace, the Japanese rider performed well above expectations, though he cautioned that the closeness of the field meant there were no guarantees of a similar race finish. Still, having spent one month virtually immobilized, Aoyama was happy to be back on his Honda RC212V. Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) was less fortunate with his recent injury. The Frenchman made a miraculous return to action at the Czech Grand Prix only four weeks after breaking his leg at the Sachsenring. Two weeks on should have put him in better stead, but the leg was so swollen and painful for three days following Brno that he could barely walk. The 16-turn track has ten lefts, which puts an added burden on the only recently mended left leg. De Puniet qualified 17th and said that his target for the race was to score as many points as possible. Julian Simon (Mapfre Aspar Team, Suter) earned his first pole position in the Moto2 class in Indianapolis. The reigning 125cc champion and three-time Moto2 podium finisher took the pole with his final lap of 1m, 46.139s. The class featured the usual tightly packed field, with the top 23 riders on the same second and the next 12 within two seconds of Simon. The 39-rider field was covered by 2.766s. The second row is made of of Marc VDS Racing Team (Suter) team-mates Hector Faubel and Scott Redding, the pair separated by a mere .047s. Simone Corsi (JIR Moto2, Motobi) earned his first front row start of the year with a lap only .024s slower than Redding’s. HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda RC212V: 4th 1m, 40.559s “I’m satisfied with the front of the second row, especially because our race pace is fast – so I’m confident for tomorrow. It will be important to make a good start. I think it will be a tight group going into the first turns, and Spies and Nicky will be very determined in front of their home fans, but actually the fastest person in terms of race pace is Dani. He has a margin of two or three tenths compared to us so it will be a tough race because there isn’t much grip and you need to ride smoothly to exploit what grip there is – this can be difficult to do in a race situation. The team did a good job today, we improved the stability at the front a lot and we made a big improvement with the electronic set-up – especially with the traction control. I think the tyre choice will have to be the hard compound, and this means we look in pretty good shape for the race.” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda RC212V: 5th 1m, 40.637s “We improved our times quite a lot from yesterday and made some good progress with the machine set-up and race pace. In the final moments of qualifying though we couldn’t go any faster on the softer tyre and so we have to settle for the second row – which isn’t perfect – but still I think we can make a good start and compete at the front tomorrow. With these high track temperatures it looks like the harder option tyre will be the one to go with and we have a decent pace on this tyre, although I don’t know if all the riders will make the same choice. Tomorrow it will be a very tough race physically, and also for the tyres because it will be very difficult to control the tyre temperature in the race. I’m sure the American riders will be very strong, and also the riders who are normally at the front, so here maybe we will have more rivals to consider. Still, my feeling with the hard Bridgestone is good so I think we can do a good race tomorrow.” Marco Simoncelli, San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V: 8th 1m, 41.092s “To be honest, after practice this morning I thought I could have gone faster than this, but I am quite satisfied to be in eighth place. Unfortunately the track conditions this afternoon weren’t as good as this morning because of the heat and I struggled more. The race will be an hour later tomorrow but the track temperatures will be more or less the same so we need to improve and hope that our rivals suffer in a similar way to us. I am confident though and I have set myself the target of finally finishing in the top five so I’ll be doing my very best to achieve that. We have definitely taken a step forward from Brno and I just want to keep improving at each GP.” Marco Melandri, San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V: 12th 1m, 41.623s “We have worked hard, but things are still not working out for us. I am having so much trouble with the engine management system and I still can’t find the rear grip I need to accelerate out of the corners. I can’t ride as I would like and I can’t generate any corner speed. It seems like my strongest weapon has now completely deserted me. I am so slow in the middle of the corner and I’m not comfortable on the bike. I’m really disappointed because I was expecting a very different season to this.” Hiroshi Aoyama, Interwetten Honda MotoGP RC212V: 13th 1m, 41.631s “If you look at the conditions I am here with, I really did not expect such a result today. The gap to the other riders is not big though, neither in front, nor in the back. All possibilities are open, to the front, but also to the back. We have to be realistic. I was quite at the limit today, but I think after a two month break this was not a bad start and I am happy about that.” Randy de Puniet, LCR Honda: 17th 1m, 41.923s “Before coming here I knew that it would not have been easy for me because of my injured leg and this track layout is not helping my physical conditions. I had the same experience last year when I raced with a broken ankle. Then, from the beginning of the weekend, we had some issues on the bike and we have been trying different adjustments so far, but I do not feel comfortable enough yet. I have tried hard to close the gap to the others, but I am struggling a lot especially on the brakes. We still have tomorrow’s warm-up to fine tune the bike, because my target is to score as many points as possible.” HONDA Moto2 RIDER QUOTES Julian Simon, Mapfre Aspar Team, Suter: 1st 1m, 46.139s “This is not my preferred circuit, but this year I stay very strong here and also my team stay very, very good, very strong. All the session stay in the first place, so I’m very happy about the settings in my bike. And today was very difficult almost at the final decision because too much traffic and I cannot make a good rhythm. But finally I make a very good final lap and I make a pole. And I’m very happy because very difficult this year to make a pole and I’m happy and I want to win. Also tomorrow I hope to make a good start. Hector Faubel, Marc VDS Racing Team, Suter: 2nd 1m, 46.287s “I am happy to be on the front row tomorrow. We have had good pace all weekend, and my lap times have been consistent throughout practice and qualifying, but I was just missing that little bit extra to get me up to the front of the grid. Right at the end of the session Simone Corsi came past me on a fast lap and I managed to tag onto the back of him. That gave me the couple of tenths I was missing and put me at the top of the timesheet with just minutes to go. Unfortunately, Julian Simon pipped me for pole right at the end, but I’m happy enough with second place on the grid. Scott Redding, Simon and Corsi will be the strong riders tomorrow and, if I can get away with them at the start, then I’m confident I can leave here tomorrow with my best result of the season so far.” Scott Redding, Marc VDS Racing Team, Suter: 3rd 1m, 46.334s “Pole position had my name written all over it today, but I lost out to the traffic right at the end. I was fastest halfway through the session, but got pushed back to second place by my own teammate, which was quite rude of him I thought! I had the pace to reclaim the top spot, but every time I was quickest through the first three sectors I got baulked in the fourth. It was incredibly frustrating, as was having Takahashi following me everywhere; he even stopped when I stopped on the side of the track! But, I’m happy to be on the front row for the first time this season. We’ve got the pace in race trim and the fact that I won’t have to fight my way through the field for once means a podium finish tomorrow is a real possibility. That’s what I’ll be aiming for, anyway.” 125cc HONDA RIDER QUOTE Marcel Schrötter, Interwetten Honda 125 Team:17th, 1m, 50.992s “The qualifying was not easy. It was so warm today and the asphalt got really hot and I was sliding around a lot, especially with the rear. I could hang on other riders a couple of laps, when I followed Iwema he made some mistakes and I had to ride alone again. Then I was with Smith and he suddenly was braking, which ruined my flying lap as I had to brake as well, because I was behind him. I am sure otherwise I could have been faster and could make it to fourth row.” More, from a press release issued by Indianapolis Motor Speedway: 2010 RED BULL INDIANAPOLIS GP PRESS CONFERENCE Ben Spies, Jorge Lorenzo, Nicky Hayden, Julian Simon, Marc Marquez Aug. 28, 2010, Indianapolis Motor Speedway MODERATOR: Well, everybody here, a warm welcome to the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix qualifying press conference. A bit of history in the making here, of course, in the MotoGP qualifying. Ben Spies told us in the Czech Republic, Brno, when he qualified on the front row, he didn’t realize you won a watch if you’re in pole position. Ben is in pole position, his first full season in MotoGP. A tremendous performance by the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha rider. Alongside him on that front row of the grid for the MotoGP race, the championship leader, Jorge Lorenzo. He’s been on that front row for every race this season. And on the front row for the first time since he joined Ducati back on the front row, first time this season, of course, Nicky Hayden at his home track. And, of course, Nicky has finished on the podium here for the last two years. Congratulations to Nicky Hayden. On to the Moto2 class, what an incredible qualifying session in Moto2, the last 10 minutes. Julian Simon the current 125 cc World Champion, but first time in pole position in the Moto2 class. In 125, it’s back to normal, Marc Marquez, 17 years old, leads the World Championship and it’s his sixth pole position of the season for Marc Marquez. The BMW Award, of course, at the end of the season, the lucky man wins a BMW car. Jorge Lorenzo, I think you can almost collect the keys for the car. Jorge Lorenzo on 237; Casey Stoner in second place on 179; Dani Pedrosa in third place on 178. We’re delighted today, of course, Tissot, the official timekeepers of MotoGP, we have a very special guest to make the award of the pole position watches today. Mitch Daniels, of course, the governor of Indiana, has very kindly joined us. He’s a motorcycle man, I believe, so he’s very pleased to be here at the Motor Speedway. And I’d ask him to step up to start with this, make the presentation to Marc Marquez for the 125 cc pole position. (Applause) Could we perhaps get up on the stage just on the front here a little bit? Just so everybody, up on the stage, Marc, thank you. Thank you, Mark. We come now on to the Moto2 class. As I say, he’s the current 125 cc World Champion; his first, though, pole position in Moto2, Julian Simon. (Applause) Thank you, Julian. On to MotoGP, the first pole position of his career for Ben Spies, the first pole position for an American rider since Colin Edwards in May 2008 at the Grand Prix of China in Shanghai. Congratulations to Ben Spies. (Applause) Now, the governor is going to have to leave before the press conference, he’s got a very busy schedule. So if I could just ask the three pole position people, please, to come forward for the photographs. That’s Marc, obviously Ben, and Julian. Julian, if we could come forward for the photograph. Sorry, Nicky and Jorge, to keep you waiting. If we could just do this all together, that would be perfect. Thank you. Thank you, gentlemen. Mr. Governor, thank you very, very much indeed for your time. Hope you’ve enjoyed your first look at MotoGP. Thank you for your time. Thank you. OK. On with the press conference. Ben, quite a weekend for you. Up and down, as it has been for I think most people here at Indianapolis. First of all, congratulations, pole position. Two weeks ago was the first front row, and now you’ve gone one better in pole. BEN SPIES: Yeah, it’s a dream, I mean to have a pole position at any time in MotoGP and to be able to do it in the first season on the Monster Tech 3 bike in front of the American crowd, it’s great and add Indianapolis to it. It’s kind of ticked all the boxes this weekend. We just got to, you know, not get ahead of ourselves, so it gives us some common edge for tomorrow but got to kind of live the moment right now. You know, it kind of took the pressure off the announcement on Friday and just knowing what’s going on and am I’m really wanting to repay the Tech 3 team because they’ve helped put me in a place to be there and, you know, to be able to get a pole for them and hopefully can end the season good and keep being consistent and progress. But, you know, today we’ll just savor the moment right now and go in tomorrow and try to put a hard 45 minutes and see what happens. MODERATOR: It’s been an interesting weekends, I think, for everybody in MotoGP, grip level has been a problem. You’ve crashed yourself, and the weather conditions also seem to be getting a little bit hotter. SPIES: Yeah, the weather is OK for, I think, like me and Nick being back home, this is kind of like a little bit of a cold front for me at least. So it’s nice. But today the conditions were difficult with the track, not just because it was hot, but a lot of sliding around. It gets greasy, you know, and through a couple of the turns you’re almost kind of twiddling your thumbs, spinning the bike and playing around with it. It was difficult for everybody. We put together a good lap. It wasn’t the most perfect lap in the world, but we finally didn’t make too many mistakes. Like I said, it gives us confidence for tomorrow, but we’ve also got to find some more race pace. These guys are going fast. So we’ll try to get a good start to stay there in the first few laps and try not to make mistakes and see what happens. MODERATOR: Can you translate it into a race win from here? SPIES: You know, there were a bunch of boxes to be ticked this year, but the problem is there’s really only one left. We’ve had a top fives, a podium and now a pole. I mean, why not? You always go for it. In any race you go, like I said, a racer is there to win; it’s not always to be had. But tomorrow we’re on pole. If we get a good start, yeah, we’ve got to hang in there, and if we’re there we’ll try to win the race. We won’t be thinking of that the first few laps, we’ll just try to stay clean, and a good start’s really key here with the first lap and first few turns. Just try to be consistent and give him a race at least, because if we don’t he’s going to be having a cappuccino with two races to go and not even going to be here. But it would be nice but we’ve just got to take one step at a time. MODERATOR: Ben, congratulations and thank you very much. Turning to Jorge Lorenzo, ladies and gentlemen, riding the Fiat Yamaha, obviously leading the championship. Front row start, Jorge, it’s been a tough weekend for everybody, hasn’t it? It’s been very, very difficult out there. JORGE LORENZO: Yeah, I think so. The conditions of the track are quite difficult for everyone. It’s so bumpy comparing to the normal tracks, especially to the last track in Brno, and also the hot conditions don’t give you the best confidence, especially in the front tire. So many crashes today, so today was easy to make a mistake. I obviously I pushed the maximum to get the pole position, but Ben’s lap was quite quick, you know, for these conditions. I only could make second place today. That is good, but, well, of course I would like to be in the middle. MODERATOR: Just not a warning to you but you’ve got the big lead in the championship and what has happened this weekend, you say so many crashes must make you think, “Yeah, just see how things go.” LORENZO: To be honest, I don’t think too much when I am on the bike, no. For me it’s better to be concentrating in your riding and to get your instinct to work, no? But anyway, for sure I would try not to make so many crazy things tomorrow to be fast, but not to take a lot of risk. MODERATOR: And, Ben, his first season, I remember your first season in MotoGP, it’s tough. First pole is very important, isn’t it? LORENZO: Yes. He’s doing a great progress, no? At the beginning in Qatar, he make a good race but also were special conditions. Now he’s getting closer to the top guys. Today he make very quick two laps, so he deserves it, and I think tomorrow if he can keep his level, he can fight for the win. MODERATOR: Jorge, many thanks. Thank you. Come on to third place, ladies and gentlemen, a local boy, Nicky Hayden, riding the Ducati. It’s been an up and down weekend for you as well, Nicky, but this part has been very good indeed. NICKY HAYDEN: Yeah, you know, it’s my first front row since I’ve been on Ducati. So it’s nice, qualifying was something I really struggled with last year and something we worked a lot on in the offseason. Getting on the front row is really important. I know with my race pace and things like that, if I’m going to fight at the front, I can’t, you know, expect to start seventh or eighth and just kind of work my way up and pick guys off. So need to be there off the start and see what happens. But the bike felt a lot better this afternoon and, yeah, but I’m happy to be on the front row. It’s the first time and it’s a good little step for me. We’ll see tomorrow. MODERATOR: Track conditions, everybody says it has been difficult out there finding grip. HAYDEN: Yeah, well, this morning was a lot cooler and in the afternoon the track changed a lot. It was definitely some long corners and the tires, same tires we used here, exact same tires as last year. So the left side on the hard tire is pretty hard for safety, and you know, spinning around pretty good and moving around, which makes it fun. But, you know, it’s certainly a tricky track from the first year we came here. A few bumps in places where you’re still on the brakes, so it’s not easy, but none of them are. MODERATOR: And you’re set to make an announcement this weekend about you and Ducati. Any closer there? This must put a few more notes on the end there after the front row. HAYDEN: Yeah, we maybe up discussion again and start negotiating. No, we’re close. Official announcement any minute now. MODERATOR: That’s great. Congratulations, everybody on the front row. Ben Spies obviously, Jorge Lorenzo, Nicky Hayden, thank you. Coming to Moto2, Julian Simon, your first pole position in Moto2. It was a very difficult session, so much traffic, so busy out there. JULIAN SIMON: Yeah, a lot of traffic, and I am so happy for my first pole position in Moto2. Been a difficult year for me because the middle of the session I changed the chassis and try new chassis and also difficult for to stay in first place. But finally I make pole and I happy, also, because a lot of work this weekend and also another race. So I want to add congratulations to my team because a lot of work here and very good. So for tomorrow I have rhythm, and I hope a very good start and stay in the first place in all the race and try to win it. MODERATOR: Front row start is crucial in Moto2 because there are so many riders on the track. SIMON: Yeah, it is very difficult, the qualifying and practice because the final decision, the last minute is too difficult try to push because many riders waiting for to make the best lap. And it’s difficult. Check the situation, no? So, yes, today also difficult, but I try to pushing a lot in the last lap and I make up pole, so I am so happy. MODERATOR: Congratulations, your first Moto2 pole position. Certainly not this year Marc’s first pole position of the season, his sixth season for Marc Marquez, leading the 125 cc championship. After the problems in Brno with the dislocated shoulder, the weather and everything else, Marc, this is really good for you to be back on pole position. MARC MARQUEZ: Yeah, this is important position for me and the team. Before was not so good but one race, and now we are here in Indianapolis and we are at world level and I am really, really happy for the bike because I have good confidence. We find a good setting for the bumps, and it is important to stay very concentrated because it’s very bumpy, this track. And it easy to make a mistake in the race. So just we will see tomorrow, but I think if we can stay there for fight for the podium, for the victory, it’s important to finish the race but also finish in front. MODERATOR: And your shoulder, you did have a fall very early on on Friday, the shoulder appeared OK. But just two weeks ago you dislocated the shoulder. It is OK now? MARQUEZ: It is not perfect, but it’s OK. I don’t have pain, but also maybe the power is not the same of the other shoulder, so in the race I think will not be a problem but, anyway, I think in the qualifying the last laps I was a little bit tired but in the race when I stay concentrate, the shoulder was like the other one. MODERATOR: Marc, congratulations to you, sixth pole position of the season. OK, questions from the floor, ladies and gentlemen? If you put up your hands, we have some microphones. Q: This question is for Ben. Ben, I know you raced here a couple years ago, I believe as a wild card and stuff. So obviously this was a little different situation from other tracks, that you had been here before and maybe had a little bit of a feel. Do you feel like that helped you today at all? SPIES: Yeah, for sure. It definitely — we know what the problem, some parts of the track, the problem areas that you’ve got to work on from the first session with, you know, turn 12 there’s a lot of spinning, there’s a lot of bumps here. The one bump that has definitely caught a few people out, caught me out even though I knew it was there. You know, it does help a lot. It’s a tricky track, for sure. I mean, there’s different pavement changes and, like I said, a lot of spinning here and different tires can do a whole lot different things to the bike. So it definitely played a big part of it and, you know, so I think it — but it definitely helped. We had a lot of feedback coming in and put it to use today. MODERATOR: Anybody else, ladies and gentlemen? Q: Nick, there’s a rumor you’re going to ride tonight at the dirt track. HAYDEN: Well, yeah, there is, I told Ducati if I was on the front row, least I could do is get a couple laps. So, yeah, I mean I’m going to go out, ride around, not like go sign up for the heat races or nothing like that. But definitely I’m looking forward to it. I mean, I haven’t ridden a dirt track track since 2002, it will be fun to put the steel shoe on and run a couple laps. See if I remember how to do it, get my foot down and get a little bit dirty, but it’s pretty cool. I love dirt track, that’s where my roots are, I’m a dirt tracker, and it’s going to be pretty neat. Q: Question to Ben. At Brno you said if you would have known you get a watch, you would have gone faster. Did it help this time to know the watch? And the second question more serious. When you rode here two years ago on the Suzuki, was there anything you could take with you for this weekend that would help you? SPIES: For sure, that’s what I was saying earlier. You know coming in some problems that you’ve got to start working on from Lap 1 to make the bike go faster here. Last time we were here, I think we had a pretty good qualifying session, I can’t remember where we were, but it wasn’t bad, but then the rain was like a hurricane. So it was definitely tricky conditions, but for sure, yeah, two years ago, anytime you’re coming to a place you’ve been to before helps a lot. You know, we haven’t had a lot of those tracks this year, but the ones we’ve had we’ve gone OK at. Just to be able to get it here in front of the home crowd, and there was some extra incentive. But you always try every time we get on the bike, just glad it worked out today. Q: For Ben and Nicky, as well. How significant in the United States racing here is it to have two Americans on the front row for this race tomorrow? HAYDEN: You’re on pole. The floor is yours. (Laughter) SPIES: I think it’s great. Two or three on the front row, I don’t think we’ve — you know, we wanted this to happen, but I don’t think a week ago we really thought it probably would have happened like this. So it’s great. If we can both get good starts, you know, maybe try to one-two a couple people for the first laps and get out there. It’s every man for himself. But yeah, for MotoGP in general, I think it’s great to have two Americans at the home race on the front row and give some people something to cheer about. HAYDEN: Yeah, like Ben said, I think it’s awesome for MotoGP here in America. A lot of people are pushing to help expose the sport to new people and for everybody here at IMS, I mean everybody likes to pull for somebody they know, somebody in the area. So hopefully draw in a few extra spectators tomorrow. Yeah, we can have a good show for the American fans. So I wish it was the other way around, wish I was starting on pole and he was second or third. But, no, I think it’s great for our sport in America, and hopefully, you know, for things to come, the Americans can maybe get hot here and make another little push. At the moment it’s all about Spanish are dominating MotoGP in every class this year. We need to step our game up a little. MODERATOR: Anybody else, ladies and gentlemen? Q: Question to Jorge. Did you use the 2011 Ohlins fork during the qualifying practice? LORENZO: No, I heard Casey used it and also Nicky, but we try in Brno and — Q: Nicky says no. HAYDEN: No. LORENZO: Sorry.(Laughter) Sorry. So, no, no. At the moment we wait for maybe Valencia. Thank you. MODERATOR: Anybody else? Q: Nicky, any issues with your wrist at all? HAYDEN: No, not really. I mean, no. Q: None you would admit to? HAYDEN: I mean, you know, when I wake up in the morning, like ah, you know, but not really. Yesterday in the crash, I got back and (physio) said, “Does your hand hurt at all?” I said, “It hurt a little before I went out but not worse.” Only thing, I tried to protect my wrist when I crashed, so I dug my elbow in and got quite hot, burnt a hole through the leathers and into my arm a bit. But, you know, it’s not going to be a big problem tomorrow. MODERATOR: Anybody else? Q: Ben, how about your foot, speaking of injuries and things that you’re working around. How is that feeling? SPIES: It’s, you know, I’m not going to go run anywhere. I showed my basketball skills off the other day, but on the bike, like I said, even two weeks after the crash, it doesn’t affect anything on the bike. It’s not 100 percent, I can’t do everyday stuff, but on the bike, you know, there’s nothing. I mean I don’t have a problem with it at all. Q: Question for Nicky. What can you say about your brother in Moto2 and about his manager, Kevin Schwantz and the job in the — HAYDEN: I haven’t spoke to him since qualifying, probably let him cool down a bit. I’m sure he isn’t happy. He hoped to have a good result. You know, yesterday he was more or less OK, he lost the first 20 minutes because they had a little problem. So the race is tomorrow. I’m sure he would like to be closer to the front, but they made some changes for this afternoon and just hearing from my other brother that he liked. But he’s starting not a good grid position. So that race, he’s going to be right in the middle of all the action tomorrow, but he’s a lot better racer than qualifier or practicer or anything else. Hopefully he can put on a little charge. MODERATOR: Anybody else? I think we’re there. OK, thanks for all the questions. Gentlemen, thank you all very much. If you could just stand for the photograph. Everybody can sit down, thank you. More, from another press release issued by Indianapolis Motor Speedway: AMERICANS SPIES, HAYDEN ON RED BULL INDIANAPOLIS GP FRONT ROW Texan Spies earns first career MotoGP pole in front of home crowd INDIANAPOLIS, Saturday, Aug. 28, 2010 American MotoGP riders Ben Spies and Nicky Hayden ignited cheers among the Red Bull Indianapolis GP crowd Aug. 28 by qualifying first and third, respectively, for Sunday’s third running of MotoGP race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Spies, of Longview, Texas, earned his first career MotoGP pole in front of the home crowd with a fast lap of 1 minute, 40.105 seconds on the No. 11 Monster Yamaha Tech 3 bike. Defending race winner Jorge Lorenzo, of Spain, qualified second at 1:40.325 on the No. 99 Fiat Yamaha Team machine. Hayden, who lives a mere three hours from Indianapolis in Owensboro, Ky., will start on the outside of the front row in third by posting a lap of 1:40.336 on the No. 69 Ducati Team entry. “We can’t get ahead of ourselves now, but to be on pole, the first pole for me in front of the American crowd and here at Indy, with all the history, it’s great,” Spies said. “We put it on the line that last bit and got it. To have two Americans on the front row here is pretty incredible. I wouldn’t have thought it coming into the weekend, but to be able to do it, now we just get a good start and give it everything we’ve got Sunday.” Hayden’s result marks his first front-row start with the fabled Ducati Team, for which he has competed since the start of the 2009 season. “I’m happy for it, it’s really important here for the race,” Hayden said. “The soft tires, we put them on and it was a big jump. Two Americans on the front row is good for MotoGP in America. We hope it brings a big crowd, and we’ll put on a good show and go for it.” The MotoGP race starts at 3 p.m. (ET) Sunday at IMS. Spies’ pole was the first for an American since Colin Edwards was the top qualifier for the Grand Prix of China at the Shanghai Circuit in May 2008. The last time two Americans qualified on the front row was the 2006 Grand Prix of Portugal when Edwards, of Houston, started second and Hayden third. Adding to the drama of Spies’ accomplishment, the Yamaha Tech 3 team is a “satellite” team of Yamaha’s, which receives updates in parts and technology throughout the season after the factory-backed Fiat Yamaha Team receives them. The second row of the 2010 Red Bull Indianapolis GP starting grid will consist of Repsol Honda Team riders Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa, who qualified fourth and fifth, respectively, and Hayden’s Ducati teammate Casey Stoner, who qualified sixth. Seven-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi will start seventh on the No. 46 Fiat Yamaha Team entry while Edwards starts ninth (outside Row 3) on the No. 5 Monster Yamaha Tech 3. Several riders experienced accidents during the qualifying session, most notably Rossi, who slid into the gravel trap in Turn 6, his second crash of the day. Marc Marquez of Spain, who suffered a shoulder injury in the most recent 125cc class event at Brno in the Czech Republic, qualified on pole for the 125cc race with a lap of 1:48.124 on the No. 93 Red Bull Ajo Motorsport Derbi. Fellow Spaniard Julian Simon, the reigning 125cc world champion, earned his first career Moto2 pole with a lap of 1:46.139 on the Mapfre Aspar Team Suter. Public gates open at 7 a.m. Sunday, and the first on-track activity of the day is the 125cc class warm-up at 8:40 a.m., with the MotoGP and Moto2 warm-ups to follow. The 125cc race starts at noon, with the Moto2 race at 1:15 p.m. serving as preludes to the MotoGP race at 3 p.m. *** Tickets: Tickets for the 2010 Red Bull Indianapolis GP remain available Race Morning. Fans wanting to attend the race need to go to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ticket office at the corner of 16th Street and Georgetown Road or to one of the satellite ticket offices, located outside of Gates 3, 6, 9,10 and on the Backstretch . Tickets start at $40 for general admission for Race Day. All children 12 and under will be admitted free with a general admission ticket holder. All ticket offices will open at 7 a.m. and remain open until 3 p.m.