Pedrosa snags Indy pole

From motogp.com

MotoGP qualifying at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix on Saturday concluded with Spaniard Dani Pedrosa in pole position, following a superb performance from the Repsol Honda rider.

Pedrosa’s best effort of 1:39.730 gave him a new pole position record and his second pole of 2009, with his nearest rival and compatriot Jorge Lorenzo of the Fiat Yamaha team unable to get within half a second of him.

The Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix has been something of a Pedrosa exhibition so far, with the Repsol Honda rider topping all three sessions ahead of race day – after dominating free practice and qualifying.

“I’m really happy with this pole position because we have been fast all weekend so far, in the wet as well as the dry, so this is very positive,” enthused the Spaniard after QP. “The lap times are quick and also consistent which should give us a good chance in the race tomorrow. I’ve been comfortable on the machine from the start and things have just clicked here.

“We can’t relax at all though because I’m sure the other riders will improve and we know how strong our rivals have been this season. So we must make a few small adjustments to make sure we have the best possible package tomorrow.

"I’m really looking forward to the race because it looks like the weather should be good - a big contrast to last year - and it will be great to feel the race-day atmosphere at Indianapolis in more normal conditions.”

Lorenzo pushed hard in the final stages but was not quite able to edge his compatriot off pole position.

“I’m happy about this qualifying session because we made a big step with our setting from this morning and even from the start of the session," Lorenzo said. "Unfortunately we couldn’t improve any more in the final laps and it’s now six or seven races since I’ve been on pole which is strange for me, because doing one fast lap is usually one of my strong points!

"The important thing however is that we’re on the front row, we have a good race pace and we are ready to challenge for the win.”

Lorenzo’s team-mate Valentino Rossi is also on the front row, though the World Champion left it very late as his slotted into third place with his best time in the final moments, placing nearly nine tenths of a second down on Pedrosa.

Rossi was consistently in the top three until he was edged out by Alex de Angelis with a little over 10 minutes remaining. The standings leader was able to make a last-minute improvement to move back onto the front row with his final lap, but feels he is still lacking rhythm and pace.

“We’re on the front row and this is important but honestly we don’t have enough pace at the moment and I can’t ride how I want to," Rossi admitted. "We don’t have quite enough grip to enable us to push at the maximum. We did a lot of work this afternoon but we’re still not at our best and so now we all need to work to find a way to make another step for tomorrow. We have the warm-up still to use and we will try to be competitive for the race.”

That late lap from the legendary Italian denied de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini) a front row start by just one hundredth of a second, but the San Marino rider still qualified in fourth and is looking good at Indy so far this weekend, ahead of his home round next week.

There was a rare crash for Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) with less than 10 minutes to go, but he still ended up fifth, with his fellow American Nicky Hayden (Ducati) just behind him in sixth, rounding off row two.

There was also a late crash for Toni Elías (San Carlo Honda Gresini) but he went round seventh quickest and he is joined on the third row by Italians Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and Marco Melandri (Hayate Racing).

Briton James Toseland (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) completed the top 10.

Mika Kallio also hit the deck and finished down in 15th place on the factory Ducati he is temporarily riding.

An exciting 250cc qualifying session saw provisional pole change hands numerous times during the final 10 minutes, with Frenchman Mike di Meglio eventually taking his first pole in the category.

The 125cc World Champion is one of the few riders in the quarter litre class to have raced at Indianapolis, as the 250cc contest was of course cancelled last season due to bad weather.

Behind Di Meglio in second place on the grid is standings leader Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Racing Team), whose 1:44.461 was 0.120 off the pole pace.

Points leader Julián Simón (Bancaja Aspar) took first place in 125cc qualifying on Saturday afternoon at Indianapolis as he set a new pole position record by more than a second, with a 1:49.337 hot lap around the famous American venue.

MotoGP Qualifying Results
1. Dani PEDROSA (SPA) Repsol Honda Team Honda 1:39.730 (318.266 km/h)
2. Jorge LORENZO (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha +0.506
3. Valentino ROSSI (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha +0.879
4. Alex DE ANGELIS (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda +0.890
5. Colin EDWARDS (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha +1.231
6. Nicky HAYDEN (USA) Ducati Team Ducati +1.337
7. Toni ELIAS (SPA) San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda +1.553
8. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (ITA) Repsol Honda Team Honda +1.579
9. Marco MELANDRI (ITA) Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki +1.800
10. James TOSELAND (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha +1.890
11. Loris CAPIROSSI (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki +2.012
12. Randy DE PUNIET (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP Honda +2.043
13. Niccolo CANEPA (ITA) Pramac Racing Ducati +2.180
14. Chris VERMEULEN (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki +2.308
15. Mika KALLIO (FIN) Ducati Team Ducati +2.520
16. Aleix ESPARGARO (SPA) Pramac Racing Ducati +2.847
17. Gabor TALMACSI (HUN) Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda +3.006