Stoner opens Indy action on top

From motogp.com

Casey Stoner started the weekend fastest at Indianapolis with a best lap of 1:40.884 in the first practice on Friday, the only rider in the hour-long session to get under the 1:41 mark.

Having not raced in last year’s Indy round due to illness Stoner spent the initial part of the hour guiding himself round the circuit and reacquainting himself with its layout.

"For the first two laps I didn't remember anything about the track from two years ago but after that it all came back pretty quickly,” said the 24-year-old. “This is quite a unique circuit because of the different types of surface and the amount of bumps out there so we had to improvise a little today because it's not easy to pick the right line.”

The Australian was running with the new front fork on his Desmosedici GP10 which he tested at Brno, and the result appeared to be more than positive as he enjoyed solid control over his machine.

“We made a good start but I'm sure everybody will work things out better tomorrow and close the gap,” he stated. “Having said that this is a good situation to be in on the first day and for the first time in a while we feel there is potential to improve.

"We tried the new front fork today that we tested in Brno and it felt good, although this is not the kind of circuit where you can really push so it's hard to say if it improved the package."

Last year’s race winner Jorge Lorenzo was quick throughout the practice and led until 15 minutes from the end, his best time of 1:41.109 eventually leaving him 0.225 secs. off Stoner as the Fiat Yamaha rider prepared to try and stretch his 77-point Championship lead this weekend.

"I rode really well today and improved a lot during the practice. The rear was sliding a lot, maybe because the temperature is so high; it's a lot hotter than last year,” said the 23-year-old. “I think the level between the top riders here is more or less the same and everyone is looking very strong.”

Nicky Hayden, keen to impress his home crowd, got off to a positive start as he set the third best time but inside the final 15 minutes he went down at turn 13, a worrying moment for the Ducati Team rider as he protected the left wrist he injured at Brno. The American escaped further damage to his arm despite landing on it, and was back out on track as he held onto third spot at just over half a second off his team-mate.

"At the start of the session I was feeling really good and I was going quite fast on a hard tire,” said Hayden. “When we put the soft tire in I felt even better and maybe got a little too excited because that's when I made a mistake. I was off line a little but I didn't force it, I just let it go because it's only first practice but 'bam'! I was down immediately. It was a bummer because my suspension guy had come up with some settings that were working really good and I really liked the feel.

“At least I didn't do any more damage to the wrist - all I got was a friction burn on my arm from digging it in trying to save the wrist."

Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa, who was in fast form at last year’s Indy meeting, was fourth quickest as he led his factory RC212V around in a best time of 1:41.421. That placed the Spaniard four-hundredths of a second ahead of reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi, who was fifth on his Fiat Yamaha M1.

The American presence was enforced by Colin Edwards as the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider went sixth fastest, with Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and another home favourite Ben Spies in the top eight.

Rookie Spies had a crash with six minutes remaining but walked away unharmed having been the final rider to get within a second of Stoner, on the day his ride with the factory Yamaha team for 2011 was announced.

The top 10 in the session was completed by Aleix Espargaró (Pramac Racing) and Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team), with Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP) 16th on his return to competitive action after nine weeks out injured.

Scott Redding’s 22nd and final lap of the first Moto2 practice at Indianapolis on Friday placed the 17-year-old Brit at the top of the timesheet. An effort of 1:46.728 left the Marc VDS Racing Team rider 15-thousandths of a second ahead of Championship leader Toni Elías in a confidence-boosting start to his weekend.

Gresini Racing man Elías beat title rival Andrea Iannone (Fimmco Speed Up) to second by 0.125 secs. as the duo completed the top three, with Simone Corsi (JiR Moto2) just under two-hundredths back in fourth spot and also the final rider to duck under 1:47.

MotoGP Practice Results
1. Casey STONER (AUS) Ducati 1:40.884
2. Jorge LORENZO (SPA) Fiat Yamaha 1:41.109
3. Nicky HAYDEN (USA) Ducati 1:41.405
4. Dani PEDROSA (SPA) Repsol Honda 1:41.421
5. Valentino ROSSI (ITA) Fiat Yamaha 1:41.623
6. Colin EDWARDS (USA) Monster Tech 3 Yamaha 1:41.664
7. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (ITA) Repsol Honda 1:41.683
8. Ben SPIES (USA) Monster Tech 3 Yamaha 1:41.722
9. Aleix ESPARGARO (SPA) Pramac Ducati 1:41.992
10. Marco MELANDRI (ITA) San Carlo Gresini Honda 1:42.147
11. Marco SIMONCELLI (ITA) San Carlo Gresini Honda 1:42.268
12. Hector BARBERA (SPA) Paginas Amarillas Aspar Ducati 1:42.368
13. Mika KALLIO (FIN) Pramac Ducati 1:42.600
14. Alvaro BAUTISTA (SPA) Rizla Suzuki 1:42.696
15. Loris CAPIROSSI (ITA) Rizla Suzuki 1:42.790
16. Hiroshi AOYAMA (JPN) Interwetten Honda 1:42.874
17. Randy DE PUNIET (FRA) LCR Honda 1:42.987