With new front forks on his Desmosedici GP10, Casey Stoner rode to the top of the time sheets today during the MotoGP's first free practice session in Indianapolis.
The 11th round of the MotoGP kicked off this afternoon the way that most people expected, with Jorge Lorenzo in front of the pack. Lorenzo, who has repeatedly said that this weekend wasn't about winning, but about finishing, put the pressure on Stoner and the rest of the MotoGP riders early, by setting a 1'41.109 time.
Lorenzo's time stood until about 15 minutes left in the session, when Stoner jumped up to the top of the time sheets, dropping Lorenzo down to second, and becoming the only rider for the day to finish below the 1'41 mark.
Behind season leader Lorenzo came Stoner's teammate, Nicky Hayden, who was eager to impress in front of his home crowd. Hayden was trying to better his time in the final fifteen minutes when he went down on turn 13. A scary moment for Ducati and his American fans, who watched Hayden hit the pavement as he tried to protect the wrist he injured at BRNO.
But Hayden assured the crowd that he was fine as he made it back onto the track in the final minutes in an effort to protect his third place time.
Dani Pedrosa was next across the line. Pedrosa was on pace to win last year's race at Indy, but lost out to Lorenzo. Pedrosa has had some narrow losses to Lorenzo this season, and is looking forward to this weekend's race to even the score.
Behind Pedrosa came the reigning MotoGP champ, Valentino Rossi. Rossi hasn't been in top form since his accident, but promises that he is getting stronger everyday. Rossi will have one more day to get himself set for the race, where he hopes to make a triumphant return to the top of the podium.
Two more Americans made it into the top ten today. Colin Edwards finished in sixth place and Ben Spies managed an 8th place finish. Between them came Andrea Dovizioso. All riders in the top 8 finished within one second of Stoner.
Alex Espargaro and Marco Melandri, who is racing in his 200th GP this weekend, rounded out the top ten.
MotoGP - Indianapolis - Free Practice 1
| Pos. | Rider | Nation | Team | Time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Casey STONER | AUS | Ducati Team | 1'40.884 | ||||
| 2 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Fiat Yamaha Team | 1'41.109 | ||||
| 3 | Nicky HAYDEN | USA | Ducati Team | 1'41.405 | ||||
| 4 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | 1'41.421 | ||||
| 5 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Fiat Yamaha Team | 1'41.623 | ||||
| 6 | Colin EDWARDS | USA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 1'41.664 | ||||
| 7 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Repsol Honda Team | 1'41.683 | ||||
| 8 | Ben SPIES | USA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 1'41.722 | ||||
| 9 | Aleix ESPARGARO | SPA | Pramac Racing Team | 1'41.992 | ||||
| 10 | Marco MELANDRI | ITA | San Carlo Honda Gresini | 1'42.147 |
