When Ben Spies lines up tomorrow at the Indy GP in front of his home crowd, he'll be sitting in the first position on the grid. Spies had a great qualifying today to capture his first ever pole position at the MotoGP level.Racing on American soil is a rare opportunity for the rookie, but the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider, and newly appointed successor to the throne of Rossi, seized that opportunity and beat out season leader Jorge Lorenzo for the pole position.
Spies set his fastest lap of 1'40.105 on his 26th of 28 laps, and added another season highlight to an already successful rookie year. But Ben Spies wasn't the only American to have a good day.
After Lorenzo, Nicky Hayden came shooting across the line to claim the last spot on the front row of the grid. Hayden missed out on the second place spot by just a hundredth of a second.
Throughout the year, commentators have been comparing Spies rookie season to Hayden's phenomenal start in the MotoGP in 2003. Those who argue in favor of Spies just got a big boost, as Hayden didn't record his first pole position until his third year in the premier class.
The two Repsol Honda riders will start the second row of the grid. Andrea Dovizioso, who held the top spot briefly during the qualifying round, finished in fourth, just 8 hundredths of a second ahead of his teammate.
Casey Stoner, who has been the fastest at Indy so far this weekend, could only manage a sixth place finish. Stoner finished a half a second back behind Spies.
Valentino Rossi will try to get his MotoGP season back on track from the third row of the grid. Rossi hit the pavement again during the qualifying session, but any injuries were sustained by his ego and not his body.
For the first time this season, two Americans will be starting from the front row of the grid. The crowd at the Indy GP will have an exciting race tomorrow as Spies will try for his first ever MotoGP win.
MotoGP - Indianapolis - Qualifying Round
| Pos. | Rider | Nation | Team | Time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ben SPIES | USA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 1'40.105 | ||||
| 2 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Fiat Yamaha Team | 1'40.325 | ||||
| 3 | Nicky HAYDEN | USA | Ducati Team | 1'40.336 | ||||
| 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Repsol Honda Team | 1'40.559 | ||||
| 5 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | 1'40.637 | ||||
| 6 | Casey STONER | AUS | Ducati Team | 1'40.664 | ||||
| 7 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Fiat Yamaha Team | 1'41.005 | ||||
| 8 | Marco SIMONCELLI | ITA | San Carlo Honda Gresini | 1'41.092 | ||||
| 9 | Colin EDWARDS | USA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 1'41.232 | ||||
| 10 | Loris CAPIROSSI | ITA | Rizla Suzuki MotoGP | 1'41.512 |
