Pedrosa blitzes Indy pole

Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa today obliterated his MotoGP opposition to take pole position for tomorrow’s Indianapolis Grand Prix. The Spanish ace was easily fastest in both practice and qualifying sessions and looked completely untouchable aboard his factory Honda RC212V at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His best lap of 1m 39.730s this afternoon was more than a second inside last year’s qualifying lap record and 0.506s clear of his nearest rival – Jorge Lorenzo who will start from second on the grid.

As well as ultimate speed, Pedrosa displayed consistency too – and it was the same story in the morning session. His quickest eight laps this morning were faster than any other rider in the MotoGP field could manage and his best lap this morning was a full 1.015s faster than his closest rival – Jorge Lorenzo once again. This is Pedrosa’s second pole position of the season after he started from front on the grid at the French Grand Prix at Le Mans in May.

DANI PEDROSA – Pole – 1m 39.730

“I’m really happy with this pole position because we have been fast all weekend so far – in the we as well as the dry – so this is very positive. 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 – it’s not as if we’ve made any big changes for this race. 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 than last year’s wash-out. Now we’ll just stay focused and concentrate on our preparation for tomorrow."

Qualifying Results

1 Dani Pedrosa 1m 39.730 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Jorge Lorenzo 1m 40.236 SPA YAMAHA Fiat Yamaha Team
3 Valentino Rossi 1m 40.609 ITA YAMAHA Fiat Yamaha Team
4 Alex De Angelis 1m 40.620 SMR HONDA San Carlo Honda Gresini
5 Colin Edwards 1m 40.961 USA YAMAHA Tech 3 Yamaha
6 Nicky Hayden 1m 41.067 USA DUCATI Ducati Marlboro Team
7 Toni Elias 1m 41.283 SPA HONDA San Carlo Honda Gresini
8 Andrea Dovizioso 1m 41.309 ITA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
9 Marco Melandri 1m 41.530 ITA KAWASAKI Hayate Racing Team
10 James Toseland 1m 41.620 GBR YAMAHA Tech 3 Yamaha
11 Loris Capirossi 1m 41.742 ITA SUZUKI Rizla Suzuki MotoGP
12 Randy De Puniet 1m 41.773 FRA HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
13 Niccolo Canepa 1m 41.910 ITA DUCATI Pramac Racing
14 Chris Vermeulen 1m 42.038 AUS SUZUKI Rizla Suzuki MotoGP
15 Mika Kallio 1m 42.250 FIN DUCATI Pramac Racing
16 Aleix Espargaro 1m 42.577 SPA DUCATI Pramac Racing
17 Gabor Talmacsi 1m 42.736 HUN HONDA Scot Racing Team MotoGP