MotoGP: Indianapolis 2009 *SPOILERS*

[Mothers Worry]

Hayden happy with front running pace 

From autosport.com:

Hayden happy with front running pace 

Friday, August 28th 2009, 20:48 GMT

Nicky Hayden was pleased to return to the sharp end of the MotoGP timesheet following today's practice session at Indianapolis, in which he set the second quickest time.

The hour-long session was wet throughout, but the Ducati rider put in a quick time on his final lap to beat the works Yamahas of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo to second place on home soil, behind Dani Pedrosa who set his time early on in the session before the heaviest of the rain.

Although the practice times are not necessarily reflective of the true pace in the dry, Hayden says he was happy with his day's work on the Desmosedici GP9.

"It feels good to be near the top again," he said. "The bike felt pretty good from the beginning and, after trying something new on the other bike which didn't work, we went back to the standard setting.

"The track was really tricky because there were sections with a lot of standing water and others where the grip was amazing - you had to be really on your toes. Mid-way through the session a funny line formed - I'm not sure if some kind of chemical came up through the asphalt from when they cleaned it, but it was pretty slick."

Hayden admitted that he pushed as hard as he could in the closing minutes of the session.

"Over the last couple of laps I just went for it because I knew I had a chance to be on top today and this is the highest I've been in any session this year," he said. "Truthfully though I need dry track time because I tend to start the weekend slowly and build up, so to lose a session to the weather is not an advantage to me.

"We need to start out strong in the morning and go from there. P1 would have been sweet but P2 at just a tenth of a second off gives us reason to smile. I'm delighted to be racing here at Indy so let's hope tomorrow brings more joy."

Hayden's team-mate Mika Kallio would have also prefered dry conditions as he continued to learn his way in his second race weekend on a factory bike, finishing the session 11th fastest.

"I struggled for grip and feeling at the start and that made it hard for me to get confident," said the Finn. "We made a few changes and the last run was much better - I think with a few more laps we could have made some big progress.

"I'm not happy because a 2.4-second gap to the leader is big, but I think we can be much closer if I can find a little more feeling with the bike."

[Mothers Worry]

Pedrosa dominates Indy qualifying 

From autosport.com:

Pedrosa dominates Indy qualifying 

Saturday, August 29th 2009, 19:19 GMT

Honda's Dani Pedrosa has continued with his crushing dominance of MotoGP's Indianapolis weekend by taking pole position with a gap of more than half a second over the rest of the field.

The Spaniard, who also topped both practice sessions, never relinquished the top of the timesheets in the second half of the one-hour session, and was the only rider to break the 1m40s barrier thanks to a 1m39.730s lap with two minutes remaining.

Compatriot Jorge Lorenzo was the only one who gave Pedrosa something of a challenge, but ultimately had to settle for second with his Yamaha, a full 0.506s behind pole.

Valentino Rossi, in the other Yamaha, salvaged third in the dying seconds. The Italian held the final front row slot for most of the session but was bettered by an impressive Alex de Angelis (Gresini Honda) with 12 minutes to go. In the end, Rossi edged ahead by just 0.011s.

Americans Colin Edwards (Tech 3 Yamaha) and Nicky Hayden (Ducati) qualified fifth and sixth respectively, despite the former crashing in the final minutes of the session.

Toni Elias (Gresini Honda) and Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) also crashed during qualifying and ultimately qualified seventh and eighth, with Marco Melandri (Hayate Kawasaki) and James Toseland (Tech 3 Yamaha) completing the top ten.

Pramac Ducati's replacement Aleix Espargaro avoided finishing his first ever MotoGP qualifying session in last position by beating Scot Honda's Gabor Talmacsi.

Pos  Rider             Bike             Time              Laps
 1.  Dani Pedrosa      Honda            1m39.730s           30
 2.  Jorge Lorenzo     Yamaha           1m40.236s + 0.506s  31
 3.  Valentino Rossi   Yamaha           1m40.609s + 0.879s  27
 4.  Alex de Angelis   Gresini Honda    1m40.620s + 0.890s  24
 5.  Colin Edwards     Tech 3 Yamaha    1m40.961s + 1.231s  21
 6.  Nicky Hayden      Ducati           1m41.067s + 1.337s  29
 7.  Toni Elias        Gresini Honda    1m41.283s + 1.553s  26
 8.  Andrea Dovizioso  Honda            1m41.309s + 1.579s  27
 9.  Marco Melandri    Hayate Kawasaki  1m41.530s + 1.800s  27
10.  James Toseland    Tech 3 Yamaha    1m41.620s + 1.890s  26
11.  Loris Capirossi   Suzuki           1m41.742s + 2.012s  26
12.  Randy de Puniet   LCR Honda        1m41.773s + 2.043s  28
13.  Niccolo Canepa    Pramac Ducati    1m41.910s + 2.180s  27
14.  Chris Vermeulen   Suzuki           1m42.038s + 2.308s  29
15.  Mika Kallio       Ducati           1m42.250s + 2.520s  24
16.  Aleix Espargaro   Pramac Ducati    1m42.577s + 2.847s  25
17.  Gabor Talmacsi    Scot Honda       1m42.736s + 3.006s  27

[Mothers Worry]

Lorenzo with De Angelis and Hayden..... well that was different.

[BlackEmber]

And I couldn't be happier about Nicky getting back on the podium.  I had some $$'s on him for a top 3 finish and he's rewarded me very nicely   Combined with some also on Kimi for the win, and I've had a good weekend!!!!   

[Oldtony]

Valentino dropping the model seems to be becoming a habit

[auto]

I was too stuffed to watch this.

Is it worth watching the replay tonight?

[Mad Maper 13]

i watched it and it was good racing i could not believe Rossi just fell off

[the chad]

And I couldn't be happier about Nicky getting back on the podium.  I had some $$'s on him for a top 3 finish and he's rewarded me very nicely   Combined with some also on Kimi for the win, and I've had a good weekend!!!!   

haha nice multi!! what did that pay  sweet

[BlackEmber]

It definately made the trip to the TAB worthwhile, that's for sure   Kimi was at $9 for the win and Nicky was $5.5 for top 3, so it was a nice little payout...

[auto]

It definately made the trip to the TAB worthwhile, that's for sure   Kimi was at $9 for the win and Nicky was $5.5 for top 3, so it was a nice little payout...

Couple of lazy pineapples?


Just saw the race. That fall from Rossi is unbelievable and weird. Not a fall that is like usual.