Magnificent qualifying session for Dani Pedrosa, who claims third pole of 2012. Casey Stoner suffers big crash and impact to his right ankle, and is currently undergoing medical examinations
Just like in qualifying for the Moto3 class, the MotoGP riders were caught out by track conditions in an accident-filled session. Dani Pedrosa was the fastest man at Indianapolis and the Repsol rider will be on pole tomorrow, whilst teammate Casey Stoner will line up sixth on the grid after completing just 3 laps. The Australian suffered a big crash on his fourth lap in the session.
The Repsol Honda Team dominance from Friday carried over into Saturday morning’s free practice session, in which Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa once again recorded the best times of the field. The Australian was first, with a time of 1’39.182, 0.187 quicker than his teammate.
Things took an unexpected turn just 8 minutes into the hour-long qualifying session. In just three laps, Casey Stoner had moved to the head of the timesheet with a time of 1’39.465. However, on his fourth lap he suffered a big crash on turn 13 which threw him violently from his machine. The Repsol rider was thrown from his bike and landed hard on his right foot. He was taken immediately to the circuit medical centre, where the initial scans ruled out any serious injury and identified a ligament strain to the right ankle. He was subsequently taken to the Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis for an MRI scan to assess the injury more precisely. The Repsol Honda Team will inform the media of the results in a press release, due within the next few hours.
Teammate Dani Pedrosa took over at the front 20 minutes in. Satisfied with his setting for tomorrow, the Repsol rider put the softer tyre on his bike for the final quarter of an hour of qualifying. He dropped his time a further two times, before eventually settling for a 1’38.813 lap besting Stoner’s record from last year.
Dani Pedrosa >> Audio
FP3 – 1:39.369, 19 laps, 80 km.
QP – 1:38.813, 27 laps, 114 km.
“It was a tricky session because the asphalt was very slippery and we saw many nasty crashes already in Moto3 and then in MotoGP. It felt that you could control the slide, but suddenly many riders found themselves on the floor. It was crucial to keep the concentration on our riding and not make any mistake and achieve the lap time. To be in pole position is great at a track where the first sector is very tight and it’s always good to have a clean start. We did a very good job today, testing the tyres, working on the bike and being ready for the hot laps. I feel we have a good setting for tomorrow. We are confident for the race, but other riders look strong as well. Lorenzo picked up his pace, Spies is strong here and I hope Casey has nothing serious and can be on the grid. We will need to fight at the maximum tomorrow”.
