SPEEDWAY — Unlike the first visit of the MotoGP riders to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Red Bull Indianapolis GP, the riders were greeted with dry track conditions with new track records being established in all three divisions.
Last year, rain impacted qualifying for the MotoGP, 250cc and 125cc classes, and storms on race day resulted in the shortening of the MotoGP and 125cc races and the cancellation of the 250cc event.
Existing track records were shattered during Saturday qualifying in all three classes in preparation for the Red Bull Indianapolis GP today. The 125cc race starts at noon, followed by the 250cc class at 1:15 p.m. and the MotoGP at 3 p.m.
Thousands of fans took advantage of the sunny, cool weather to watch practice and qualifying with throngs of people gathered on the infield road circuit at the crucial corners leading from and to the long front and back straightaways
As he has done all weekend, Dani Pedrosa topped the speed chart following qualifying for the MotoGP. Pedrosa was fastest during both the Friday and Saturday practice sessions and followed that up by capturing his second pole position of the year.
Pedrosa set a new track record with a time of 1 minute, 39.730 seconds and was one of four drivers to break the mark set by Valentino Rossi in 2008 of 1:40.776. Pedrosa’s time was the fastest ever at IMS on a motorcycle.
It broke a string of seven consecutive pole positions for the Fiat Yamaha team of Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo. Pedrosa won the pole position in Germany.
Lorenzo, Rossi and Alex De Angelis all topped the old mark. Americans Colin Edwards and Nicky Hayden posted the fifth and sixth quickest time. Hayden finished second in 2008, and Edwards is coming off a 15th-place showing at IMS.
During the final practice session before qualifying, Pedrosa turned the fastest lap ever on a motorcycle at IMS with a time of 1:40.271. Pedrosa on Friday turned the fastest lap in the first practice session under wet track conditions at 1:51.507 for the Repsol Honda team.
France’s Mike Di Meglio grabbed the pole position for the 250cc race on the last lap of qualifying posting a time of 1:44.341 to break the mark set last year by Marco Simoncelli of 1:45.168.
Points leader Hiroshi Aoyama was second quick followed by Simoncelli and Hector Barbera.
Seven drivers broke the old track record in the class.
Spain’s Julian Simon led an assault on the old track record in the 125cc class, capturing the pole position with a time of 1:49.337, shattering the mark set last year by Pol Espargaro by more than a second.
Fourteen drivers topped Espargaro’s mark of 1:50.475 set in 2008. German rider Sandro Cortese turned a lap at 1:49.387 to join Simon on the front of the starting grid. Nicolas Terol was third quick followed by Esparago.
“I am really happy. It was a very good result,” Simon said after capturing the pole position. “The track conditions, it was tough in some corners, but overall it was very, very good.”
Simon said during the Friday practice there was a problem with the suspension and chassis, but the team gave him a good set-up for qualifying.
Houston native Kevin Schwantz, the 1993 world champion, said the atmosphere in Indianapolis was like at any great Grand Prix event around the world.
“The layout here at the Speedway, the big, long back straightaway, as well as the super-long front straightaway, gives a bike that maybe isn’t handling as well a chance to catch back up in the draft,” he said. “That will keep the racing close throughout the day.”
Schwantz said it’s great to see how many people in America care about the sport.
“The sport, if it has a home, it seems like it’s mostly Europe,” he said. “But to come here and see how well the U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca and especially here in Indianapolis, how both events have grown and the support the American fans give it. Anybody that knows anything about any form of motorsport knows Indianapolis Motor Speedway. For MotoGP to be here, it’s really special.”
Local Sports
Pedrosa wins pole at MotoGP
- Local Sports
-
-
Five for fighting
Like other coaches, Alexandria wrestling coach Jack Grimaldi sometimes has to worry about how to motivate his charges as they head into their matches. That shouldn’t be an issue for him with his five Tigers heading into Saturday’s individual semistate at New Castle.
-
Red-hot Lapel limiting miscues
Like any basketball coach, Jimmie Howell knows how important it is for a team to be playing its best basketball as the state tournament draws near.
But what’s going on in Lapel might be redefining that theory.
With a 60-42 win on the road over Class 3A No. 6 Guerin Catholic on Saturday, the Bulldogs pushed their winning streak to eight games. Over the 32-minute course of the game against the Golden Eagles, Lapel committed a microscopic four turnovers. -
PH moves on
On the roster of every successful team is a player or two who will do the unpleasant work. The ones who actually find satisfaction in this pursuit are worth their weight in wins to any coach. Pendleton Heights sophomore Kiawna Cottrell was just that player Tuesday as the Arabians advanced to the second round of sectional play with a 55-45 victory over Greenfield-Central.
-
Indians slay Spartans
The last time these two girls basketball teams met on Jan. 17, Anderson defeated Connersville 83-74 in overtime. Lady Tribe coach Chad Cook knew the Spartans would come out with a chip on their shoulder ready for revenge in Tuesday’s opening round of the Class 4A sectional.
-
Eagles eke by Raiders
Back in November, the Frankton girls basketball team handled Shenandoah by 29 points. Tuesday’s sectional opener at Shenandoah wasn’t as easy, but the end result was the same as Frankton moved on with a 44-43 win over the host Shenandoah Raiders.
-
Wapahani ends Lapel’s season
With both teams scrapping for loose balls and rebounds often, the second game of the first-round girls basketball sectional Tuesday night at Shenandoah seemed destined to become a backyard brawl. And as is so often the case, the more experienced team came out on top. A sloppy but hard-fought contest turned into little more than a war of attrition late as finally Lapel ran out of gas, falling to Wapahani 49-33.
-
Madison-Grant survives, advances
Madison-Grant girls basketball coach Kyle Douglas reminded his team before Tuesday’s Class 2A sectional opener that the state tournament marks the beginning of a new season. With 4.6 seconds remaining against Alexandria, Argylls senior Taylor McNutt held the first game of that new season in her hands at the free-throw line. She calmly made her first attempt, and wild scramble for the loose ball erupted when her second try glanced off the rim. The clock expired before either team could gain possession, and Madison-Grant (14-8) escaped with a 58-57 victory and a ticket to Round 2.
-
Daleville bucks Liberty Christian, heads into Class A semifinals
Not much changed in Sectional 55 on Tuesday at Wes-Del as Daleville pressured the Lions into submission on the way to a 51-24 win and the chance to face the host Wes-Del Warriors.
-
Tribe win over Spartans 50 - 46
Photos from the opening round of the Class 4A Sectional at Greenfield-Central on Tuesday.
-
Arabians advance after 55-45 win over Cougars
Photos from the Greenfield-Central sectional as the Pendleton Heights Arabians faced the Cougars.
- More Local Sports Headlines
-
