Dani Pedrosa changed tires Saturday and it paid off with a pole and track record in qualifying for the Indianapolis MotoGP at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Pedrosa was the fastest during morning practice by over a second, but he decided to use the harder option front tire on his Honda and a softer option rear Bridgestone in the afternoon to set a record of 1min 39.730sec on the 2.621-mile course.
His speed on his Honda was 0.506 seconds faster than second-placed Jorge Lorenzo on a Yamaha and a full second quicker than the pole position time recorded by race winner Valentino Rossi in the inaugural event here last year. AFP
“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.”
Rossi qualifies third behind teammate Lorenzo.
De Angelis starts fourth after going 1:40.620. The Associated Press
Colin Edwards led the home charge as he qualified fifth, despite crashing with less than 10 minutes to go in the session.
His countryman Nicky Hayden rounded out the second row on his Ducati.
Afterwards Rossi admitted he was concerned by Pedrosa’s pace and said his Yamaha team will need to find some improvement if they are to test the Honda Repsol rider on Sunday.
“We’re on the front row and this is important but honestly we don’t have enough pace at the moment and I can’t ride how I want to,” he said. The Press Association
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