2011 MotoGP
The American Ben Spies has something to prove before his home fans this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Red Bull Grand Prix.
The Texan took his first MotoGP pole position at IMS during his freshman outing last year, and followed that up with his best finish of the season – second.
And Spies began 2011 Indy MotoGP in that fierce form he’s obviously capable at Indy, the Yamaha Factory Racing rider leading the first free practice session; Spies posted a 1:43.260 at the 2.6-mile circuit.
Following 0.292 of a second behind was the current MotoGP points leader, Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner. The Australian, who has won six races in 11 rounds so far, was trailed 0.022 of a second by Monster Tech 3 Yamaha’s Colin Edwards.
Fourth quickest was San Carlo Gresini Honda’s Marco Simoncelli, who arrives in Indy fresh off his first MotoGP podium at Brno. The third and final American on the 17-rider MotoGP grid, Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden, was fifth fastest in FP1; Hayden was the final rider to post within a second of Spies.
As for nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi, the Italian was sixth fastest, 1.1 seconds behind Spies.
2011 Indy MotoGP Free Practice 1 Results
| Pos. | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time | Gap 1st/Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 11 | Ben SPIES | USA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 313.1 | 1’43.260 | |
| 2. | 27 | Casey STONER | AUS | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 319.0 | 1’43.552 | 0.292 / 0.292 |
| 3. | 5 | Colin EDWARDS | USA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 312.3 | 1’43.574 | 0.314 / 0.022 |
| 4. | 58 | Marco SIMONCELLI | ITA | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 315.9 | 1’43.582 | 0.322 / 0.008 |
| 5. | 69 | Nicky HAYDEN | USA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 315.6 | 1’44.236 | 0.976 / 0.654 |
| 6. | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 311.5 | 1’44.362 | 1.102 / 0.126 |
| 7. | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 317.6 | 1’44.551 | 1.291 / 0.189 |
| 8. | 8 | Hector BARBERA | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP | Ducati | 317.4 | 1’45.026 | 1.766 / 0.475 |
| 9. | 1 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 312.9 | 1’45.065 | 1.805 / 0.039 |
| 10. | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 314.4 | 1’45.192 | 1.932 / 0.127 |
| 11. | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | Rizla Suzuki MotoGP | Suzuki | 313.5 | 1’45.249 | 1.989 / 0.057 |
| 12. | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 311.8 | 1’45.368 | 2.108 / 0.119 |
| 13. | 14 | Randy DE PUNIET | FRA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 311.2 | 1’45.577 | 2.317 / 0.209 |
| 14. | 7 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | JPN | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 312.8 | 1’46.159 | 2.899 / 0.582 |
| 15. | 65 | Loris CAPIROSSI | ITA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 310.5 | 1’46.484 | 3.224 / 0.325 |
| 16. | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | CZE | Cardion AB Motoracing | Ducati | 306.1 | 1’46.643 | 3.383 / 0.159 |
| 17. | 24 | Toni ELIAS | SPA | LCR Honda MotoGP | Honda | 309.6 | 1’47.507 | 4.247 / 0.864 |
