MotoGPMotorcycles

Stoner Keeps Spies At Bay In Final Practice

2 Mins read

Casey Stoner will head into this evening's qualifying session as the favourite but wouldn't appear to be having things his own way after another tight battle with Ben Spies in the final practice session.

The times tumbled as expected with Stoner clocking a 1:39.538, over a second quicker than he managed yesterday, but Spies continued to be a major threat with the gap between the two finishing at just over a tenth of a second.

Dani Pedrosa completed the top three ahead of the other two factory Hondas of Marco Simoncelli and Andrea Dovizioso also in the mix. With both coming into this event on the back of podium finishes, the Italian duo will fancy their chances of sneaking onto the front row when qualifying takes place at 6:55pm this evening (UK time).

The top six was rounded out by a Yamaha but not the one everybody would have predicted. Colin Edwards continued his stellar weekend so far with a 1:0.438, a tenth of a second quicker than the factory machine ridden by Jorge Lorenzo. The world champion admitted on Friday that he needed to work hard to catch his teammate and the gap doesn't appear to be closing with qualifying just over an hour away.

Valentino Rossi was hot on the heels of his former teammate in eighth on the works Ducati while the fully-fit Randy de Puniet dragged the Pramac machine up to ninth. Alvaro Bautista took a trip through the grass on his way to tenth while Cal Crutchlow finished a solid 12th.

Meanwhile, Karel Abraham's miserable weekend continued as the Cardion AB Ducati stopped for the third time this weekend, only this time, because of an accident. The Czech rookie ended up over two seconds off the pace in 16th with only Hiroshi Aoyama behind him.

 

Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix: Free Practice 3 Result

Pos Rider Nat Bike Team Time/Gap
1 Casey Stoner AUS Honda Repsol Honda Team 1:39.538
2 Ben Spies USA Yamaha Yamaha Factory Racing +0.132
3 Dani Pedrosa SPA Honda Repsol Honda Team +0.358
4 Marco Simoncelli ITA Honda San Carlo Honda Gresini +0.763
5 Andrea Dovizioso ITA Honda Repsol Honda Team +0.788
6 Colin Edwards USA Yamaha Monster Yamaha Tech 3 +0.900
7 Jorge Lorenzo SPA Yamaha Yamaha Factory Racing +1.009
8 Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Ducati Team +1.160
9 Randy de Puniet FRA Ducati Pramac Racing Team +1.377
10 Alvaro Bautista SPA Suzuki Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +1.378
11 Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Ducati Team +1.529
12 Cal Crutchlow GBR Yamaha Monster Yamaha Tech 3 +1.671
13 Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Pramac Racing Team +1.958
14 Hector Barbera SPA Ducati Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP +1.974
15 Toni Elias SPA Honda LCR Honda MotoGP +2.138
16 Karel Abraham CZE Ducati Cardion AB Motoracing +2.202
17 Hiroshi Aoyama JAP Honda San Carlo Honda Gresini +2.351
Avatar photo
5101 posts

About author
MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3 and WorldSBK writer for The Checkered Flag. Contact: [email protected]
Articles
Related posts
Circuit NewsMotorcycles

Pol Tarres breaks own bike altitude world record

1 Mins read
Yamaha’s rally raid ace Pol Tarrés set the world record for the highest altitude climb on a bike when he ascended 6,677 metres up Ojos del Salado on his Ténéré World Raid.
MotoGPNASCAR Cup Series

Trackhouse Racing Team entering MotoGP in 2024

1 Mins read
NASCAR Cup Series team Trackhouse Racing will become a MotoGP team in 2024 as they partner with Aprilia to field bikes for Miguel Oliveira and Raul Fernandez.
Circuit NewsMotorcycles

FIM ban on Russians, Belarusians to continue into 2024

2 Mins read
As Moscow’s three-day war on Ukraine extends into its 651st day, its riders as well as Minsk’s will remain barred from competing in FIM-sanctioned events through at least the start of 2024.