Friday Results Indianapolis
Moto GP 2014By Byron Wilson
www.motorcycle-usa.com by Byron Wilson
Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez picked up where he left off before the summer break, finishing as the fastest rider on track in Friday practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Pramac Racing’s Andrea Iannone ended the day in second-position, two-tenths adrift of the current points leader, followed by Movistar Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo in third.
The circuit at Indy has been updated since the last time MotoGP competitors battled there, with Turns 3, 4, 7, 15 and 16 reconfigured and the entire infield section repaved. It’s slightly shorter as a result of the changes (0.03 miles shorter, to be exact), and lap times are already down significantly. The previous record stood at 1’37.958; Marquez earned the top-spot in this year’s practice with a 1’32.882.
There was added impetus to push for quick laps near the end of FP2 thanks to the threat of rain looming over Saturday’s proceedings. Marquez assumed his position at the top of the pack early on, but came under fire late in the session as Lorenzo’s teammate, Valentino Rossi, Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso and Iannone all upped the pace. Iannone maintained the number-one position for a few minutes, but Marquez found a little bit extra as the session drew to a close.
Dovi dropped to fourth as Lorenzo rallied some late-session speed to move into the top-three. Marquez’s teammate, Dani Pedrosa, finished fifth with LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl in sixth. Energy T.I. Pramac Racing’s Yonny Hernandez took seventh, marking a strong Day 1 showing for Ducatis at the American circuit.
NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Aleix Espargaro took eighth followed by Rossi in ninth and Monster Tech 3 Yamaha’s Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro in 10th and 11th, respectively.
Further down the field, Forward Racing’s Colin Edwards marks the start of his final GP round on home soil with the 16th fastest time. The replacement for Drive M7 Aspar’s Nicky Hayden, Leon Camier, made his MotoGP debut and finished 3.5 seconds adrift of the leader at the back of the pack.
MotoGP Indianapolis Friday Results 2014
1. Marc Marquez (Honda) 1’32.882
2. Andrea Iannone (Ducati) 1’33.104
3. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1’33.424
4. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) 1’33.432
5. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1’33.493
6. Stefan Bradl (Honda) 1’33.513
7. Yonny Hernandez (Ducati) 1’33.531
8. Aleix Espargaro (Forward-Yamaha) 1’33.587
9. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1’33.598
10. Bradley Smith (Yamaha) 1’33.621
11. Pol Espargaro (Yamaha) 1’33.690
12. Scott Redding (Honda) 1’33.971
13. Cal Crutchlow (Ducati) 1’33.996
14. Alvaro Bautista (Honda) 1’34.054
15. Karel Abraham (Honda) 1’34.912
16. Colin Edwards (Forward-Yamaha) 1’34.994
17. Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda) 1’35.106
18. Hector Barbera (Avintia) 1’35.231
19. Michael Laverty (PBM) 1’35.472
20. Danilo Petrucci (ART) 1’35.721
21. Mike Di Meglio (Avintia) 1’35.749
22. Broc Parkes (PBM) 1’35.941
The circuit at Indy has been updated since the last time MotoGP competitors battled there, with Turns 3, 4, 7, 15 and 16 reconfigured and the entire infield section repaved. It’s slightly shorter as a result of the changes (0.03 miles shorter, to be exact), and lap times are already down significantly. The previous record stood at 1’37.958; Marquez earned the top-spot in this year’s practice with a 1’32.882.
There was added impetus to push for quick laps near the end of FP2 thanks to the threat of rain looming over Saturday’s proceedings. Marquez assumed his position at the top of the pack early on, but came under fire late in the session as Lorenzo’s teammate, Valentino Rossi, Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso and Iannone all upped the pace. Iannone maintained the number-one position for a few minutes, but Marquez found a little bit extra as the session drew to a close.
Dovi dropped to fourth as Lorenzo rallied some late-session speed to move into the top-three. Marquez’s teammate, Dani Pedrosa, finished fifth with LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl in sixth. Energy T.I. Pramac Racing’s Yonny Hernandez took seventh, marking a strong Day 1 showing for Ducatis at the American circuit.
NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Aleix Espargaro took eighth followed by Rossi in ninth and Monster Tech 3 Yamaha’s Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro in 10th and 11th, respectively.
Further down the field, Forward Racing’s Colin Edwards marks the start of his final GP round on home soil with the 16th fastest time. The replacement for Drive M7 Aspar’s Nicky Hayden, Leon Camier, made his MotoGP debut and finished 3.5 seconds adrift of the leader at the back of the pack.
MotoGP Indianapolis Friday Results 2014
1. Marc Marquez (Honda) 1’32.882
2. Andrea Iannone (Ducati) 1’33.104
3. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1’33.424
4. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) 1’33.432
5. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1’33.493
6. Stefan Bradl (Honda) 1’33.513
7. Yonny Hernandez (Ducati) 1’33.531
8. Aleix Espargaro (Forward-Yamaha) 1’33.587
9. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1’33.598
10. Bradley Smith (Yamaha) 1’33.621
11. Pol Espargaro (Yamaha) 1’33.690
12. Scott Redding (Honda) 1’33.971
13. Cal Crutchlow (Ducati) 1’33.996
14. Alvaro Bautista (Honda) 1’34.054
15. Karel Abraham (Honda) 1’34.912
16. Colin Edwards (Forward-Yamaha) 1’34.994
17. Hiroshi Aoyama (Honda) 1’35.106
18. Hector Barbera (Avintia) 1’35.231
19. Michael Laverty (PBM) 1’35.472
20. Danilo Petrucci (ART) 1’35.721
21. Mike Di Meglio (Avintia) 1’35.749
22. Broc Parkes (PBM) 1’35.941