2010 Indianapolis MotoGP FP1 Result - New Forks Give Stoner Fresh Hope

Casey Stoner's gamble on using the 2011 spec Ohlins forks looks to have paid off, the Marlboro Ducati rider getting off to a strong start at Indianapolis by topping the timesheets with nearly a quarter of a second advantage over Jorge Lorenzo. The Fiat Yamaha rider had dominated the early part of the session, picking up where he left off at Brno. But once Stoner got the new forks dialed in, there was no stopping him, the Australian the only rider to dip into the 1'40 bracket. Lorenzo was forced to settle for 2nd, but given his advantage over his championship rivals, Lorenzo will not be too unhappy.

Nicky Hayden's special Indianapolis helmet has worked out for the Marlboro Ducati rider, Hayden setting the 3rd fastest time half a second behind his teammate, despite a crash in the last quarter of the session. Hayden finished ahead of Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa and Fiat Yamaha's Valentino Rossi, though both Pedrosa and Rossi had to put in a late charge to claw their way up the field. Colin Edwards finished in 6th place, the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha just edging out Repsol's Andrea Dovizioso and his teammate Ben Spies. Like Hayden, Spies had also crashed late in the session, but neither man was hurt in the crash.