Submitted by Mike Lewis on
Nicky Hayden, the 2006 MotoGP champion and current World Superbike rider, finished FP4 at the top of the timesheet when a fortuitous downpour ended the dry qualifying on slicks just after the American set a fast lap. World Champion Marc Marquez finished second 3.2-seconds behind. But the Spaniard might have been the real winner. His 1'40.031 on full wet tires after a rainstorm interrupted practice, was nearly a second faster than next quickest rider, Aleix Espargaro.
Results:
| Pos. | No. | Rider | Bike | Time | Diff. /Prev. | |
| 1 | 69 | Nicky HAYDEN | Honda | 1'36.810 | ||
| 2 | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | Honda | 1'40.031 | 3.221 / 3.221 | |
| 3 | 41 | Aleix ESPARGARO | Suzuki | 1'40.971 | 4.161 / 0.940 | |
| 4 | 76 | Loris BAZ | Ducati | 1'40.973 | 4.163 / 0.002 | |
| 5 | 43 | Jack MILLER | Honda | 1'41.092 | 4.282 / 0.119 | |
| 6 | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | Honda | 1'41.199 | 4.389 / 0.107 | |
| 7 | 45 | Scott REDDING | Ducati | 1'41.482 | 4.672 / 0.283 | |
| 8 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Ducati | 1'41.648 | 4.838 / 0.166 | |
| 9 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | Yamaha | 1'41.825 | 5.015 / 0.177 | |
| 10 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | 1'41.880 | 5.070 / 0.055 | |
| 11 | 99 | Jorge LORENZO | Yamaha | 1'42.112 | 5.302 / 0.232 | |
| 12 | 68 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | Ducati | 1'42.152 | 5.342 / 0.040 | |
| 13 | 44 | Pol ESPARGARO | Yamaha | 1'42.225 | 5.415 / 0.073 | |
| 14 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | 1'42.226 | 5.416 / 0.001 | |
| 15 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | Ducati | 1'42.916 | 6.106 / 0.690 | |
| 16 | 6 | Stefan BRADL | Aprilia | 1'43.019 | 6.209 / 0.103 | |
| 17 | 7 | Mike JONES | Ducati | 1'43.048 | 6.238 / 0.029 | |
| 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | Suzuki | 1'43.821 | 7.011 / 0.773 | ||
| 50 | Eugene LAVERTY | Ducati | 1'43.933 | 7.123 / 0.112 | ||
| 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Aprilia | 1'44.411 | 7.601 / 0.478 | ||
| 53 | Tito RABAT | Honda | 1'44.545 | 7.735 / 0.134 | ||
Round Number:
16
2016
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Comments
Hayden..
IF, IF, IF, IF - Nicky won tomorrow, I think the cheer from the crowd at P.I. would be heard in Kentucky. Nicky is very much a hero down here, not just for his P.I. Lap Record but for his absolute sportsmanship, great riding, and no BS character. We appreciate clean riding, lack of show-pony extremes and just general 'good bloke' nature. His time as wingman to Stoner, never complaining and always giving it the best shot, did NOT go unappreciated. I doubt there is an Aussie motoGp fan who would not pick up Nicky's bar tab in any pub down here, anytime.
Pole?
If qualifying is rained out that run will place Hayden on pole correct? Weird way to get it but I think it happened once before. Or was that WSBK?
Dry practice, not qualifying.
Dry practice, not qualifying. No affect on grid pos.
Grinning
Did you seee his shit eating grin when the cameras were in his box ofter the session? Hilarious! I'm so happy he was brought in to replace Danny. Anything can happen in the wet. GO KENTUCKY KID!
It was already raining
when Nick set that time. It started to sprinkle on the first lap and Marquez pulled back into the pits. Nick stayed out. He did two more laps on slicks as the rain began to fall, and it was pouring down by the last of those three laps. The lap he set that 1:36 was in the rain and on slicks. It was far from dry. Look at the video on MotoGP dot com. The rooster tail coming off the back of Nick's Honda is proof enough that his time was more remarkable than simply being at the top of the time sheets.
Never thought I'd see the day
Never thought I'd see the day when someone has to come out and defend a random wet practice time. We all know Nicky's a talented rider. He's not great but good on his day. Surely he doesn't need defense by any of us?