Pedrosa posts best practice lap at Indianapolis

By Michael Marot

Associated Press

Published: Friday, Aug. 17 2012 2:05 p.m. MDT

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Casey Stoner, of Australia, steers his motorcycle during practice for the MotoGP motorcycle race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Friday, Aug. 17, 2012.

Darron Cummings, Associated Press

Summary

Spain's Dani Pedrosa posted the fastest practice lap Friday at the Indianapolis Grand Prix.

INDIANAPOLIS — Spain's Dani Pedrosa posted the fastest practice lap Friday at the Indianapolis Grand Prix.

The 2010 race winner completed the 16-turn, 2.621-mile road course in 1 minute, 39.783 seconds. American Ben Spies, the 2010 pole-winner and race runner-up, was second at 1:40.078. Points leader Jorge Lorenzo was third at 1:40.502, and defending champion Casey Stoner was fifth at 1:40.623.

Pedrosa also was clocked at 208.6 mph in the speed trap, a new track record.

Qualifying is scheduled for Saturday. The race will be held Sunday.

The on-track performances have taken a backseat, so far, to the verbal sparring between Stoner, a two-time world champ, and Italy's Valentino Rossi, a seven-time world champ. Rossi's season-long struggles continued Friday, finishing 10th on the speed charts with a time of 1:41.529.

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