Rossi snatches pole in Indianapolis

ESPNstar.com - Sunday 14th September 2008
Valentino Rossi will start from the front after claiming pole position for the inaugural Indianapolis Grand Prix.
After a rain-soaked practice session on Friday, the sun came out on Saturday drying the track and helped the Italian Fiat Yamaha rider to post a fastest lap time of one minute 40.776 seconds and begin his challenge of claiming a record 69th MotoGP win. In the process he brought to an end Casey Stoner's run of seven consecutive pole positions, the Australian having to make do with starting Sunday's race from second on the grid after setting a time of 1:40.860. Rossi took control of the positions with seven minutes remaining before posting an even quicker time on his final lap to ensure he started ahead of his championship rival. As well as ending his run, the result will be a blow to Stoner as he looks to eat away at the 75-point advantage the Italian now holds over him in the championship standings. The duo will be joined on the front row by Spanish rider Jorge Lorenzo who set a quickest time of 1:41.177. He and Stoner edged ahead of American rider Nicky Hayden, who will start his home race from fourth after sliding slightly on his final lap and allowing the pair to pass him with their times. Hayden's compatriot Ben Spies joins him on the second row in fifth while French rider Randy de Puniet took sixth. The Italian Andrea Dovizioso will start from seventh with Spanish duo Dani Pedrosa and Toni Elias joining him on the third row, while British rider James Toseland rounded out the top 10.