Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa has taken pole position for tomorrow's Indianapolis MotoGP race in a session that was marred by three massive crashes, one of which saw reigning champion Casey Stoner tear the ligaments in his right ankle.
Stoner was the first to go down at turn 14 when his RC213V spat him off so hard the rear tyre was ripped off the rim - which also fell to bits on impact with the tarmac (see below). Ben Spies also fell in the same piece of tarmac and then Nicky Hayden was knocked unconscious when he pitched off his factory Ducati a couple of yards further down the track.
Spies managed to get back on track but couldn't improve on his laptime and has to settle for fourth place. The Texan is looking in good shape, though, as his sector times and race look more than competitive.
We await news on Hayden as he remains in the medical centre undergoing checks after escaping serious injury. MotoGP doesn't have the same seven-day rule as British Superbikes so even though he was knocked out, he may be allowed to race tomorrow.
Jorge Lorenzo, meanwhile, crept into second place after Pedrosa set an outright lap record with a 1'38.813. The Yamaha man was more than a second off the pace in the final free practice session but found a setting in the qualifying session that enabled him to get on to the front row.
Monster Yamaha's Andrea Dovizioso rounds out the front row with Spies in fourth and rookie Stefan Bradl in fifth. Should Stoner be fit, he will start from the outside of row two with Britain's Cal Crutchlow one place further back.
Hayden in eighth, Alvaro Bautista ninth and Valentino Rossi has some serious work to do as he is down in 11th and nearly two seconds off the pace - and to add insult to being slow, Randy De Puniet is faster than the Italian legend, grabbing tenth.
Britain's James Ellison is in 18th, just behind the Pramac Ducati prototype of Toni Elias, while Colin Edwards is 20th.
