Ben Spies takes first MotoGP pole at Indianapolis

Ben Spies took his first ever MotoGP pole position in front of his home fans at Indianapolis on Saturday, as two Americans claimed places on the front row.

Spies is the first satellite rider to start on pole since Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team-mate Colin Edwards at Shanghai, China, in 2008. The #11 is also the first rookie to start from pole since Jorge Lorenzo in 2008.

2010 title leader Lorenzo came closest to beating Spies, but the factory M1 rider - almost certain to ride alongside the Texan next season - was left 0.220sec behind at the chequered flag.

Lorenzo had knocked another American, Nicky Hayden, from pole with three minutes to go as he seeks his eighth win of the year on Sunday.

Hayden will start third after claiming his first ever front row for Ducati at the track where he finished third, marking his only Desmosedici podium to date, last year.

Team-mate Casey Stoner had been fastest in both practice sessions, but could only manage sixth - directly behind Repsol Honda riders Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa - after being held up on his final fast lap.

Stoner appeared to get revenge on Hector Barbera for the obstruction by backing off soon after, delaying the Aspar rider and Pramac's Mika Kallio, on what would have been their last fast lap.

World champion Valentino Rossi crashed out with six minutes of the hour remaining.

The spill marked his second fall of the day and the Fiat Yamaha star will start just seventh on the grid. Rossi has struggled, by his standards, all weekend and was never in serious pole contention.

Fellow Italian Marco Simoncelli will start alongside Rossi in eighth - the San Carlo Honda Gresini rider also fell.

Completing the top ten will be Edwards and fellow veteran Loris Capirossi, of Rizla Suzuki.

Hiroshi Aoyama, making his MotoGP return from a fractured vertebra at Silverstone, qualified an impressive 13th out of the 17 riders on his Interwetten Honda.
Qualifying:

1. Spies
2. Lorenzo
3. Hayden
4. Dovizioso
5. Pedrosa
6. Stoner
7. Rossi
8. Simoncelli
9. Edwards
10. Capirossi
11. Bautista
12. Melandri
13. Aoyama
14. Espargaro
15. Kallio
16. Barbera
17. de Puniet