The Spaniard put in a new fastest ever lap at the Brickyard in the high 1.38s, relegating Spain's Yamaha Factory rider Jorge Lorenzo into second on the grid, after he had struggled with his bike in the preceding sessions.
Italian Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Andrea Dovizioso completes the front row, having improved steadily all weekend on his Yamaha satellite machine. Heading up the second row in fourth is local rider Ben Spies on the Yamaha factory machine, who did incredibly well to walk away from a big crash whilst pushing hard on a hot lap.
German LCR Honda rider Stefan Bradl managed to put his bike fifth on the grid. Australian Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner, who set the sixth fastest time, suffered a monstrous highside early in the session, causing the red flag to appear, which resulted in small marginal fractures in the ankle. The Australian's race fitness will be further assessed tomorrow.
British Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Cal Crutchlow came in seventh. The Brit was unable to match Dovizioso's feat, but will no doubt be pleased with his session, after having suffered two crashes in previous outings.
American Ducati rider Nicky Hayden was viciously thrown off his bike in the same bend as Stoner and his fellow compatriot Spies, in the latter part of the session, briefly rendering him unconscious. The red flag was once again shown while the American received medical attention. Hayden was spared any serious injuries, though has been declared unfit to race in light of his concussion and fractures to his 2-3 metacarpus. His time would have placed him eighth on the grid.
This moved Spain's San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Alvaro Bautista into eighth, with Power Electronics Aspar's French rider Randy de Puniet putting in a terrific performance to place ninth on his CRT machine.
Italian Ducati rider Valentino Rossi could only manage 10th place, after suffering a scare in turn 13 with his bike, causing him to abort his fast lap.
The CRT entries, Attack Performance rider Steve Rapp and GPTech rider Aaron Yates, managed to qualify for Sunday's race, in 22nd and 23rd place respectively.
Many riders spoke out about the track surface after the qualifying session sighting safety concerns after the three heavy crashes.
Spanish Pramac Racing rider Hector Barbera, who has been replaced by Toni Elías after fracturing three vertebrae in his back, is currently on his way back to Barcelona for further medical assessments
Tweet