American MotoGP rookie Spies pulls big qualfiying surprise by winning Indianpolis pole

American Spies takes pole for Indianapolis MotoGP

INDIANAPOLIS — Ben Spies always believed he could beat the world’s best motorcycle riders.

On Saturday, the American long shot proved it.

Spies challenged points leader Jorge Lorenzo in qualifying and wound up earning his first career pole with a lap of 1 minute, 40.105 seconds — the most shocking upset in the three-year history of the Indianapolis MotoGP.

“Ben’s lap was amazing and I couldn’t make it,” said Lorenzo, who has seven wins and three seconds in 10 starts this season and a 77-point lead in the world standings. “I only could make second place today.”

If Lorenzo couldn’t beat Spies in the one-hour qualifying session, nobody was going to.

American Nicky Hayden, the 2006 world champ, tentatively took the No. 1 starting spot with about 7½ minutes left in qualifying. Lorenzo bettered that with 2:45 to go, covering the 2.621-mile course in 1:40.325.

Just 38 seconds later, though, Spies did the unthinkable — posting a time that withstood the remaining challenges over the final 2:07. Lorenzo will start second, inside of Spies, with Hayden starting third Sunday.

What Spies accomplished on Saturday, though, will not soon be forgotten at this historic track.

The 26-year-old rookie ended a 41-race drought by becoming the first American to win a MotoGP pole since Colin Edwards in May 2008 at China. He’s the first American to win a pole on home soil since Hayden did it in 2005 at Laguna Seca, and he’s the first rookie to win a pole since Lorenzo at Qatar in March 2008.

That’s not all.

Spies, who has never won a MotoGP race, had to compete on the closest thing he has to a home track with less-than-ideal equipment. Non-factory teams, such as Spies’ Monster Yamaha Tech 3, rely on unused parts from the richer factory teams, and series rules require rookies to compete with non-factory teams.

Add the memory of Friday afternoon’s practice crash and the slick conditions that led to three more crashes in Saturday’s qualifying, and the outlook seemed bleak.

Instead, he overcame all those obstacles.

“We just put it on the line that last bit and got it,” Spies said without even a speck of satisfaction showing on his face. “To be the pole, the first pole for me, in front of an American crowd and here in Indy, with all the history, it’s great.”

American fans now have two front-row starters to cheer: Hayden, the Kentucky native who earned his best starting spot since switching to the prestigious Ducati Marlboro Team in 2009, and Spies, the heavy underdog with a truly American story.

Spies made three MotoGP starts in 2008, then left the circuit to ride full-time in the world superbikes series. After winning a world title in his rookie season, the Yamaha team offered Spies a full-time gig. He competed in last season’s MotoGP season finale, and, on Friday, Fiat Yamaha officially signed Spies as the 2011 replacement for Italy’s Valentino Rossi, who will join Ducati next season.

Spies’ new teammate? Lorenzo.

And the announcement seemed to liberate Spies.

“It’s kind of a monkey off my back, and I feel a little more comfortable for the rest of the year,” he said. “I’m also trying to give as much as I can to them (Tech 3) because they’ve helped catapult me in that position.”

The only bigger prize than taking the pole would be winning Sunday’s race, and Lorenzo thinks it is possible.

“He’s been getting closer to the top guys and I think tomorrow, if he can keep his level, he can fight for the win,” Lorenzo said.

Spies says that will require a better all-around performance than the one that earned him the pole.

“There were a bunch of boxes to be ticked this year, but the problem is, there’s really only one left,” he said. “We’ve had a couple of top-fives, a podium, and now a pole. Why not? You always go for it. In any race, a racer is there to win. It’s not always there to be had, but tomorrow, we’re on pole and we’ll just try to give (Lorenzo) a race.”

(This version CORRECTS Spies’ age to 26 in ninth paragraph.)