Pedrosa rewrites script by passing Spies, pulling away for Indy MotoGP win

Pedrosa cruises to Indy MotoGP victory

INDIANAPOLIS — Spain’s Dani Pedrosa passed pole winner Ben Spies on the eighth lap of the Indianapolis MotoGP and pulled away for his third victory of the season Sunday.

Pedrosa, the 2009 pole winner, crashed early in last year’s race and never had a chance.

This time, he made it look easy. He beat Spies, the American rookie, by 3.575 seconds. Points leader Jorge Lorenzo, the other Spaniard, was third for his worst finish of the season.

Pedrosa has won a career-high three times this season.

The day’s biggest race was overshadowed by news that 13-year-old Peter Lenz had died after crashing and being run over by another motorcycle in the first race of the day.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Points leader Jorge Lorenzo has posted the fastest lap in the final warmup for the Indianapolis MotoGP.

The Spaniard finished the 2.621-mile course in 1 minute, 40.482 seconds. He will start second in Sunday’s race.

Spain’s Dani Pedrosa, the 2009 pole winner, was second at 1:40.708, and this year’s pole winner, American Ben Spies, was third at 1:40.711.

Former world champ Nicky Hayden was seventh at 1:41.012. He’ll start third.

Lorenzo is the prohibitive favorite to defend his Indy title after finishing first or second in all 10 races this season.

Italy’s Valentino Rossi slid off his motorcycle again during warmups but finished the session. It was Rossi’s fourth crash since Friday.