Nicky Hayden made it two Americans in the top three during qualifying for the Indianapolis MotoGP round, as the #69 claimed his first ever front row with Ducati.

Hayden qualified in the top-three 24 times as a Honda MotoGP rider from 2003-2008, but it took until his 28th attempt to finally do so for Ducati.

The 2006 world champion was on pole until 2010 championship leader Jorge Lorenzo lapped just 0.011sec quicker with three minutes remaining, then fellow American Ben Spies jumped ahead of them both to claim his first pole in grand prix racing.

Despite missing out on pole by 0.23sec, Hayden was delighted to put himself in a competitive starting position for an event where he took his first, and so far only, Ducati podium one year ago.

“I finally got my first front row with Ducati – it only took a year and a half!” he smiled. “We’re really happy for it though especially because it’s so important for tomorrow’s race.

“If I want to be running up front tomorrow I have to be there from the start and I told Juan [Martinez - Nicky's crew chief] before the session that we were due a front row and today was the day to get it.

“We found a decent setting on race tyres and when we put the soft compound in the jump was so big it felt like the kind of qualifying tyres we used to have.

“To have two American’s on the front row is great for MotoGP in this country and for everybody who supports it over here. Hopefully it brings out a big crowd tomorrow and we’ll do our best to put on a good show.”

Team-mate Casey Stoner will start from directly behind Hayden after qualifying sixth fastest.

The Australian had been fastest in both practice sessions, but the 2007 world champion – who fell this morning – wasn’t able to take advantage of the softer option tyre.

“I’m not very happy with this afternoon’s qualifying session, we expected to be a little faster,” he said.

“During the session we struggled to find the grip with the hard tyre so we spent a lot of time trying to fix it and unfortunately we tried a couple of different things and then when we switched immediately to soft tyres we had trouble with the setting and we didn’t have a lot of feeling.

“I’m a little disappointed for sure, but confident enough for tomorrow. I think we should have a bit better race pace than some of the riders in front of us today.”

Saturday marked only the second time that Hayden has out-qualified Stoner as a team-mate.

Qualifying Times

Hayden, who over the past two seasons has won over the Ducatisti with his positive and determined attitude, currently lies sixth in the MotoGP World Championship standings and is confident for two successful seasons ahead, which he will tackle with his trademark enthusiasm.

Filippo Preziosi – Ducati Corse Director
“We are really pleased that Nicky will be staying with us for the next two years. It is no secret that he is a rider who never gives up, his whole racing history shows it. As a person his tenacity is an example for us all because he shows us that nothing is impossible if you truly believe. His progress since arriving at Ducati has been impressive and I am sure this trend will continue in the future. Nicky is also a special rider because of his attention to every detail and for him having Valentino as his team-mate means a huge contribution towards the development of an even more competitive motorcycle. I think it is these characteristics that have won the hearts of all the Ducatisti and that is the reason why a Ducati is the bike for him right now.”

Nicky Hayden – Ducati MotoGP Team
“I am very proud to be signing for Ducati again. Last year I  felt like I rode for Ducati but now I really feel as if I am a Ducati rider. The team, sponsors and Ducati fans have really taken me in and supported me a lot and I really hope to pay them back with the results they deserve. Next year I’ll be teamed with some guy named Rossi who knows a little something about bikes! We’re going to have a strong squad – I won’t predict results but I have no doubt this team will have some real passion, real worth ethic and a lot of fun. It is the start of a new era at Ducati and it is an honour for me to be a part of it.”

On a personal note, I can’t wait to see Hayden & Rossi teaming up again! Ducati has got to have one of the strongest line-up’s going into the new specs for 2012!

 As you probably know by now, Nicky Hayden has finally broken his podium duck at Ducati, taking third place on the rostrum at his “home” track, Indianapolis Grand Prix!

The Kentucky Kid held off a late charge by Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso, incidentally the man who replaced Hayden at HRC, to take his second consecutive podium at the brickyard!

Here’s what Hayden had to say after the race-

Nicky Hayden – (Ducati MotoGP Team) (3rd)

“It feels great to be on the podium here at Indianapolis and I want to thank all the team, my friends, family and fans for their support because this has been a tough season and I’ve needed every one of them. I was really careful at the start because I watched the 125cc race earlier on and the guy in my grid position made a jump start – it made me think that I really didn’t want to do that today! As a result I didn’t get a great start but I saw Lorenzo charge past a few guys, making a hole in the pack, so I tried to follow him.

I pushed hard and in the middle of the race I went as fast as I have all weekend, but I didn’t have any more than that. Dovizioso came on strong at the end so I gave myself a little pep talk and made sure I was ready for whatever he had. He was going to have to come up with something special to keep me off the podium here at Indy! Thankfully I kept it together and brought it home.

We don’t have long to the next race at Misano but I’m in the mood for a little party tonight. My buddies have seen the sun come up every day since Friday but hopefully they’ve got something left in the tank for me!”

You can watch Nicky’s post-race interview here

Once again, mega congrats to Nicky and the Ducati team, and we hope this is just the beginning!

Source: Nicky’s Official Site

HUGE congrats to Nicky and Ducati, you guys have worked tremendously hard together to get that bike running up at the front, and hope this podium inspires you for the rest of the season!

And they had all better party hard tonight!

Pos. Points Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Total time Km/h Gap
1 25 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 47′13.592 149.976
2 20 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 47′23.027 149.478 9.435
3 16 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 47′26.539 149.294 12.947
4 13 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 47′27.070 149.266 13.478
5 11 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 47′39.846 148.599 26.254
6 10 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 47′46.000 148.280 32.408
7 9 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 47′47.992 148.177 34.400
8 8 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Ducati Team Ducati 47′48.448 148.154 34.856
9 7 24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 47′58.597 147.631 45.005
10 6 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 47′58.969 147.612 45.377
11 5 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 47′59.070 147.607 45.478
12 4 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 48′05.886 147.259 52.294
13 3 44 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Pramac Racing Ducati 48′17.144 146.686 1′03.552
14 2 41 Gabor TALMACSI HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 48′28.678 146.105 1′15.086

Not classified
33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki 42′36.675 3 Lap
88 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 39′29.440 5 Lap
46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 21′16.362 16 Lap

Source: MotoGP.com

Pos. Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Lap time Km/h Gap
1 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1′40.446 321.400
2 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1′40.489 311.186 0.043
3 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1′40.717 317.235 0.271
4 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1′40.759 317.235 0.313
5 24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1′41.308 317.922 0.862
6 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 1′41.352 317.578 0.906
7 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1′41.436 310.528 0.990
8 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki 1′41.535 320.348 1.089
9 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1′41.719 318.611 1.273
10 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1′41.990 318.957 1.544
11 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1′42.260 316.893 1.814
12 88 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 1′42.515 310.857 2.069
13 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1′42.534 315.193 2.088
14 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Ducati Team Ducati 1′42.547 315.870 2.101
15 44 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Pramac Racing Ducati 1′42.581 314.181 2.135
16 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1′42.794 308.895 2.348
17 41 Gabor TALMACSI HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 1′43.105 312.510 2.659

Source: MotoGP.com

MotoGP.com caught up with Nicky after his best dry qualifying position onboard the Ducati, and here’s what he had to say-

Nicky Hayden – (Ducati MotoGP Team) (6th; 1’41.067)

“It seems the story is always the same: even though this is my best dry qualifying result and second best grid position of the year I still feel I could have gone faster at the end and I’m not completely happy. I set a good lap chasing Dani (Pedrosa) but I think the tyre went off right at the end because it started to spin up in the last sector and it cost me some time. Anyway, I’m on the second row and we’re competitive so it’s not all bad.

I’m using a slightly different set-up here than before Brno – something we found in the test there – and it’s definitely helping me through some of these flip-flop direction changes. I know what I’m in for tomorrow and I’m not expecting to find a full second in the morning. The main thing will be to see about the tyre choice if it is a lot cooler, as a lot of people are expecting.

I’m really looking forward to racing in front of my fans, friends and family here at Indy and the plan is to get the best start possible, try to hang on to that front group as long as I can and just give the absolute maximum.”

Source: MotoGP.com

Pos. Rider Nation Team Lap time
1 D. PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team 1′40.271
2 J. LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team + 1.015
3 A. DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini + 1.053
4 V. ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team + 1.118
5 C. EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 + 1.188
6 A. DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team + 1.522
7 N. HAYDEN USA Ducati Team + 1.612
8 N. CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing + 2.109
9 M. KALLIO FIN Ducati Team + 2.162
10 M. MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team + 2.189
11 L. CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 2.236
12 T. ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini + 2.332
13 C. VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 2.394
14 A. ESPARGARO SPA Pramac Racing + 2.504
15 R. DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP + 2.544
16 J. TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 + 2.860
17 G. TALMACSI HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP + 2.913

Source: MotoGP.com

Nicky takes MotoGP’s Gavin Emmett on a tour of the Indianapolis circuit, paying close attention to turns 1, 10 and 16.

Click here to watch the video on MotoGP.com

MotoGP.com have uploaded an interview with Nicky after yesterday’s first practice session at Indianapolis. You can watch what he had to say (and check out his new hairdo!) or read the transcript below.

Nicky Hayden – (Ducati MotoGP Team)  (2nd; 1’51.662)

“It feels good to be near the top again! The bike felt pretty good from the beginning and after trying something new on the other bike, which didn’t work, we went back to the standard setting and went from there.

The track was really tricky because there were sections with a lot of standing water and others where the grip was amazing – you had to be really on your toes. Midway through the session a funny line formed – I’m not sure if some kind of chemical came up through the asphalt from when they cleaned it but it was pretty slick. Over the last couple of laps I just went for it because I knew I had a chance to be on top today and this is the highest I’ve been in any session this year.

Truthfully though I need dry track time because I tend to start the weekend slowly and build up, so to lose a session to the weather is not an advantage to me. We need to start out strong in the morning and go from there. P1 would have been sweet but P2 at just a tenth of a second off gives us reason to smile. I’m delighted to be racing here at Indy so let’s hope tomorrow brings more joy!”

Pos. Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Lap time Km/h Gap
1 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1′51.507 268.029
2 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 1′51.662 266.811 0.155
3 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1′51.814 269.257 0.307
4 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1′51.894 266.328 0.387
5 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1′52.264 275.572 0.757
6 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1′52.888 269.504 1.381
7 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1′52.928 270.248 1.421
8 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1′53.128 267.054 1.621
9 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1′53.151 278.709 1.644
10 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki 1′53.590 260.888 2.083
11 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Ducati Team Ducati 1′53.967 268.519 2.460
12 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1′54.554 247.898 3.047
13 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1′55.674 256.335 4.167
14 24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1′55.788 259.047 4.281
15 44 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Pramac Racing Ducati 1′56.204 264.410 4.697
16 41 Gabor TALMACSI HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 1′56.594 262.990 5.087
17 88 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 1′58.244 233.699 6.737

Source: MotoGP.com