Pedrosa posts fastest practice lap at Indianapolis Grand Prix

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Spain's Dani Pedrosa posted the fastest practice lap Friday at the Indianapolis Grand Prix.

The 2010 race winner completed the 16-turn, 2.621-mile road course in 1 minute, 39.783 seconds. American Ben Spies, the 2010 pole-winner and race runner-up, was second at 1:40.078. Points leader Jorge Lorenzo was third at 1:40.502, and defending champion Casey Stoner was fifth at 1:40.623.

Pedrosa also was clocked at 208.6 mph in the speed trap, a new track record.

Qualifying is scheduled for Saturday. The race will be held Sunday.

The on-track performances have taken a backseat, so far, to the verbal sparring between Stoner, a two-time world champ, and Italy's Valentino Rossi, a seven-time world champ. Rossi's season-long struggles continued Friday, finishing 10th on the speed charts with a time of 1:41.529.

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