The latest round of the MotoGP World Championship sees an exciting new track join the MotoGP calendar, with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosting its first ever World Championship race. The Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix is one of the most eagerly awaited events of the year, and the second visit stateside for the MotoGP riders.Taking place on September 14th, the maiden Indianapolis race promises to be a late-summer blockbuster, with the previous thirteen rounds having provided some breathtaking and unpredictable action. The 2008 world title still up for grabs, the riders will, as always, be going all-out for victory and the honour of becoming the first winner of the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix.
Series leader Valentino Rossi has made a career out of breaking records and reaching new milestones, and on September 14th he has another possibility of prestige; Following victory at Misano, Indianapolis is now the only circuit at which `The Doctor´ has not crossed the line first. Last time out, Rossi took Italy´s 700th Grand Prix victory, broke his Misano jinx and equalled the record for premier class wins set by MotoGP Legend Giacomo Agostini but, most importantly, he also edged one step closer to a sixth MotoGP World Championship.
Three wins for Rossi in as many races have extended his lead in the overall classification, making things difficult for title rival Casey Stoner. The gap between the two stands at 75 points, with Stoner having crashed out of the past two Grands Prix whilst pushing for victory. The Australian is not one to give up, taking a seventh consecutive pole at Misano despite a re-opening of a scaphoid injury, and needs to put points on the board at each of the remaining rounds if he is to reel in his Fiat Yamaha nemesis. The reigning World Champion had the battle of the season with Rossi at the last American race in Laguna Seca, and the title fight could provide fans with an instant classic at Indianapolis.
Whilst the gap between Rossi and Stoner has been extended in recent weeks, that which separates the Ducati Team rider from Repsol Honda´s Dani Pedrosa has been reduced to just two points. The Spaniard will be making his debut on Bridgestone tyres at the Indianapolis race, having announced a shock switch from Michelin immediately after the San Marino showdown. He has had just five hours of testing time with the new rubber.
Jorge Lorenzo lies fourth in the standings after his podium return, the runner-up behind Fiat Yamaha teammate Rossi last time out. He in turn leads fellow MotoGP rookie Andrea Dovizioso and Rizla Suzuki´s Chris Vermeulen in the top six.
Colin Edwards is the highest placing home rider heading to the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix, ahead of Shinya Nakano, Loris Capirossi and his own Tech 3 Yamaha teammate James Toseland. There is no space in the top ten for the 2006 World Champion and the man who inaugurated the new circuit, Nicky Hayden, with the man from nearby Owensboro, Kentucky having missed the past two races with a heel injury.
The only rider competing at Indianapolis to have experience of the track with an 800cc bike (Hayden´s laps at the IMS Speedway came onboard a Honda CBR1000 and a 1909 Indian, respectively) Ben Spies makes what is scheduled to be his final wildcard appearance of the year for Rizla Suzuki. The reigning AMA Superbike champion is angling for a regular MotoGP ride in 2009, and a strong showing in his third World Championship race could further attract interest from a number of teams.
250cc
The 250cc class will make its return to American soil after a fourteen year absence when the riders line up at Indianapolis, with the quarter-litre series last having raced stateside at the 1994 U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca. That race was won by Doriano Romboni, and another Italian is one of the favourites for success at Indianapolis. Current World Championship leader Marco Simoncelli is chasing his first title, and was on the podium for the six races prior to disappointment in his home round.
Just twenty-six points split Simoncelli from closest rival Mika Kallio, who has been off the rostrum for the most recent three rounds. The Red Bull KTM rider is expected to have an upgraded machine for the Indianapolis visit, with the chance to close the gap and put his name into the running for a MotoGP ride in 2009.
Alvaro Bautista, Hector Barbera, Alex Debon and Mattia Pasini also feature in the top six in the championship, and all have come into various degrees of contact with each other this season. Bautista won last time out in Misano, but all four hold 250cc victories and the potential to become the category´s first racewinner at the IMS circuit.
125cc
A non-finish for series leader Mike di Meglio at Misano narrowed the gap between himself and Simone Corsi in the 125cc standings to 28 points, with the Frenchman paying dearly in his on-track battle with the Italian challenger. The Ajo Motorsport rider has won three Grands Prix thus far in 2008, but some of his immediate rivals are hitting their own purple patches in the run-up to Indianapolis.
2007 World Champion Gabor Talmacsi is one such rider, with victory on the Rimini coast bringing the Bancaja Aspar rider back into contention as an outside shot for this year´s title. The Hungarian is on a three-race streak of pole positions in the class.
Perhaps too far away to have a realistic chance of the title, the remainder of the top six could still push for a top three finish in the final five races of the year. Stefan Bradl has taken his first Grand Prix win this year, but Joan Olive and Nico Terol –fifth and sixth, respectively- are still hungry for an elusive maiden triumph.
Circuit Information
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is one of the most famous racing circuits in the world, and the site of the largest single-day sporting event; the Indy 500. The first event held at the `Brickyard´, so called because of its original track surface, was a motorcycle race in 1909, but since then it has become a legendary car-racing venue.
The new 2,618 mile course designed for the arrival of the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix was completed earlier this year, and includes parts of both the existing oval and road-race circuits, most notably the photogenic `yard of bricks´ that marks the start/finish line.
Running in an anticlockwise direction, the track does not, however, use any of the banked corners present on the oval circuit.
The Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix takes place on September 14th, with the first MotoGP practice sessions at the IMS track occurring on the preceding Friday.
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