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"Returning to the United States is really
exciting for me, not for the fact we’re
going back there but because we’re racing at
a completely new circuit," says Jorge
Lorenzo (above). "Indianapolis is a historic
place, which we have all heard people
talking about at one time or another." |
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The MotoGP World Championship heads to the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway for the first time in its history this
weekend, fittingly with the equal most successful rider
of all-time leading the groundbreaking pilgrimage to one
of motorsport’s most iconic venues. Fiat Yamaha rider
Valentino Rossi leveled Giacomo Agostini’s record of
premier-class wins with his 68th career success at
Misano, extending his championship advantage over Casey
Stoner to 75 points, whilst his rookie team-mate Jorge
Lorenzo made it a team one-two.
It means that Rossi needs to outscore Stoner by a single
point at Indy to set up his first title match-point in
the following round at Motegi, Japan. The legendary
American circuit, which plays host to two of the
largest-attended sporting events in the world - the Indy
500 and Allstate 400 car races - now welcomes the
two-wheeled phenomena of Rossi-mania and the ‘Lorenshow’,
with the pair keen to make their mark with a dazzling
performance in front of the fanatical east-coast crowd.
Much will hinge on the adaptability of bikes and
especially tyres at a circuit the engineers have no
previous data for. A crucial factor will be track
temperature, although it looks certain to be much cooler
than recent events at Laguna Seca, Brno and in
particular Misano, where the late European summer
sunshine brought ambient temperatures of 35ºC, heating
the asphalt to 48ºC. At Indianapolis average
temperatures in September range from highs of around
25ºC to lows touching 13ºC.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the largest spectator
sporting facility in the world, with 257,000 permanent
seats. Originally constructed in 1909 with a 2.5-mile
oval, an exciting 16-turn motorcycle road circuit, which
includes part of the historic oval, has been
purpose-built for this weekend’s event. Action will get
underway an hour earlier than usual, with the first
practice session scheduled for 9.30am on Friday and
running until 11am, allowing the riders an extra half
hour to get to know the track. Sunday’s race is also
scheduled for later than usual, with the red lights set
to go out at 3pm.
Valentino Rossi
"I am still on a high from Misano, which was an amazing
day, but now we are facing a different challenge. It’s
very exciting to be going to Indianapolis, such a
famous and historical place for motorposrt, but it’s
obvious from reports that it’s going to be quite a
difficult race for everyone. Of course we have no data
but we’re also expecting the surface to be quite tricky
for the tyres. I hope the track is safe, we know the
walls are quite close in some places but hopefully it
won’t be a problem. We will find out on Friday! It’s fun
to be going to a new place in America and I hope there
will be a lot of fans, even if it’s not quite as many as
at the Indy 500!”
Jorge Lorenzo
“Returning to the United States is really exciting for
me, not for the fact we’re going back there but because
we’re racing at a completely new circuit. Indianapolis
is a historic place, which we have all heard people
talking about at one time or another. It’s a track I’ve
seen hundreds of times in movies and on the television.
As far as I’m concerned, I just want to keep in a good
run of form and stay at the level we found at San
Marino, where everything worked as we’d hoped once
again. The whole team and myself have to focus
throughout all four sessions because they will be
crucial to prepare for the race. There are five rounds
until the end of the world championship and we have to
keep fighting to meet our objectives. This is the first
of a difficult run of races outside Europe.”
Davide Brivio (Team Manager, Rossi)
“Everyone in our team really enjoys racing in America so
we’re excited about going back there, and even more so
about going to such a fantastic, historical place as
Indianapolis. It will be great fun exploring the track
and the area, and we’re anticipating a great weekend. Of
course we know it’s going to be hard, as it always is
when we go somewhere new, but the momentum is with us
after three great races and we will be aiming to
continue in the same way. Our team is very motivated and
we will be looking to get as good start on Friday
morning and then to make the most of each session from
then on.”
Daniele Romagnoli (Team Manager, Lorenzo)
“It is difficult to predict what the situation will be
like at Indianapolis because we’ve never been there
before and we don’t have any data to work from, but we
go into practice in good shape. Jorge scored a wonderful
podium at Misano and proved that he has got his feeling
back for the bike and his confidence has returned. If
the tyres are good then we can be competitive, there’s
no doubt about that. The whole team are excited about
this weekend because we love spending time in the US.
Indy is a magical track, which we have all seen on the
television many times growing up, so it is an extra
motivation for all of us to race there.”
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