photo courtesy of indianapolismotorspeedway.comA wonderful weekend of racing is woefully incomplete if the Greatest Racecourse in the World is not included. Luckily, grand prix motorcycle racing makes its second-ever visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and its second visit to the U.S. this year.
One thing about this event compared to, say, that other big international event the Speedway used to hold (F1's U.S.G.P.), is that this track suits bikes very well and makes for a very interesting race. Last year, the remnants of Hurricane Ike, still in low tropical storm guise, played havoc on the event with scads of wind and rain. The 125 cc race was wet and wild, the 250 cc race was canceled outright, and the MotoGP race was contested is some of the worst wind and rain conditions I've ever had the pleasure of sitting in.
And you know what? That race was still fantastic, with Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi going at it for a large portion of the race.
Fast-forward to this year's race: not only are we blessed with fantastic weather today, but this season has included the best intra-team battle in recent memory. Nearly every race has featured a wild battle between FIAT-Yamaha teammates Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo. The best moment of the entire season can be re-lived HERE (insert manly Italian weeping...those guys put Spanish soccer announcers to shame). At the most recent contest in Brno, Czech Republic, Lorenzo was putting the charge on Rossi again, but the wily veteran forced the kid into a mistake and Lorenzo low-sided out of the lead.
Another wrinkle in today's race is the presence on the pole position of the man who won the first U.S. event of 2009, Honda's Dani Pedrosa. The Honda is far and away the fastest bike in a straight line, and there's a half-mile's worth of straight line every lap as the cars come through the aluminum canyon that is IMS' front straight. Pedrosa will be a challenger for sure in this race.
The final wrinkle will be how the Americans perform in their home event. Nicky Hayden figures to have a lot of support in the stands, being just under 200 miles from his hometown of Owensboro, KY, and he starts on the outside of the second row in sixth. Personable Texan Colin Edwards starts next to Hayden in fifth and rides what could be the third- or fourth-best bike on the grid: the Tech3 Yamaha. I expect both of these guys to be past fourth-place starter Alex de Angelis pretty quickly and perhaps challenging for a podium slot.
The front of the field, I expect, will be all about the Yamahas. Pedrosa will be strong, but the technical nature of a large portion of the Indianapolis track will put him behind the blue and white bikes. Lorenzo will be challenging hard for the lead as he has all season, but when you've got an eight-time world champion riding the same equipment as you, it's hard to come out on top. Put Rossi down for a second victory at Indianapolis.
Race is at 3PM on FOX...be there! Recap from me later tonight or tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment