INDIANAPOLIS, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008 – Valentino Rossi became the winningest rider in MotoGP history with his victory at the inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP on Sept. 14 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Local favorite Nicky Hayden, from nearby Owensboro, Ky., finished second on his No. 69 Repsol Honda Team Honda/Michelin in the shortened race, his first podium finish since August 2007.
The victory, which came under tough wind and rain conditions due to the passing remnants of Hurricane Ike, gave five-time MotoGP World Champion Rossi his 69th win in the premier class, one more than fellow Italian legend Giacomo Agostini.
Rossi, rider of the No. 46 Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Bridgestone, said he appreciates the significance of victory at Indianapolis.
“It is quite special, yes,” he said. “I hear that Indianapolis have just the top class of all the motorsports. So from Indy to NASCAR and now in motorcycle we have MotoGP. So it’s important. It is something right on the history. But especially I’m so happy because I like the track.”
Rounding out the podium was Rossi’s Fiat Yamaha teammate, rookie Jorge Lorenzo, in third on the No. 48 Yamaha/Michelin. Casey Stoner was fourth on the No. 1 Ducati Team Ducati/Bridgestone and Andrea Dovisioso was fifth on the No. 4 JiR Team Scot MotoGP Honda/Michelin.
Race officials red-flagged the race on the 20th of 28 scheduled laps due to driving rain propelled by gusty winds. Rossi and Hayden were both adamant that officials made the right call, citing the blinding rain and gusts that, without warning, pushed their bikes side to side as they rocketed down the Speedway’s main straightaway at 190 mph.
“The wind is very inconsistent and very strong,” Rossi said. “You never know what’s going to happen with the bike. Every lap, I look and I say, ‘I hope for the red flag; I hope for the red flag.’ It was a good decision to end the race.”
Rossi took an 87-point victory over reigning World Champion Casey Stoner and can clinch his sixth MotoGP world title Sept. 28 at the Grand Prix of Japan at Motegi.
Hayden could not hide his emotions following the race, partly for claiming his first podium since finishing third at the Czech Republic in August 2007, but even more so because he led 12 of the 20 laps in front of family, friends and fans.
“Man, I had nothing to lose here,” Hayden said. “I just had to go for it. The bike felt good in the wet. Man, it felt really good to be in the lead, and I felt quite comfortable. It’s been a long time. I was thinking, ‘This only happens in the movies.’
“I just want to thank the team, my family, my fans for sticking behind me. I’d like to thank the fans. We only had to be out there for 40 minutes, they’ve been out there all day in the rain.”
Hayden’s fellow American riders had mixed results. Three-time AMA Superbike champion Ben Spies, riding the No. 11 Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki/Bridgestone, finished sixth to become the highest-finishing wild-card rider of the season.
John Hopkins, of Ramona, Calif., finished 14th on the No. 21 Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki/Bridgestone, one position ahead of Colin Edwards, the Houston native who finished 15th on the No. 5 Tech 3 Yamaha/Michelin.
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RESULTS
INDIANAPOLIS – Results of the 20-lap Red Bull Indianapolis GP race, with position, rider, country, motorcycle/tire, time behind winner:
1. Valentino Rossi Italy Yamaha/Bridgestone
2. Nicky Hayden United States Honda/Michelin +5.972 seconds
3. Jorge Lorenzo Spain Yamaha/Michelin +7.858
4. Casey Stoner Australia Ducati/Bridgestone +28.162
5. Andrea Dovizioso Italy Honda/Michelin +28.824
6. Ben Spies United States Suzuki/Bridgestone +29.645
7. Sylvain Guintoli France Ducati/Bridgestone +36.223
8. Dani Pedrosa Spain Honda/Bridgestone +37.258
9. Chris Vermeulen Australia Suzuki/Bridgestone +38.442
10. Alex de Angelis San Marino Honda/Bridgestone +42.437
11. Anthony West Australia Kawasaki/Bridgestone +47.179
12. Toni Elias Spain Ducati/Bridgestone +55.962
13. Randy de Puniet France Honda/Michelin +57.366
14. John Hopkins United States Kawasaki/Bridgestone +58.353
15. Colin Edwards United States Yamaha/Michelin +1:00.613
16. Loris Capirossi Italy Suzuki/Bridgestone +1:05.620
17. Shinya Nakano Japan Honda/Bridgestone +1:05.854
18. James Toseland Great Britain Yamaha/Michelin +1:07.968
19. Marco Melandri Italy Ducati/Bridgestone +1:21.023
Fastest lap: Rossi, 1:49.668, Lap 15
Pole lap: Rossi, 1:40.776
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POINTS
Riders: Rossi 287, Stoner 200, Pedrosa 193, Lorenzo 156, Dovizioso 129, Vermeulen 117, Edwards 109, Hayden 104, Nakano 87, Elias 86, Capirossi 86, Toseland 85, Guintoli 56, de Angelis 55, Melandri 48, de Puniet 43, Hopkins 41, West 41, Ben Spies 20, Jamie Hacking 5, Tadayuki Okada 2.
Manufacturers: Yamaha 316, Honda 243, Ducati 241, Suzuki 149, Kawasaki 71.
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PODIUM QUOTES
VALENTINO ROSSI (Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Bridgestone, winner): “This is fantastic because it’s been a long time since I won in the rain and even longer since I won four in a row! To win the first race here at Indianapolis is a great emotion and to beat Agostini’s record is also incredible, now I hope my record will stand for 30 years like his. It was an amazing race, and once I was able to pass Stoner, I knew I had the chance to win, so I pushed very hard. I had a great race with Nicky; he was really hard to pass, so congratulations to him. When the wind and rain came, it became very hard. I think I could have kept going for another eight laps OK, but there were things flying through the air – beer cans, plastic glasses – so really I think it was the right decision to stop the race! Sincerely I don’t think I’ve ever ridden in conditions like these, and I was lucky because I was far in front and therefore didn’t have to take any big risks. It’s been a perfect weekend for us de spite the weather because we made the pole position, the fastest lap and we won. I’ve really enjoyed racing here in Indy, and I am looking forward to coming back next year. Now we have a big advantage and it would be great to win the championship in Motegi, but it’s not over yet so we will keep our concentration and keep working.”
NICKY HAYDEN (Repsol Honda Team Honda/Michelin, second): “Man, it felt really good to be in the lead, and I felt quite comfortable. It’s been a long time. I was thinking, ‘This only happens in the movies’ – your home race, missing the last two and coming back to win. I was able to stay focused, but Valentino came past and he had a little more speed, especially in section three. Then when he touched the line onto the back straightaway I was able to make up a little more ground, and I thought maybe I was OK. But when it started raining heavy I was in trouble because when it had dried, I’d used up a lot of the left side of the tire, so it got pretty gnarly with all the water. Sure, you dream about winning your home race, but honestly I shouldn’t be too greedy with how things have been. I’ll take this second and enjoy it. I’d just like to say a big thanks to my team, all my guys, my friends, my family, everyone who’s stuck with me through tough times. Also, thanks to Indy and eve ryone for making this race happen. It’s a great feeling to be able to race so close to home; I enjoyed it. I gave the maximum today. I can’t say I left much on the table, and that’s how it’s supposed to be. When they stopped the race, it was pretty treacherous. It was the right thing to do. Conditions were really tough, especially with the winds because you’d be on a dry line and all of a sudden it’d blow you onto the wet. When they said we were going to do another eight laps, part of me thought, ‘Hey, let’s line back up and try again.’ But I’m not leading the championship, so I’ve got nothing to worry about. A big thanks to the fans too, we only had to be out in the wet for an hour, they’ve been out there since Thursday.”
JORGE LORENZO (Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha/Michelin, third): “This is the first wet podium in my career, including the European, Spanish and even Mallorcan Championships. To be honest, I really didn’t want to leave my motor home before the race because I was so warm and comfortable, and I really don’t like to race in the rain, but today I think things have changed. I got a good start, which surprised me, and then I was able to pass Dani and then Valentino, which surprised me even more. I am so happy to finally discover that I can be fast in the rain, as well. After Valentino passed me back, I tried to follow him, but he was a bit too fast, so I concentrated on keeping my pace consistent. Then the rain and especially the wind came, and it was quite crazy! I was still fast, though I closed the gap to Nicky, who I think had some problems by then, and maybe I could have passed him with some more laps, but it was very dangerous and so better to stop the race. We are still not perfect,
but our bike and Michelin tires were very good today. Well done to Valentino, and I hope we can continue like this for the last four races.”
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OTHER AMERICAN RIDER QUOTES
BEN SPIES (Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki/Bridgestone, sixth): “It was a good race today for me because my goal was to better my result at Laguna, and I did that. I know that I had a fourth-place bike today, though, because the crew had got it working great. But after 10 laps, I couldn’t see anything through my visor, and that was why I never made an attack because I had to follow the other guys around me to see where I was going. I think if I had lost them, I would have got caught by everybody. I rode as hard as I could and ended the race with a good sixth place. I wish we could have done a bit better, but every time I’m getting on a GP bike I’m getting better results, so who knows what’s to come.”
JOHN HOPKINS (Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki/Bridgestone, 14th): “Warm-up this morning was dry, and then the weather deteriorated not long before the race. We got a really good start, and we ran a fairly hard compound rear tire as we thought a dry line might appear before the end of the race. This took a while to get up to temperature, so I rode quite steadily in the opening laps and unfortunately lost a few places. We got into a good rhythm and our lap times were good, but then the weather rapidly got worse. The rain we could deal with, but the wind was unbelievable, which made it hard to get the bike to change direction. There was a lot of debris all over the track, and then the race was red-flagged. Overall, 14th is certainly not where we wanted to finish, but in the dry we definitely made some improvements during qualifying, and I hope we can put these to good use next time out in Japan.”
COLIN EDWARDS (Tech 3 Yamaha Yamaha/Michelin, 15th): “We spent too much time trying to make a new setting work, and because we’d had so much time on it, we went for it in the race. But I couldn’t get the bike to turn. My tires felt great, and I didn’t have a problem with them at all, but I couldn’t carry any corner speed. I’d get into the corner, and I kept running wide. The only way to fix that is to go slower so you can hold the line, and it wasn’t really fun out there. I thought I’d got a good start and I got behind a couple of guys, but everybody seemed to check up. They were right in front of me, and the next thing I know, six guys are flying around the inside and outside of me. I was almost last by the second corner, and I just put my head down to try and make some progress, but I couldn’t do anything. It is disappointing because I’m not out there not trying and running around in 15th. I’m out there trying my absolute hardest. The conditions were unbelievable. There was
all kinds of debris at the end and you didn’t know if it was gong to hit you because the wind was so unpredictable. It was a smart decision to stop it, and maybe it could have come a lap or two earlier.”
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SUPPORT CLASS WINNERS
250cc: Canceled due to high winds.
125cc: Nicolas Terol, Spain, Jack & Jones WRB Aprilia. American Stevie Bonsey placed ninth and is 14th in series points.
Red Bull Riders Cup: Sturla Fagerhaug, Norway, KTM.
Red Bull AMA U.S. Rookies Cup: Jacob Gagne, Ramona, Calif., KTM.
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NEXT RACE
Grand Prix of Japan, Motegi, Japan, Sept. 28. Round 15 of 18.
Media Contacts: Ron Green, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, (317) 492-6780, rgreen@brickyard.com
Paul Kelly, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, (315) 673-0184, pkelly@brickyard.com
World Wide Web: http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com
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