13/09/2008
Rossi makes rainy debut at the brickyard
Valentino Rossi
The historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway had its first taste of MotoGP action today as the inaugural Indianapolis Grand Prix got underway, but it was a rain-hit debut for the sport at this most famous of racetracks. Nonetheless Fiat Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi made an encouraging start and is optimistic for the weekend, should the weather not become even worse.
After having some initial concerns on first sight yesterday, the Italian was pleasantly surprised with his first foray onto the track and found it more enjoyable to ride than he had expected, despite the areas of new asphalt lacking some grip. He was 11th fastest this morning but improved considerably this afternoon and finished the second session, which was much wetter, in fourth. Fastest on track today was Anthony West, whilst Rossi's team-mate Jorge Lorenzo was also happy with his first outing, finishing seventh in both sessions
Valentino Rossi - Position: 11thTime: 1'54.795Laps: 59
"So, after some worries yesterday it seems that the track is not so bad and in fact it's a lot more fun to ride than I expected; it's like Rio in places. There are some parts that have a few problems and we can definitely improve them for the future, especially turn five and turn one, but for now I think it is okay. The biggest problem is the difference in the asphalt, which changes too much, and the new asphalt doesn't drain so well; if this weather becomes worse things will be very difficult. I am really sad about the rain because it's fantastic to be here and I felt quite a strong emotion leaving the garage for the first time this morning, at such a historic place. I really hope that the weather improves so that we can have some crowds here on Sunday! I think we have good potential here and I feel like if it was dry then I could be quite fast as well, but it looks like this won't be the case at the moment. Anyway, the situation is okay, my bike and tyres are working well so far so we will try to improve again tomorrow."
Davide Brivio - Team Manager
"It's a great pity that the weather is so bad on our Indianapolis debut! We had hoped for better conditions but it's the same for everyone and we're working as hard as we can to find a good set-up for these conditions, because it looks like it may stay like this all weekend. This afternoon we improved our bike and in general things were much better, so now we will just continue like this. Being a new track there are many things to adjust, but I think it's fair to say that we have had a good first day in difficult conditions."
Lorenzo seventh as MotoGP lands at Indianapolis
MotoGP made its long-awaited debut at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana today, the first time in 99 years that the track has seen motorcycle action. Jorge Lorenzo played a promising part in the opening day, finishing seventh overall in soaking wet conditions.
After a sunny and humid day yesterday, an area of low pressure brought non-stop rain today, which grew heavier throughout the afternoon. These were less than ideal conditions for the riders to begin getting to know the track, which uses part of the main straight before winding its way around inside the famous Oval. Lorenzo, who lies fourth in the MotoGP standings, made a positive start to his second race on US soil and found the track nature suited him more than he expected, enabling him to find a good base set-up from the start.
Jorge Lorenzo
Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 7thTime: 1'53.850Laps: 50
"I am happy today because the track is much better than I expected and a lot less dangerous. Some walls are quite close to the racing line but in general it's not too bad. The first part, with the new tarmac, is difficult because it's very slippery and there's a lot of standing water, so you have to ride very carefully and very straight. The other part has better grip. We need to find a balance between tyres, which is the biggest issue we have to deal with. The back part is flowing and fun to ride, I think it suits my riding style so this is an unexpected surprise! Anyway, the situation is the same for all the riders, the weather is bad, it's a new track - we will do our best!"
Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager
"Overall it's been a positive day for us. We have started at a new track, about which we had little information, but our pace has not been so bad all day. We need to improve our performance in section one quite a lot, where Jorge has some problems entering the turns because there is a lot of water on the track. It seems like we need to prepare a wet race set up because the forecast is more of the same, so tomorrow we will continue to try to improve our set-up and see what we can do."
Tech 3 Yamaha battle Indy rain
Heavy rain dominated the long-awaited opening day of the inaugural Indianapolis MotoGP today, with Tech 3 Yamaha's Colin Edwards and James Toseland battling treacherous conditions to finish 15th and 17th respectively.
Edwards and Toseland both clocked their best times on a wet track this morning before conditions rapidly deteriorated in this afternoon's second free practice session. With the rain worsening, the majority of the 19- strong field failed to improve their times from earlier in the day.
The main issue for the Tech 3 Yamaha pairing was standing water on sections of the circuit run on new tarmac. And with grip levels varying drastically between old and new sections of asphalt, aquaplaning became a major concern as the rain worsened.
Conditions look set to remain wet for the remainder of the weekend, with thunderstorms and showers forecast for tomorrow and Sunday's 28-lap race. A large crowd is still expected for the MotoGP debut at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a venue steeped in motorsport history and tradition.
Colin Edwards
Colin Edwards - Position: 15thTime: 1'58.600Laps: 44
"It is pretty tough out there and when the rain is at its heaviest it was terrible. The people at Indy have done a phenomenal job to get this show on, and it's a shame that the rain is playing such a big role. The circuit for me is cool for safety and I've got no major issues and its fun to ride. But in that heavy rain I wouldn't look forward to having to race in those conditions. And if the rain is that hard on Sunday it is going to be last man standing. This morning it wasn't so bad because the rain wasn't so heavy, but this afternoon it got really tough to ride. The problem is where the tarmac changes between the old and the new. On the front straight and then for the first four corners it is pretty bad. But then once you are on the old surface you are good to push. You can flick the bike on its side and brake hard. But you don't know where the limit is on the first part. And when you find the limit you aquaplane and crash. You're constantly trying to push a little bit more at a time to see where the limit is while keeping it on two wheels. It was so easy to make a mistake. There's a channel of water in the first corner and I was behind Sylvain Guintoli. He wasn't pushing hard at all. I'd say he was a fraction off line and he hit a huge puddle and he was down. In the first part nothing is draining. It drains but it is just not draining fast enough when it starts to rain really hard. So then you start aquaplaning."
James Toseland
James Toseland - Position: 18thTime: 1'59.478Laps: 44
"I'm not too disheartened with my position and the lap times I was doing in the worse conditions were not bad compared to the rest. We didn't have a good setting for when the track was pretty good at the start of the session this afternoon, but when I went back out again it had rained hard and there was lying water in parts of the track. You needed to do a lap time in the first 20 minutes and we didn't. But in the middle of the session when the times were slower we weren't too far away at all. It was one of those days when you could have been up the front or down the bottom. The big issue is the puddles on the new surface. With the amount of rain we had this afternoon, it made it nearly unrideable. You aquaplane for at least two metres before you turn in at the first corner and that isn't a lot of fun. This morning when it wasn't raining so much, there was still a big puddle in the first corner, but this afternoon the rain made it nearly impossible. The old surface is absolutely fine but we are really struggling for grip in the sections where the new surface is. You aquaplane because the puddles in places must be two or three inches deep. It is just a shame because there has been a lot of expectation about coming to Indy. It would be a great track in the dry and it could be a fantastic event. It is great to see so many fans turn out in this weather, so hopefully we can put an exciting show on for them."
Circuit Length: 4186
Temp: 23
Weather: Very Wet
2008 MotoGP Indianapolis - Indianapolis 13/09/2008
Free Practice
Pos.
Rider
Manu.
Nat.
Total Time
1
Anthony West
Kawasaki
AUS
1'54.274
2
Chris Vermeulen
Suzuki
AUS
1'55.032
3
Alex De Angelis
Honda
SMR
1'55.067
4
Valentino Rossi
Yamaha
ITA
1'55.425
5
Ben Spies
Suzuki
USA
1'55.869
6
Andrea Dovizioso
Honda
ITA
1'56.225
7
Jorge Lorenzo
Yamaha
ESP
1'56.313
8
Casey Stoner
Ducati
AUS
1'56.458
9
Daniel Pedrosa
Honda
ESP
1'56.782
10
Marco Melandri
Ducati
ITA
1'57.534
11
John Hopkins
Kawasaki
USA
1'58.335
12
Randy De Puniet
Honda
FRA
1'58.382
13
Sylvain Guintoli
Ducati
FRA
1'58.399
14
Nicky Hayden
Honda
USA
1'58.546
15
Colin Edwards
Yamaha
USA
1'58.600
18
James Toseland
Yamaha
GBR
1'59.478
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