LORENZO OUT TO CLOSE OUT MOTOGP TITLE RACE EARLY AT INDY
2010-08-25 23:18:08 Author: admin Source:
The 11th round of the Motorcycle Grand Prix Championship (MotoGP) comes two weeks after the Czech Grand Prix with the present race descending on the Indianapolis Speedway for the weekend. The MotoGP contingent lands on US soil for the second time this season after the previous round at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Runaway MotoGP championship leader Jorge Lorenzo and the departing Valentino Rossi will once again tackle the 'Brickyard' to the fullest for Yamaha. Lorenzo is flying high after enjoying an incredible seven wins from ten races so far this season, including last time out at Brno. The Spaniard has a championship lead of 77 points over Dani Pedrosa, and if he continues his consistency at the second U.S. Grand Prix this weekend, he is virtually assured of his first premier-class championship later in the season.
Rossi's injury-hit season suffered a low point in Brno when he could only finish fifth after being hopeful of something much better, but he and his team had worked around nitty gritty problems during the one-day designated test right after the Czech race. Anyways, with the championship pretty much out of grips, the defending champ is enjoying his tenure with Yamaha, while it lasts, as he is set to leave the Yamaha camp at the end of the season and join Ducati for the 2011 campaign. The 'Doctor' has had a memorable experience at the Brickyard when he took the win at the Inaugural Indianapolis Grand Prix in 2008, but last year slid out when sparring with his team-mate.
Pedrosa (above left) has been the dominant rider of the six strong Honda contingent, with two wins and six podiums, a record which puts him second in the title chase, albeit at a gap of 77 points as the season approaches the two-thirds mark. He finished second in the hurricane-hit race in '08. Last season, he was forced out into the gravel, but made a determined effort to climb back onboard his somewhat damaged bike to finish a respectable tenth. Team mate Andrea Dovizioso wants to put the disappointment of the Czech GP behind him, with a possible redemption on sight at the Brickyard. The Italian improved from the first to the second year of the Indy GP. Fifth the first year, Dovizioso finished half a second off the podium in 2009, having closed the gap on third place right up until the final lap. He currently lies within four points of third place in the Riders' championship.
Randy de Puniet who has recovered from a broken leg injury from four weeks earlier is resolved to make an impression at the Brickyard this weekend. The Indianapolis road course is predominantly left-biased, which will tax de Puniet’s still mending left leg. Still, the Frenchman intends to slog it out with the rest of the competition till the end.
Marco Melandri and Marco Simoncelli will both be racing in Honda colors for the first time this weekend at the Brickyard. Melandri raced a different brand (a privateer Kawasaki was one) each of the past two years, which means the 2010 race will be his third in a row on a different motorcycle. Melandri and Simoncelli are fortunate to be aboard an upgraded bike with a revised chassis, swingarm, and, most recently, electronics for the 2nd U.S..GP weekend.
Ducati's Nicky Hayden is one of the local riders most keen on the second home race of the season. Hayden; who was born, raised and still lives in Owensboro, Kentucky, not far from the border with the neighboring State of Indiana; relishes the opportunity to race in front of home crowd again. " I really can not wait to get to Indy for the race. It's such a famous track with so much history and being so close to my home I got a big crew making the trip to support me and my brother. I hope to come out strong from the gun on Friday and have a weekend worth remembering. Let's race!"
Hayden finished third at Indy last year, his best result of the season, and he would love to repeat it this Sunday. His left wrist, injured during qualifying at Brno, is in better shape and should not hinder him this weekend.
Team mate Casey Stoner is also looking forward to racing at Indy for the first time since he took fourth place in the rain-interrupted inaugural race two seasons ago. The Australian is also keen to confirm whether technical updates introduced at the post-race test at Brno have a positive effect over the course of the race weekend.
Suzuki MotoGP riders are equally optimistic about the second American MotoGP race following a positive post-race test at Brno recently, both Loris Capirossi and Álvaro Bautista are eager to get back on-track and carry on with the improvements they found at the Czech Republic circuit. This will be the third time that MotoGP has visited Indianapolis, and Capirossi will certainly look to improve on his results there, that has seen him score a personal best of seventh place in 2009. Bautista has a podium position to show from his only race at the circuit when he finished third in the 250cc class last year.
