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Race Weekend Event Schedule

June 27, 2008

September 2008 Calendar – Indianapolis

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Official MotoGP Indianapolis GP Schedule at The Motor Speedway.

Friday, September 12

125cc Practice #1 8:45-9:45 a.m.

MotoGP Practice #1 10-11 a.m.

250cc Practice #1 11:15 a.m.-12:45 p.m.

125cc Qualifying #1 1:05-1:35 p.m.

MotoGP Practice #2 1:50-2:50 p.m.

250cc Qualifying #1 3:05-3:50 p.m.

MotoGP Practice #3 4:15-5:15 p.m.

Red Bull Riders Cup Practice 5:30-6 p.m.

Red Bull Riders Cup Qualifying #1 6:30-7 p.m.

Saturday, September 13

125cc Practice 2 9-9:45 a.m.

MotoGP Practice #4 10-11 a.m.

250cc Practice #2 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

125cc Qualifying :2 1:05-1:35 p.m.

MotoGP Qualifying 1:50-2:50 p.m.

250cc Qualifying #2 3:05-3:50 p.m.

Red Bull Riders Cup Qualifying #2 4-4:30 p.m.

Sunday, September 14 Race Day

125cc warm-up 8:40-9 a.m.

250cc warm-up 9:10-9:30 a.m.

MotoGP warm-up 9:40-10:05 a.m.

Red Bull Riders Cup Race 10:25 a.m.

125cc Race (23 laps) Noon

250cc Race (26 laps) 1:15 p.m.

Red Bull Indianapolis GP MotoGP Race (28 laps) 3 p.m.

Official Event Schedule for AMA Flat Track Championship Series at the Indiana Fairgrounds Saturday, September 13

Practice & Qualifying          4:00 pm

Rider Autograph Session     5:30 pm

Opening Ceremonies          7:00 pm

Heat Races Begin              7:30 pm

National Finals Begins        9:30 pm

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Since We’ve Been Gone: Rossi, Pedrosa and Stoner Win

June 23, 2008

Stoner Winning at Donington

Casey Stoner winning at Donington.  Photo courtesy of motogp.com

Old news:  Rossi won his third race in a row at Mugello in Italy.  Pedrosa stopped the win streak at 3 by winning at Catalunya in Spain.  Stoner on his Ducati broke through for his first win since Round 1 by winning the Great Britain GP at Donington, sharing the podium with the usual suspects, Rossi and Pedrosa.

MotoGP World Standings After Round 8

1   Valentino ROSSI   ITA   Fiat Yamaha Team   162

2   Dani PEDROSA   SPA   Repsol Honda Team   151

3   Casey STONER   AUS   Ducati Marlboro Team   117

4   Jorge LORENZO   SPA   Fiat Yamaha Team   104

5   Colin EDWARDS   USA   Tech 3 Yamaha   82

6   Andrea DOVIZIOSO   ITA   JiR Team Scot MotoGP   68

7   Nicky HAYDEN   USA   Repsol Honda Team   57

8   James TOSELAND   GBR   Tech 3 Yamaha   53

So far this season, here’s what we know.

Yamaha and Honda own 7 of the top 8 spots.  The top riders include two Spaniards, two Italians, two Americans, a Briton and an Australian.  More than half of the season remains, and it’s a four man race.  The top four riders are the only ones to have won a race this season.   Lorenzo is hanging in after crashing in practice at Catalunya.  Colin Edwards hasn’t given Americans much to cheer about, and 2006 world champion Nicky Hayden hasn’t been seen on a podium yet.

In most sports, that would be it for the season.  MotoGP, by being contested on two wheels and at, like, 12,000 rpms, has plenty of potential for drivers to drop out of races.  As Mr. Berra remarked, it ain’t over until it’s over.

Stoner, the reigning world champion on his badass Ducati, has put himself in contention after a 6 race drought.  Rossi, in the midst of another great season, leads in points; he and Pedrosa have been on the podium in every race this year, a pretty remarkable feat in itself.

On to Assen this week.

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Rossi’s 2nd Straight Win Gives Him Overall Points Lead

May 20, 2008

These excerpts directly from the MotoGP website, a great write-up of Sunday’s race at Le Mans in France:

Valentino Rossi took a second consecutive race victory at the Alice Grand Prix de France, ahead of Jorge Lorenzo and Colin Edwards. The Italian now holds a three point advantage at the top of the World Championship standings. Rossi’s runaway triumph at Le Mans tied Angel Nieto´s record of 90 World Championship wins.

Rossi Wins at Le Mans

While second row starter Rossi had broken away from the pack early, the battle for the podium was closely contested right up to the line. The Italian´s Fiat Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo once again took his share of the limelight, bursting through the field to take second place in spite of a catalogue of injuries. His latest rostrum means that he is now the highest rookie point scorer for an opening five races in history, overtaking hero Max Biaggi.

Completing the all-Yamaha podium, Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards took another rostrum finish not quite in line with his predictions of victory, but nonetheless a fantastic achievement for the newly consistent American.

Poleman Dani Pedrosa relinquished his lead of the World Championship with fourth place, having attempted to lead the race from the front. Some hard moves from both Lorenzo and Edwards at the end of the Le Mans battle left the Repsol Honda rider off the podium for the first time in 2008.

Rossi now leads the World Championship by three points from Lorenzo and Pedrosa, who are tied for second. Stoner is running a distant fourth, while Nicki Hayden, world champion in 2006, trails in the 7 hole with 37 points.

MotoGP Le Mans Results:

1. Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha Team)

2. Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha Team)

3. Colin Edwards (Tech 3 Yamaha)

4. Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda)

5. Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki)

6. Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Team Scot MotoGP)

7. Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki MotoGP)

8. Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda)

9. Randy De Puniet (LCR Honda MotoGP)

10. Shinya Nakano (San Carlo Honda Gresini)

World Standings After 5 Events

______Rider______Nation___Team________Points

1 Valentino ROSSI____ ITA___ Fiat Yamaha____ _97

2 Jorge LORENZO_____SPA___ Fiat Yamaha_____94

3 Dani PEDROSA_____ SPA___ RepsoI Hond____ 94

4 Casey STONER_____ AUS___ Ducati Marlboro_ 56

5 Colin EDWARDS____ USA___Tech 3 Yamaha__ 47

6 Loris CAPIROSSI____ ITA____Rizla Suzuki_____42

7 Nicky HAYDEN_____ USA___ Repsol Honda___ 37

8 Andrea DOVIZIOSO_ ITA____ JIR Team Scot___36

9 James TOSELAND___GBR___ Tech3 Yamaha___33

10 Shinya NAKANO___JPN___ San Carlo Honda__28


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Will It Work Today?

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Moto GP Chase Tightens Up in China

May 4, 2008

Lorenzo airborn on Saturday, finishes 2nd on Sunday!

Jorge Lorenzo loses it during practice on Friday for the Moto GP stop in Shanghai. He pulled it together enough on Sunday to finish 4th. Photo by Shanghai Daily.

Seven time world champion Moto GP rider Valentino Rossi, riding a Yamaha, outlasted Honda’s Dani Pedrosa to win the Shanghai stop on the world tour Sunday. Pedrosa’s 2nd place finish left him in the lead for the 2008 title in a tight race. His 81 points lead Jorge Lorenzo, the winner at Portugal, by a mere 7 points, with Rossi in 3rd with 72 points. Casey Stoner, reigning Moto GP champion riding for Ducati, finished a distant third in Shanghai, and now hasn’t won since Qatar’s opening race of the season. He has 56 points and is still in it, but is not dominating the way he did just last year.

The chase for the 2008 title is now officially wide open, with four different riders having won four different races. Next stop on the tour is May 18th at the legendary Le Mans course in the Champagne country southwest of Paris.

Top Ten MotoGP World championship standings after the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai on Sunday.

1. Dani Pedrosa_(Spain)_Honda_81_Won at Spain Race #2

2. Jorge Lorenzo_(Spain)_Yamaha_74_Won at Portugal Race #3

3. Valentino Rossi_(Italy)_Yamaha_72_Won at China Race #4

4. Casey Stoner_(Australia)_Ducati_56_Won at Quatar Race #1

5. Loris Capirossi (Italy) Suzuki 33

6. James Toseland (Britain) Yamaha 33

7. Colin Edwards (U.S.) Yamaha 31

8. Nicky Hayden (U.S.) Honda 29 (2006 World Champion)

9. Andrea Dovizioso (Italy) Honda 26

10. John Hopkins (U.S.) Kawasaki 26


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American Colin Edwards Takes Pole in Shanghai

May 3, 2008

This is starting to be fun. Team Yamaha is geeked up, as their boy Colin Edwards had the fastest qualifying time in the Moto GP stop in Shanghai. And he looked damned good doing it.

Colin Edwards qualifying in Shanghai, courtesy of AFP

Colin Edwards, courtesy of AFP.

They’re running the race Sunday morning. Watch this space for details. Har.

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About MotoGP Indy Weekend September 12-14

April 29, 2008

The Indianapolis MotoGP races this September 12-14 will attract motorcycle enthusiasts from around the Midwest. Between 1.5 and 2 million motorcycles are registered within an easy day’s drive of Indianapolis. MotoGP, referred to by Harley riders as “the imports”, is a very international sport, and attracts an international crowd–the teams, the suppliers, vendors, hangers-on, the idle rich. It is big money, stupifyingly brave drivers, beautiful women, and global paparazzi up the you know what. (Harley Davidson bikes running in a separate racing circuit, the AMA National Flat Track series, have a series stop that Saturday at the Fairgrounds, which will draw another set of fans to the city.) The MotoGP race is the big deal.

Race weekend at the track goes like this. Friday is carburetion, Saturday is quals, or is it vice versa? For sure, Sunday is 3 separate races–125cc, 250cc and the big bikes, up to 800 cc. Class basketball for imported motorcycles. The MotoGP stop at Laguna Seca, since its inception in 2005, has been limited to just the big bikes. Indianapolis will have all three classes for carb, quals and racing, which may attract a few more fans of smaller bikes.

Suffice it to say, lots of people and bikes in town.


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Moto GP Motorcycle Racing 101, Circa April 2008

April 28, 2008

In 2006 Nicky Hayden, riding for Honda, won the World Moto GP championship. In 2007, Casey Stoner, riding for Ducati, took the crown. Both of these guys are in the process of becoming world famous rock star types. Thus far this year, after 3 races, Jorge Lorenzo, riding for Yamaha, and Dani Pedrosa, riding for Honda, share the point lead. Stoner, riding again for Ducati, won the season opener in beautiful Qatar. 3 weeks later, Pedrosa won in Spain. On April 20, Lorenzo won in Portugal, putting him in a tie with Pedrosa for the world title, with most of the season yet to go. Event #4 is this week in Shanghai. (Just what that country needs at this precise moment in time. C’est la guerre.)

There are 19 races worldwide in 2008, including Laguna Seca in Monterey, California on July 20 and Indianapolis on September 14. Monterey is race #11, and Indianapolis is #14 of the season.

Around 250,000 people have attended at Laguna Seca each year since its inception in 2005. Indianapolis could easily see 300,000 for its inaugural race. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Commerce, approximately 1.8 million motorcycles are registered within an easy day’s ride of Indianapolis. They are geeked about this race. If only one out of twelve attends, roughly 8%, there’s your 150,000 motorcycles in Indianapolis for the weekend.

Amazing. Can’t wait. It’s going to be epic.

2008 Moto GP International Schedule

………Event……………………………………..Winner

______________________________________________

March 9 Losail Qatar…………………………..Stoner

March 30 Jerez Spain………………………….Pedrosa

April 20 Estoril Portugal………………………Lorenzo

May 4 China Shanghai…………………………Rossi

May 18 Le Mans France

June 1 Mugello Italy

June 8 Catalunya Catalunya

June 22 Donington Great Britain

June 28 Assen Holland

July 13 Sachsenring Germany

July 20 Laguna Seca USA

August 17 Brno Czech Republic

August 31 Misano San Marino & Riviera di Rimini?

September 14 Indianapolis USA

September 28 Phillip Island Australia

October 5 Motegi Japan

October 19 Sepang Malaysia

October 28 Estoril Portugal

November 2 Ricardo Torma Valencia

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