Following the short summer break, the MotoGP World Championship kicks back into gear this coming weekend at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the tenth round of the year. The second event on US soil, following the round at Austin in April, will mark the start of a tough period of races for the MotoGP protagonists, with three in the space of four weeks. The Indianapolis GP will be followed one week later by the GP of the Czech Republic at Brno, and then the British Round at Silverstone at the end of the month.
The capital of the state of Indiana is famous in the motorsport world, above all due to its International Speedway circuit, nicknamed “The Brickyard”, where every year at the end of May the Indycar 500 Miles race is held. Since 2008 the impressive Indy oval has been the venue for a MotoGP race, which uses a section of the high-speed banked track together with a succession of slow, twisty curves situated in the infield.
Last year Andrea Dovizioso started from the front row of the grid with second quickest time in qualifying, and he finished the race in seventh place, while the Italian’s other important results here were in 2012 when he took the third podium place, and in 2008, 2010 and 2011 when he finished fifth. In his two MotoGP races at the Indiana oval, Andrea Iannone has not yet stepped onto the podium, the Italian picking up a DNF in 2014 and an eleventh place finish in 2013.
The Indianapolis weekend schedule starts on Friday morning with the first free practice session at 09.55 (15.55 CET) while the 27-lap race starts on Sunday at 14.00 (20.00 CET).
Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team #29) – 3rd (118 points)
“The Indianapolis track is an interesting one, and last year I went quite well. Unfortunately in the race we had a few too many problems, but our overall performance wasn’t bad. This year I think I can do a good race with the GP15: I am always positive and this year I have more reasons to be so, in particular because I am third in the championship. I hope I can be quick right away and get closer to our opponents than in the previous races.”
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 5th (87 points)
“Indianapolis will be an important weekend: it’s a circuit that in our opinion should be more favourable to our GP15, and it will be useful to see how fast we are at this point of the season. The tests at Misano were very important for us because we were able to work in total relax, without the pressure of a race weekend, and do a lot of back-to-back tests. I hope to bring a halt to my negative run in recent races with a good performance at Indy and to get a good result on a track where last year we went quite well.”
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The first motorsport race to take place at Indy was a motorcycle one on August 14th 1909, on the 2.5 mile oval circuit, but despite its 100-year history it was not until 2008 that MotoGP arrived at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. To celebrate the event an intense modification of the layout was undertaken, but without affecting the legendary oval. The layout of the track, which is 4.170km in length and has 16 turns, incorporates the main straight of the famous oval circuit including the Brickyard before meandering through the vast interior of the IMS.
Circuit Record: Marquez (Honda – 2014), 1’32.831 (161.7 km/h)
Fastest Lap: Marquez (Honda – 2014), 1’31.619 (163.8 km/h)
Top Speed: Dovizioso (Ducati – 2014), 345.7 km/h
Track Length: 4.2 km
Race Distance: 27 laps (112.6 km)
Corners: 16 (10 left, 6 right)
Race Start: 14:00 (20.00 CET)
2014 Results
Podium: 1st Marquez (Honda), 2nd Lorenzo (Yamaha), 3rd Rossi (Yamaha)
Pole Position: Marquez (Honda – 2014), 1’31.619 (163.8 km/h)
Fastest Lap: Marquez (Honda – 2014), 1’32.831 (161.7 km/h)
Andrea Dovizioso
Bike: Ducati Desmosedici GP15
Race Number: 04
Age: 29 (born on March 23rd 1986 in Forlimpopoli, Italy)
Residence: Forlì (Italy)
Races: 231 (133 x MotoGP, 49 x 250cc, 49 x 125cc)
First GP: 2001 Italian GP (125cc)
Wins: 10 (1 x MotoGP, 4 x 250cc, 5 x 125cc)
First Win: 2004 South African GP (125cc)
Pole Positions: 16 (3 x MotoGP, 4 x 250cc, 9 x 125cc)
First Pole: 2003 French GP (125cc)
Titles: 1 (1 x 125cc)
Andrea Iannone
Bike: Ducati Desmosedici GP15
Race Number: 29
Age: 25 (born on August 9th 1989 in Vasto, Italy)
Residence: Vasto (Italy)
Races: 169 (42 x MotoGP, 51 x Moto2, 76 x 125cc)
First GP: 2005 Spanish GP (125cc)
Wins: 12 (8 x Moto2, 4 x 125cc)
First Win: 2008 GP of China (125cc)
Pole Positions: 9 (1 x MotoGP, 5 x Moto2, 3 x 125cc)
First Pole: 2008 GP of Malaysia (125cc)
