MotoGP's 2008 Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix

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JohnBM01

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On September 14th of this year, the world's best motorcycles and motorcycle racers will take on the hallowed grounds of the Indianpolis Motor Speedway in the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix. One rider especially happy about this is Nicky Hayden (2006 MotoGP Champion). This is like home territory for Nicky even though he's from Kentucky. I haven't caught up with MotoGP on GTPlanet, so I'll just offer this to you all to discuss MotoGP's first visit to Indy.

Just want to say quickly... I have my issues about if the road surface will work well with bikes as we saw two disasters- the 2005 Formula One U.S. Grand Prix and the Brickyard 400 from last month. Will bikes fare any better than cars here? That's my storyline. Otherwise, it's a chance for Kentucky's Nicky Hayden to make his home country proud in Indiana.
 
Now that you mentioned it, I hope the tire manufacturers do some MotoGP testing here and are at the ready for getting more tires handy in case things go south. Who knows what'll happen if the Diamond-grinded main oval section will take it's toll on the tires?
 
i thought the GP track only used the one corner and the s/f straight on the oval?
 
Well, you still have to race the oval part of it. That's why I always thought ovals with road courses should follow a model more like Indianapolis Raceway Park (O' Reilly Raceway Park nowadays) or Twin-Ring Motegi whereas the road course doesn't technically use the oval.

Now, MotoGP has raced on ovals with infield road courses before. Remember the Rio de Janerio oval they've raced on? I'm sure my Brazilian GTP friend Johnny probaby has seen any of his race teams race around Rio's infield road course. So it probably won't be that bad. I think that the Rio road course uses only the front straight. I thought of another track that has an oval configuration that isn't technically used- the Phakisa Freeway in South Africa.

Any other ideas?
 
AMA uses daytona rc and they used(?) to use the loudon rc as well.
 
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i thought the GP track only used the one corner and the s/f straight on the oval?
Click to expand...

Actually, they've modified the circuit for MotoGP. They'll race in an anti-clockwise direction and the banked turn 1 will be replaced with a small infield section and as you can see, the tight hairpins have been removed.

indymotogptrack.jpg
 
Thanks for sharing that track map, Jackington. I even wouldn't mind F1 using this configuration. Trouble is that MotoGP doesn't have pit stops. So it isn't like this race will be like the 24 Hours of Le Mans Moto. Interesting configuration.
 
JohnBM01
I even wouldn't mind F1 using this configuration. Trouble is that MotoGP doesn't have pit stops. So it isn't like this race will be like the 24 Hours of Le Mans Moto. Interesting configuration.
Click to expand...
Same here as to F1 using this setup as well.;)👍

As for Pit Stops in MotoGP, you're pretty much correct in that regard. But there are some occasions where MotoGP races start in wet conditions and become dry as the race goes on and vice versa. Case in point: last years Japanese MotoGP at Twin Ring Motegi. Usually the teams have a backup bike with a different set of tires revved up and ready to go should the rider on the track wants to change over to a different weather setup.
 
I just realized something... the Red Bull Grand Prix is this weekend! It came to me when I saw a friend update from Jason Britton (host of Speed Channel's "Super Bikes!") mentioned about him going to Indy this weekend for the race (and even to go stunting on his bike). This race should be fun. My only concern involves treading on the oval.
 
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