2015 Red Bull Indianapolis GP Storylines
August 03, 2015 | By IMS
The world’s fastest motorcycle racers will descend on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this week as the Red Bull Indianapolis GP returns for an eighth year with a full slate of racing from Aug. 7-9.
Indianapolis is the 10th round in the MotoGP World Championship and marks the start of the second half of the season. MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 classes will take the track all three days along with the new MotoAmerica series appearing at IMS for the first time.
The following is a list of storylines for the Red Bull Indianapolis GP:
The MotoGP World Championship returns to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the second time following a reconfiguration of the road course that was completed prior to last year’s race. The current course is slightly shorter than the original circuit at 2.591 miles (4.170 km) but retains its 16-turn layout, with turns 3, 4, 7, 15 and 16 having been reconfigured and the entire infield section of the circuit having been repaved.
Two-time defending world champion Marc Marquez has won four years in a row at IMS – in Moto2 in 2011 and 2012 and MotoGP in 2013 and 2014. With his MotoGP win at IMS last year, Marquez tied Australian legend Mick Doohan for the most consecutive wins (10) in a season in the modern era. He started on the pole the following week on his Repsol Honda at Brno, Czech Republic, but his streak ended when he finished fourth as Dani Pedrosa won the race. Marquez enters this weekend’s action at IMS in fourth place in the MotoGP standings.
Italian legend Valentino Rossi, a nine-time world champion and winner of the inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP in 2008, has enjoyed an amazing season on his Movistar Yamaha, entering this week’s race as the points leader. Rossi, who finished second in the 2014 standings to Marquez, has been on the podium in each round this year with wins in Qatar, Argentina and Assen. Rossi will be looking for his second win at Indianapolis.
Two-time world champion and 2009 Indianapolis winner Jorge Lorenzo of Spain enters this week’s action in second place in the MotoGP standings, trailing his teammate Rossi by 13 points. Earlier this year, Lorenzo won in front of his home crowd in Jerez, which was followed up by triumphs in Le Mans, Mugello and Barcelona.
Spain’s Dani Pedrosa, Marquez’s teammate with Repsol Honda, is the only other returning rider who has won the MotoGP race at Indianapolis (2010 and 2012). Pedrosa missed three races earlier this season due to injury, but reemerged to step on the podium with a third-place finish in front of his home crowd in Catalunya, and finished as the runner-up at Sachsenring. Pedrosa is in seventh place in the 2015 MotoGP standings.
In Moto2, Mika Kallio of Finland – currently ninth in the 2015 standings – will return to defend his Indianapolis title. Efren Vasquez of Spain will attempt to win the Moto3 race for the second consecutive year at IMS on his Honda. Vasquez is currently fifth in the 2015 Moto3 standings.
MotoAmerica, the premier U.S.-based motorcycle road racing series, will race at IMS for the first time as part of the Red Bull Indianapolis GP weekend. The first-year series has featured great racing across multiple divisions and IMS will be the eighth stop in a nine-round schedule. The premier class for the Moto America Championship is Superbike, and racing alongside the Superbikes (but scored separately) is the Superstock 1000 class. Additional classifications include Supersport, formerly known as AMA Daytona Sportbike, and Bazzaz Superstock 600, the former AMA Pro SuperSport Class. Multiple classes will compete over all three days of the weekend.
Owensboro, Kentucky, native Nicky Hayden will return to action at IMS after missing last year’s MotoGP race while he was recovering from wrist surgery. The local favorite and 2006 MotoGP world champion has five starts at Indianapolis with a best finish of second in 2008. His younger brother, Roger, will compete in MotoAmerica’s top Superbike class.
Colin Edwards, who retired as a rider from MotoGP competition following the 2014 season, will lap the 16-turn, 2.591-mile IMS road course on Sunday, Aug. 9, aboard a special Yamaha YZR-M1 that features yellow-and-black 60th anniversary livery. Always a colorful fan-favorite, Edwards --affectionately known as “The Texas Tornado” – is a Yamaha legend and a current MotoAmerica television personality.
Indiana-based Westfield Powersports is returning for a second year with its popular Vendor Marketplace held in the Gasoline Alley garages during the entire Red Bull Indianapolis GP weekend. The Vendor Marketplace presented by Westfield Powersports is a popular display area for aftermarket products where motorcycle enthusiasts can see and purchase gear from top motorcycle equipment and accessory companies.
Off-track action on the IMS Moto Midway will include Red Bull Trials stunt performances by 10-time champion Geoff Aaron, along with stunt shows by Red Bull Flatland BMX Rider Terry Adams and Red Bull Street Freestyle Rider Aaron Colton.
Thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts will hit the streets of downtown Indianapolis after the gates close at IMS on Friday, Aug. 7 (7 p.m.-midnight) and Saturday, Aug. 8 (4 p.m.-midnight) for “Motorcycles on Meridian,” a free event celebrating motorcycle culture.
The Red Bull Indianapolis GP was named by MotoGP as the circuit’s “Best Grand Prix” in 2014, the first North American race so honored. Selection criteria included venue, promotion and overall operations.