The event features the thrilling, wheel-to-wheel action of the USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget Championship. Read More>
The special events will take place in April in Indianapolis, Bloomington, Evansville and Fort Wayne. Read More>
Season One of the popular docuseries looked at the buildup to the 107th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge last spring. Read More>
Josef Newgarden unveils the 2024 Indianapolis 500 Ticket View Photos>
Remembering the life and career of Gil de Ferran. View Photos>
Photos from Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 2023 Indy 8 Hour. View Photos>
On this episode of Doug and Drivers, IMS President Doug Boles sits down with four-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves. The modern legend discusses his historic Drive for Five, his transition to an ownership role within Meyer Shank Racing, the loss of his dear friend Gil de Ferran, and more. Watch Video>
On this episode of Behind the Bricks, IMS President Doug Boles heads all the way to Arvada, Colorado, on the outskirts of Denver for a fan party at the Sonsio headquarters. To celebrate their new role as the title sponsor of the Grand Prix, Sonsio unveiled Scott McLaughlin's Sonsio car and hosted nearly 200 Denver-area Indy 500 fans! Watch Video>
On this episode of Doug and Drivers, IMS President J. Douglas Boles sits down with Graham Rahal to discuss his growing businesses off-track, as well as the gut wrenching memories of failing to qualify for the Indy 500 last year. Watch Video>
August 08, 2014 | By IMS
The stars of MotoGP returned to a familiar place this week in visiting the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the seventh Red Bull Indianapolis GP, but the familiarity ended in the paddock. On Friday, the riders tackled the new IMS road course for the first time. Some of the course’s basics remain the same – 16 turns in all, a long stretch on the famed oval, a counterclockwise racing direction – but also much was changed after last year’s event. Changes for the better, by all accounts. “I’m very, very happy about the track because the layout is better,” six-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi said after turning laps in his Movistar Yamaha. “It’s faster and better to ride the bike.” The most notable change in the riders’ eyes is the new asphalt on the infield portion of the course, which has made for a smoother and considerably faster ride. “(In) the other years, there were some parts where it was more slippery and some where it was more grippy,” said Jorge Lorenzo, the third-fastest in practice on Friday in his Movistar Yamaha. “The grip is constant now.” The new surface, combined with five reconfigured turns (3, 4, 7, 15 and 16), has created considerably quicker times. The track measures 2.591 miles (4.170 km), just .03 miles (.048 km) shorter than the previous layout, yet Friday’s times in the afternoon session (in cool temperatures on a track that had dried out from morning rains) were six to seven seconds faster than the first day’s practices of 2013. “Every change on the corners I really think is nicer so I think everybody is happy,” said Andrea Dovizioso, a rider for the Ducati Team. “The chicane is much faster. It is nice to change direction faster.” All that is left to be seen is how the track races on Sunday. “Whatever the new course has taken away, it’s given as well,” said Texas native Colin Edwards, who will race it for the last time as he’s retiring from MotoGP at year’s end. “I think now there is more of a chance to set somebody up, whereas before it was really one (racing) line. “If you’re behind somebody, it’s a little easier to set them up rather than having the one line like it was. I think it’s way better.”
Listen To Riders Reaction to Upgraded IMS Road Course