Daily Trackside Report - Sunday, August 10
August 10, 2014 | By IMS
DAY 3 – SUNDAY, AUG. 10, 2014
Page 1
TODAY’S SCHEDULE (all times local):
7 a.m.-6 p.m. Public Gates Open
8:40-9 a.m. Moto3 Warm-up
9:10-9:30 a.m. Moto2 Warm-up
9:40-10 a.m. MotoGP Warm-up
11 a.m. Moto3 Race (23 laps)
12:20 p.m. Moto2 Race (25 laps)
2 p.m. MotoGP Race (27 laps)
3:30 p.m. AMA Pro Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Series Race #2 (10 laps)
***
Moto3 WARM-UP:
At 8:40 a.m., the ambient temperature was 71 degrees F (22 C) with a relative humidity of 79 percent and light winds. Skies were cloudy.
Pole lap: 1:40.727, #8 Miller
8:40 a.m. -- GREEN.
9 a.m. – CHECKERED. #7 Vasquez quickest at 1:41.049.
***
Colin Edwards, known to his fans as the “Texas Tornado,” starts 15th today in the Red Bull Indianapolis GP in the final U.S. race of a career that spans two decades. On Saturday night in the Moto Midway, a parade of motorcycle dignitaries took the stage to laud his life on and off the track.
“It sure felt like a roast,” the 40-year-old said.
The star-studded lineup of well-wishers included defending MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez and his Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa, former MotoGP World Champions Nicky Hayden, Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, along with Randy Mamola, Stefan Bradl and Aleix Espargaro, Edwards’s NGM Forward Racing teammate.
The conversations were dominated by references to his off-track demeanor.
“He was a friend,” Mamola said. “He was approachable and loyal.”
“MotoGP won't be the same without him,” fellow American Hayden told the crowd.
“He’s one of the funniest riders in MotoGP,” Marquez said, adding that “he taught me all those ‘naughty’ words in English.”
Edwards, who took turns onstage directing a spirited T-shirt barrage to hundreds of enthusiastic fans and admirers, finally got his chance to respond.
“I can’t thank you all enough,” he said. “Hey, I'm just like you folks, except I ride my motorcycle a little faster than you do. Seriously, without you all, we don’t exist. It just wouldn't be possible without all of you.”
When the microphone was turned off, Edwards had a chance to reflect on it all.
“Yeah, this was really great, he said. “And it got to me, it choked me up a little.”
Moto2 WARM-UP:
At 9:00 a.m., the ambient temperature was 73 degrees F (23 C) with a relative humidity of 76 percent and light winds. Skies were cloudy.
Pole lap: 1:36.883, #36 Kallio
9:00 a.m. -- GREEN.
9:20 a.m. – CHECKERED. #40 Vinales quickest at 1:39.986.
***
MotoGP WARM-UP:
At 9:40 a.m., the ambient temperature was 73 degrees F (23 C) with a relative humidity of 79 percent and light winds. Skies were cloudy.
Pole lap: 1:31.619, #93 Marquez
9:40 a.m. -- GREEN.
10:00 a.m. – CHECKERED. #93 Marquez quickest at 1:32.727.
***
Top Five Riders, MotoGP Warm-up:
1. #93 Marc Marquez 1:32.727
2. #41 Aleix Espargaro 1:33.068
3. #29 Andrea Iannone 1:33.078
4. #99 Jorge Lorenzo 1:33.093
5. #44 Pol Espargaro 1:33.140
Top trap speed: # Dovizioso, 214.8 mph (345.7 km/h)
American: #5 Edwards, 18th, 1:34.634.
***
Three-time 500cc Grand Prix World Champion and Daytona 200 winner Wayne Rainey took time Saturday to talk about MotoGP being back at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway:
WAYNE RAINEY: “I think it’s great; I’m glad we have MotoGP back in America. It’s important that we’re here at Indy. There’s a lot of history here, obviously, from the automotive side. So being able to perform here in America at the highest level for motorcycle racing is what the fans are here to see and I am, as well.” (While on the grounds, Rainey added his autograph to a pink helmet for a charitable cause): “They’re doing a fundraiser for cancer awareness. Everybody knows somebody or has a family member that’s been stricken with that deadly disease. Anything you can do at any time to raise funds for that, I’m all for that.”
Moto3 RACE RUNNING:
At 11:00 a.m., the ambient temperature was 75 degrees F (24 C) with a relative humidity of 76 percent and light winds. Skies were cloudy.
Quickest lap, morning warm-up: 1:41.049, #7 Vasquez.
Race distance: 23 laps
Lap 1: START. #8 Miller leads into first turn. #17 McPhee falls in Turn 4, OK but out of race.
Lap 2: #8 Miller leads #7 Vazquez, #12 Marquez in third. #42 Rins sixth after starting 12th.
Lap 3: #12 Marquez into second over #7 Vazquez.
Lap 4: #8 Miller leads #12 Marquez by .433 of a second. #5 Fenati into third. #3 Ferrari crashes, rider OK but out of race.
Lap 5: #8 Miller leads, #5 Fenati into second. #21 Bagnaia runs off track in Turn 8.
Lap 6: #5 Fenati leads over #12 Marquez, #7 Vazquez. #8 Miller in fourth. Seven riders in lead group.
Lap 7: #5 Fenati leads by .085 of a second over #8 Miller.
Lap 8: #5 Fenati leads by .026 of a second over #8 Miller. Top seven riders separated by .773 of a second.
Lap 9: #8 Miller leads by .013 of a second over #5 Fenati, #7 Vazquez in third. Seven-rider pack remains; eighth place #84 Kornfeil is three seconds behind seventh place.
Lap 10: #12 Marquez leads by .037 of a second over #42 Rins. Rest of lead pack: #8 Miller, #5 Fenati, #7 Vazquez, #41 Binder, #58 Guevara. #31 Ajo out of the race.
Lap 11: #42 Rins and Estrella Galicia Honda teammate #12 Marquez running 1-2.
Lap 12: #42 Rins leads by .085 of a second over #12 Marquez.
Lap 13: Four-wide at Yard of Bricks, #7 Vazquez, #5 Fenati, #12 Marquez, #42 Rins.
Lap 14: #5 Fenati leads #7 Vazquez by .007 of a second. #21 Bagnaia into the pits.
Lap 15: #5 Fenati leads #7 Vazquez, #42 Rins third, #8 Miller fourth, #12 Marquez fifth.
Lap 16: #5 Fenati leads. Lead pack grows to 10 with #10 Masbou, #44 Oliveira, #84 Kornfeil.
Lap 17: #10 Masbou moves into lead.
Lap 18: #10 Masbou leads by .056 of a second over #12 Marquez followed by #42 Rins, #5 Fenati, #7 Vazquez, #8 Miller, #44 Oliveira, #41 Binder, #58 Guevara.
Lap 19: #10 Masbou leads by .077 of a second over #12 Marquez.
Lap 20: Five-wide at Yard of Bricks, #10 Masbou leads by .007 of a second over #8 Miller.
Lap 21: #5 Fenati leads by .002 of a second over #7 Vazquez.
Lap 22: #7 Vazquez leads by .075 of a second over #5 Fenati, #42 Rins third, #8 Miller fourth.
Lap 23: #5 Fenati leads by .125 of a second over #7 Vazquez with one circuit to go.
CHECKERED: #7 Vazquez passes #5 Fenati on front straight to win Moto3 by .065 of a second.
Moto3 POST-RACE NOTES:
Spain’s Efren Vazquez wins his first Grand Prix race and moves from third to second in the World Championship standings. He won on a Honda.
Efren Vazquez was the oldest rider in the Moto3 field at age 27.
Romano Fenati earns fifth top-two finish of the season (three wins, two seconds).
Polesitter and championship leader Jack Miller finishes third, his fifth podium of the season.
Vazquez’s win is the 499th Grand Prix victory for Spain, second all-time behind Italy (741).
A Spanish rider has won the Moto3 or 125cc race – the introductory classes of the MotoGP World Championship – all seven years of the Red Bull Indianapolis GP.
This was the third consecutive Moto3 race at IMS where the lead changed on the final lap.
***
Ralph Sheheen, lead announcer for the Red Bull Indianapolis GP broadcast in the United States on FoxSports1, took time on Sunday morning to share his pre-race thoughts:
RALPH SHEHEEN: “What (Marc) Marquez is doing is incredible and the ability to watch it happen is great. It’s fun to see history in the making. It’ll be really fun to see if he can go the entire season undefeated. That’s good for one year. We don’t want him to do that every year. But to see him make history this year if he can do it would be remarkable. What we’re seeing is special. He’s certainly not boring and it’s remarkable. The guys he is beating are obviously world-class. The accomplishment of what he’s doing is really hard to describe, because it’s that difficult to do. But unless you follow the sport and truly understand how good these guys are, it’s hard to put into perspective. If you stop and think about it, there’s no other athlete out there in any other form of sport who is as dominant in their individual sport as he is.” (On other storylines he’s focused on going into the race): “The race in America for Colin (Edwards) is a big part of it. He’s been such a great racer, a world champion, a two-time World Superbike Champion. So many of us have watched Colin throughout his entire career – dirt tracks to racing in America to going overseas and all the success he’s had over there. He’s been a great ambassador for American racing. He’s been a tremendous ambassador for motorcycle road racing in general. It’s sad to see his racing career on the track come to an end. But at the same time, you know with Colin it’s not the end of the impact he’ll have on this sport, whether it’s in television or team ownership or management or something that helps drive kids into the sport and give them support. He’s going to continue to have an impact on the sport.”
Moto2 RACE RUNNING:
At 12:20 p.m., the ambient temperature was 79 degrees F (26 C) with a relative humidity of 72 percent and light winds. Skies were mostly cloudy.
Quickest lap, morning warm-up: 1:39.986, #40 Vinales.
Race distance: 25 laps
Lap 1: START. Polesitter #36 Kallio takes lead through Turn 1 and opens up a gap. Leads #77 Aegerter by .693 of a second after first lap.
Lap 2: #77 Aegerter wobbles out of Turn 4, recovers.
Lap 3: #36 Kallio leads by 1.872 seconds.
Lap 4: #36 Kallio leads by 2.578 seconds over #77 Aegerter. #53 Rabat in third.
RED. Crash in Turn 10. #4 Krummenacher, #25 Shah, #54 Pasini, #95 West involved. #54 Pasini in the grass, attended to medics and walks away. Restarted race announced for 16 laps with field returned to original grid order. Start at 12:52 p.m.
Lap 1: START. #36 Kallio takes lead in Turn 1. Crash in Turn 1 with #60 Simon, #2 Herrin, #12 Luthi, all riders OK. #36 Kallio leads first lap by 1.2 seconds over #77 Aegerter.
Lap 2: #36 Kallio leads by 1.321 seconds over #53 Rabat, #40 Vinales third, #77 Aegerter fourth.
Lap 3: #19 Simeon crashes, OK but out of the race.
Lap 4: #36 Kallio leads by 1.078 seconds over #53 Rabat. Crash in Turn 2 with #39 Salom, #21 Morbidelli, riders OK.
Lap 5: #36 Kallio leads by 1.130 seconds over #53 Rabat.
Lap 6: #36 Kallio leads by 1.205 seconds over #53 Rabat. #40 Vinales, #77 Aegerter, #3 Corsi in five-bike lead group.
Lap 7: #36 Kallio leads by 1.180 seconds over #53 Rabat. #22 Lowes runs off course into sand.
Lap 8: #36 Kallio leads by 1.223 seconds over #53 Rabat.
Lap 9: #36 Kallio leads by 1.028 seconds over #53 Rabat. #40 Vinales third.
Lap 10: #36 Kallio leads by 1.328 seconds over #53 Rabat.
Lap 11: #36 Kallio leads by .966 of a second over #53 Rabat.
Lap 12: #36 Kallio leads by 1.010 seconds over #53 Rabat. Into Turn 1, #53 Rabat goes wide and is passed by #40 Vinales and #77 Aegerter.
Lap 13: #36 Kallio leads by 1.455 seconds over #40 Vinales. #77 Aegerter third.
Lap 14: #36 Kallio leads by 1.372 seconds over #40 Vinales.
Lap 15: #36 Kallio leads by 1.231 seconds over #40 Vinales, #77 Aegerter third.
Lap 16: CHECKERED. #36 Mika Kallio wins Moto2 race at Red Bull Indianapolis GP by 1.380 seconds over #40 Maverick Vinales. #77 Dominique Aegerter third. American Josh Herrin 28th.
Moto2 POST-RACE NOTES:
Mika Kallio of Finland wins his 16th Grand Prix race and third this season. He also won at Jerez and LeMans.
Mika Kallio’s previous best Moto2 finish at IMS was a fourth in 2012. This is the first time that Kallio has led in four Moto2 starts at IMS.
This is the first time the winner of the Moto2 race at the Red Bull Indianapolis GP has led every lap.
Spain’s Maverick Vinales finished second, his fourth podium finish of the season.
Switzerland’s Dominique Aegerter finished third, his fourth podium finish of the season.
Moto2 World Championship leader Esteve “Tito” Rabat of Spain, the winner of last year’s Moto2 race at IMS, finished fourth. His points lead over Mika Kallio was cut from 19 to 7 points.
Mika Kallio’s win ended a four-race win streak for Spanish riders in Moto2/250cc at IMS.
***
Moto3 POST-RACE QUOTES:
EFREN VAZQUEZ (Saxo-Print RTG Honda, winner): “Yeah, I pushed really hard in the summertime to take my best physical condition for that race. Tried also to be concentrated in the summertime to get the best mentality power for this second part of the championship. And in the weekend I try to do 100 percent every practice. We don’t touch (anything) on the bike, no setting, nothing, just concentrate on riding style to give the best every practice. And it was a really hard race for us and, I think, for every rider. I will take it, the first victory, and finally I get it.”
ROMANO FENATI (Sky Racing Team VR46 KTM, second): “It was a difficult race because the problem was the tire. The tire (went) down very fast and was difficult to make a good pass from the first lap. But in the last lap it was impossible. If Efren was in second in the last corner, it was impossible to win. So I’m happy for the second place, and we improve a lot my feeling with the bike in this weekend because the last three days were very difficult. Crashed two times, and I lost the feeling with the bike, no? So it was important to make this podium for me, for my team, and for the championship.”
JACK MILLER (Red Bull KTM Ajo, third): “We came in with a 19-point lead and we’re leaving with 21. So definitely happy for that. But I was expecting it to be a really difficult race especially when we arrive at the track to see a big drag strip to the finish line. For me being one of the heavier guys out there, it makes it more difficult to win a race in this condition. Because, like Romano said, if Efren is behind you coming from the last corner, there is no way we win the race for sure. So really happy to take third place today.”
MotoGP RACE RUNNING:
At 2:00 p.m., the ambient temperature was 80 degrees F (27 C) with a relative humidity of 69 percent and light winds. Skies were cloudy.
Quickest lap, morning warm-up: 1:32.727, #93 Marc Marquez
Race distance: 27 laps
Lap 1: START. #4 Dovizioso takes lead in Turn 1. #93 Marquez starts fifth. Crash in Turn 4 with #19 Bautista, #68 Hernandez, riders OK. #46 Rossi leads first lap.
Lap 2: #93 Marquez up to third after falling back to fifth at start. #46 Rossi leads by .105 of a second over #4 Dovizioso.
Lap 3: #46 Rossi leads by .248 of a second over #4 Dovizioso. #93 Marquez third, #99 Lorenzo fourth, #29 Iannone fifth.
Lap 4: #46 Rossi leads by .052 of a second over #4 Dovizioso.
Lap 5: #46 Rossi leads at the line but #4 Dovizioso takes lead going into Turn 1. #46 Rossi and #4 Dovizioso touch, #93 Marquez moves into lead. #46 Rossi retakes lead at .319 of a second over #93 Marquez. #8 Barbera retired.
Lap 6: #9 Petrucci to pits, retires. #46 Rossi leads by .577 of a second over #93 Marquez.
Lap 7: #46 Rossi leads by .355 of a second over #93 Marquez. #99 Lorenzo third.
Lap 8: #46 Rossi leads by .395 of a second over #93 Marquez.
Lap 9: #2 Camier into pits, rejoins race. #46 Rossi leads by .068 of a second over #93 Marquez. #99 Lorenzo takes lead in Turn 1, #93 Marquez takes lead in next turn.
Lap 10: #93 Marquez leads by .533 of a second over #46 Rossi.
Lap 11: #93 Marquez leads by .556 of a second over #46 Rossi.
Lap 12: #41 A. Espargaro off track. #6 Bradl crashes, rider OK. #93 Marquez leads by .683 of a second over #46 Rossi.
Lap 13: #93 Marquez leads by .736 of a second over #46 Rossi. #99 Lorenzo third, #26 Pedrosa fourth, #4 Dovizioso fifth.
Lap 14: #93 Marquez leads by 1.340 seconds over #46 Rossi. #29 Iannone stopped off course.
Lap 15: #93 Marquez leads by 1.305 seconds over #99 Lorenzo. #46 Rossi back to third.
Lap 16: #93 Marquez leads by 1.770 seconds over #99 Lorenzo.
Lap 17: #93 Marquez leads by 1.752 seconds over #99 Lorenzo.
Lap 18: #93 Marquez leads by 1.827 seconds over #99 Lorenzo.
Lap 19: #93 Marquez leads by 1.762 seconds over #99 Lorenzo.
Lap 20: #93 Marquez leads by 1.908 seconds over #99 Lorenzo.
Lap 21: #93 Marquez leads by 1.824 seconds over #99 Lorenzo. 2.266 seconds back to #46 Rossi.
Lap 22: #93 Marquez leads by 2.104 seconds over #99 Lorenzo. #2 Camier retires.
Lap 23: #93 Marquez leads by 2.377 seconds over #99 Lorenzo.
Lap 24: #93 Marquez leads by 2.417 seconds over #99 Lorenzo.
Lap 25: #93 Marquez leads by 2.127 seconds over #99 Lorenzo.
Lap 27: CHECKERED. #93 Marc Marquez wins the Red Bull Indianapolis GP by 1.803 seconds over Jorge Lorenzo. #46 Valentino Rossi in third, #26 Dani Pedrosa in fourth, #44 Pol Espargaro in fifth.
American #5 Colin Edwards finishes 13th.
Fifteen riders running at the finish, all on the lead lap.
***
MotoGP POST-RACE NOTES:
Marc Marquez of Spain wins the Red Bull Indianapolis GP for second consecutive year, the first rider to do so.
Marc Marquez is a perfect 10-for-10 on the 2014 season, tying Australia’s Mick Doohan (1997) for the most consecutive wins in the modern era.
Marc Marquez, at age 21, has won at IMS in four consecutive years, including Moto2 wins in 2011 and 2012.
Honda has five straight wins at the Red Bull Indianapolis GP, all by the Repsol Honda team.
Honda has won the last 10 MotoGP races in the U.S. The last non-Honda MotoGP winner in the U.S. was Jorge Lorenzo on a Yamaha in 2010 at Laguna Seca.
Jorge Lorenzo of Spain finished second and has finished on the podium six times in the seven years of the Red Bull Indianapolis GP.
Valentino Rossi of Italy finished third, his sixth podium finish of the season. It was his best finish at IMS since winning in 2008.
Marc Marquez’s win marks the 500th Grand Prix win for Spain, second all-time behind Italy’s 741 wins.
American Colin Edwards finished 13th in his last MotoGP start in the U.S., as he’s retiring at season’s end. The finish was his best since a ninth in the season opener at Qatar.
***
2013 Indianapolis 500 rookie and Noblesville, Ind., native Conor Daly visited the track Sunday. Daly is currently competing in the GP2 Series.
CONOR DALY: “My season’s been OK. It’s been a big challenge in GP2, but it’s been a great challenge to step up to really fast, high-powered cars with high downforce. We’re in the top 10 consistently now, which is exactly where we’d like to be as a rookie and improving every race. Now, we’re on summer break, and I’m just happy to be home and always love coming here. As drivers, we love all forms of motorsport, and I think this is one of the craziest ones. I have a lot of good friends out here in the industry, and it’s cool to see everyone.”
Moto2 POST-RACE QUOTES:
MIKA KALLIO (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex, winner): “Before the first start, I was thinking which is the way to do the race, you know, which kind of plan we need to keep on the race. And I knew that with this whole race distance that we could have some problems at the end of the race with the tires. So first I was thinking that maybe I need to save a little bit the tires at the beginning, and then maybe in the end start to push a bit. But I did a good start, so I decided, OK, I’ll go immediately with everything I could. I managed to make some gap, and I saw that the guys were already, after the first and second lap, some seconds behind. So it would be nice to see if we could go without the red flag how could be the race with the whole race distance. But it happened, what happened. And then for the second race we decide to go with the same tires. So we used the old tires, and mainly because we knew that maybe if we put the new tires, the first laps could be a little bit more complicated. And always I need to run in the tires some laps to get the maximum grip out. And we keep the same tires which allowed me to push immediately again from the first lap. And I managed to make the same thing than the first race. So I made the gap immediately, and then I could keep this whole race. But let's say I'm not really sure if this was the best plan with the tires, but it works today, and we had some problems at the beginning -- I mean in the end, especially the front tire started to slide quite a lot. But maybe the other guys had the same problems. So the gap was all the time more or less one second. But I knew that if I would make one mistake, they immediately catch me. So I needed to push till the end, and it was quite a tough race.”
MAVERICK VINALES (Paginas Amerillas HP 40 Kalex, second): “Yeah, for sure I think we beat Tito (Rabat) today. At the end, Kallio was really strong. Also in the first part, we could follow. I feel good in the end of the race and today the race was more short. But we think if we work more, we can beat at the end. We try to work in the first practice because we are so far for the top. But in Brno we think we can stay on the top also.”
DOMINIQUE AEGERTER (Technomag carXpert Suter, third): “Coming here I was all weekend quite strong, front row constant. Just in the first race we go with the harder option on the rear tire. Mika was very fast in the first lap. Immediately he make a big gap, and I tried to follow but I had three, four big moments. And then the red flag is coming. And the second start we tried softer option on the rear. But again he had a good start and made a small gap and I fight a little bit with Rabat and Vinales. And yeah, the gap was always the same. In the end I can overtake Rabat, tried to overtake also Vinales, but he was little bit too fast. Now to be on the podium again for sure is good. And thanks for all the team to make a good job and now we’re looking forward for Brno.”
AMA PRO VANCE & HINES HARLEY-DAVIDSON SERIES RACE #2:
At 3:30 p.m., the ambient temperature was 79 degrees F (26 C) with a relative humidity of 72 percent and southeast winds at 13 mph. Skies were cloudy.
Race distance: 10 laps
Lap 1: GREEN. #1 Rapp leads #45 Carlson by .011 of a second.
Lap 2: #1 Rapp leads #45 Carlson by .145 of a second.
Lap 3: #69 Eslick leads #1 Rapp by .007 of a second. #99 McWilliams third.
Lap 4: #1 Rapp leads #99 McWilliams by .030 of a second.
Lap 5: #69 Eslick leads #1 Rapp by .088 of a second.
Lap 6: RED. #39 Rosli crashes, walks off.
Lap 6: RESTART. #1 Rapp leads #99 McWilliams by .036 of a second.
Lap 7: #99 McWilliams leads #69 Eslick by .002 of a second, #1 Rapp also three-wide at line.
Lap 8: #69 Eslick leads #99 McWilliams by .029 of a second.
Lap 9: #1 Rapp leads #99 McWilliams by .019 of a second. #69 Eslick third.
Lap 10: CHECKERED. #1 Steve Rapp wins by .011 of a second. #69 Danny Eslick second. #45 Ben Carlson third, #33 Kyle Wyman fourth, #99 Jeremy McWilliams
***
MOTOGP POST-RACE QUOTES:
MARC MARQUEZ (No. 93 Repsol Honda Team, winner): “In the beginning it was so exciting. The start I got was not so good. But then today the track temperature was higher and that changed a little bit the feeling, especially with the front tire. And the beginning I had some moments, and then I say, OK, we will be quiet the first 10 laps behind Valentino (Rossi). And then when I saw the tire, Jorge also attacked and try to push in the front, I say OK, now is the time I overtake them and I start to push. Tenths by tenths I open the gap, and that two seconds were enough in the end of the race for take the victory.” (On winning 10 straight and dominance in U.S.) “Yeah, it looks like here in USA I feel good. So happy for that and I'm happy, too, to come back after summertime with another victory. But, yeah, Yamaha looks a little bit stronger, they were very close to us. And I feel they were closer, I expect that in Brno they will be really strong.” (On the special season) “The problem is I cannot explain because, you know, every race I go to the weekend and I say, OK, here maybe is the time to finish second or third. Here will be the time that I will struggle. But every race I feel so strong, the most important is that I enjoy like with seeing the podium and the team enjoy every victory like the first one. So it is important to keep the motivation and the concentration, and we will see. But it will be so difficult to win every race. Now we arrive at Brno, later Silverstone, but that track last year we struggled a little bit more and the Yamaha is strong there. But anyway, we will go there and the first target is to try to win the race, of course.”
MOTOGP POST-RACE QUOTES continued:
JORGE LORENZO (No. 99 Movistar Yamaha MotoGP, second): “I made not so bad a start, but I lost some positions in the first corner. Also, yes, the first two or three corners, so it has been a while that I don't make a race from so far and recovering. Normally in the last years I start very well and earning second or first position and try to be as fast as possible. This time it reminded me from 2010 I have to recover from the start. So yeah, at the beginning I didn't find so well, but little by little the bike was improving and giving me confidence faster and faster of the bike. Probably with a better start from first position I could try to open the gap I was making last year because Marc was not as extremely fast. But finally when Marc attacked to Valentino, he improved his space and maybe I was too late to pass Valentino because my braking was not so strong. So when I pass him in the -- when he opened a little bit the line in some corners, maybe mine was too far. My pace was similar to him but not enough to challenge him for the victory. So I think I am safe, and I am becoming better and better. Maybe that is better for my riding and for the Yamaha we can challenge Marc, and maybe in the future we can get some tenths of the bike, we can challenge him in every track.”
VALENTINO ROSSI (No. 46 Movistar Yamaha MotoGP, third): “I did a fantastic start like Ron Haslam in the past from the second row. So it is very important. I know that it is very important to try to arrive in front of the first corner. And after I enjoy a lot the first lap because I had quite good pace. I hear that I losing some places but I was riding quite well. And so I try, try to stay in front. And I know that Marc was a little bit faster, usually during all the weekend. So he overtook me, I tried to go with him. I try to open the gap a little bit, especially to Jorge. But after also Jorge arrived and I wanted to try to fight more with him but today was stronger than me, two or three points where he can turn the bike in a better way. But anyway, I am satisfied because first of all, it’s a good third place. I enjoy, I battle. I lead the race, I battle with Marc and Jorge, that is always a great pleasure. And also this track is for me the worst or one of the worst. So to go back, to come back on the podium after a lot of season without good result here is good.”
COLIN EDWARDS (No. 5 NGM Forward Racing Yamaha, 13th): “Yeah, I'm a little emotional. I’ll probably figure it all out a little later, but the crowd here was great. There has been great fan support all week with this being my last race on U.S. soil. I’m just happy to be well and in one piece. Let's move on to Part 2 of my life. One of the military troops got in touch with me and told me he had an American flag in Turn 8, so I stopped and got it (at the end of the race). That was part of the plan. (On Americans in MotoGP): “I’m working on something (to get more American riders in MotoGP) with some folks of mine to see if we can change that and get an American contingent.”
YONNY HERNANDEZ (No. 68 Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Ducati, out in first lap): “I go outside the line and (Alvaro Bautista) went inside, opened the throttle, hit me and I crashed. I am disappointed because for me, I think I can do a really good race but (it’s) not possible with the crash. No problem, that's it, it's the races.”
DANI PEDROSA (No. 26 Repsol Honda, fourth): “Today in the race I was trying to match the lap times, but I wasn't able to. I think overall something went wrong but I can’t really tell what. It was just a weekend to forget. I had a good start and basically I just tried to keep my race pace from practice, but I was struggling all weekend to get a good pace from the very first practice. I couldn’t recover the gap on the bikes in front of me. It wasn’t any one place (where I was losing time), it was just overall. I wasn't able to match the lap times. I pushed myself to the limit today and I got fourth. No, of course I wasn't happy with it, but that’s the way it goes. I tried my best and my team tried its best to improve the bike. I can’t say it was the bike’s fault or my fault, because I don't know why.”
STEFAN BRADL (No. 6 LCR Honda Moto GP, not classified): “You are never happy with a DNF. I was in a fight with (Aleix) Espargaro and we had a racing incident. We were on the same way into the first corner and he did not leave me enough room to survive; then I was touching his rear wheel. It was really unfortunate. The bike was not so bad. I could feel the tires were in a good way. I felt like we could have some advantage. I was trying to catch up a little bit. Unfortunately when I tried to pass Aleix, we had that crash. It was really and unfortunate situation.”
BRADLEY SMITH (No. 38 Monster Yamaha Tech 3, sixth): “I’m really pleased for the team. Basically, we were beaten by Factory Honda, Factory Yamaha. We are a satellite team and we were fifth and sixth, which is really the best results we could ask for as a team. Of course, I’d like it the other way around, me in front of Pol (Espargaro). But I knew going into this weekend it was a track he was strong at and it was going to be tough to beat him. We had different strategies. He went off very hard in the beginning of the race then slowly came back. I came strong the second half of the race. I’m pleased just to end up with a top six finish. It’s been an awful while since we’ve had a good result, and it was a result we needed not only for the team and contract but also for my own confidence.” (On the track in race conditions): “I can’t say enough for the job (the) Indianapolis (Motor Speedway) did on the track. The new surface is really good. It’s always scary when you come to a new track, because you’re never sure the asphalt is going to rubber in. But already the track was good from session one. The new configuration created close racing. For the majority of that race, it was close racing. And we saw a great race in Moto3. It was definitely an improvement from previous years.” (On a wound he re-aggravated on his left pinky finger): “Basically, I’ve taken the skin off again not quite down to the bone, which is good because exposed bone is never great. I’m glad I still have something left. It’s not as bad as it was 12 months ago but slightly worse than when I did it four weeks ago. Luckily I don’t have too many pain receptors anymore in that finger, so it didn’t hurt that bad. It looks pretty gross. It’s bandaged up now and ready for next weekend. Unfortunately, with the way that the schedule goes the next couple of weeks, I’m probably not going to be able to get it healed for a good four or five weeks. I’ll keep on opening it (the wound) every time I ride. But it’s a normal situation for motorcycle racers.”
ANDREA DOVIZIOSO (No. 4 Ducati Team, seventh): “The first 15 laps were nice. Sure, the first five laps were exciting because in some parts of the track I was a little faster than Valentino (Rossi). I think he didn’t push 100 percent of the time of the race so I was able to fight a little bit and overtake him in Turn 1. He tried to overtake me where there wasn’t a space. That is the leather (points to black marks on his riding suit). Fortunately, nobody crashed, so this is positive. After that, we knew it was very difficult to keep a lap time. First, to keep that speed I had to use the energy, and second, the tire. To keep that speed I had to use more angle than the first four riders. I wasn’t able to keep that speed.”
POL ESPARGARO (No. 44 Monster Yamaha Tech 3, fifth): “I’m reasonably happy, as it has been a good race but not an incredible one. We collected important points for the championship, I learned a lot as well today and we definitely gave our best, so I have to be satisfied with the result. In addition, having just the four factory bikes in front of me I can’t complain too much. My start was OK and at the beginning I tried everything to stay with Dani (Pedrosa), but during the opening laps he was really strong and escaped quite quickly. Afterwards my race was a very lonely one until I caught (Andrea) Dovizioso. Then I tried to push a bit harder to open a gap to him, and later on I just tried to not make any mistakes. Indy has been a good start to the second part of the championship but I'm already looking forward to Brno next week where I aim to improve further.” (It looked like a very fun race for the spectators. What was it like for you?): “The beginning was not really fun because there were too many people around in the front and too many people fighting for the first position. Actually, it was the middle of the race; for me it was a little bit difficult. It still is difficult to be fast when the tire drops off a little bit. We need more experience. We need to learn how to do it. But we were the first (satellite) bike, it means we were OK. Here we did a good job. Maybe we can then improve.”(On the track in racing conditions):“I think the people at home, for sure, were more satisfied than last year. I enjoyed the race. It means the track was really good for us- the asphalt, too. They did a really good job. I’m really happy.”
CAL CRUTCHLOW (No. 35 Ducati Team, eighth): “If somebody had offered me an eighth place on Friday I would have took it. To be so far off the winner is disappointing, as always. I think we needed to get through the race after the operation I had. We needed to finish. This race is a difficult race with riding throughout the whole race. It is a quite physical, demanding circuit. I was pleasantly surprised. We never had too many dramas. I lost the race in the start of the first 10 laps. Afterwards, I could have held a decent pace but I made too many mistakes. You live and learn and hopefully Brno next week will be a little bit better. I felt we didn’t have a bad pace when we wanted to have it and when I had clear air again I was able to be competitive.”
(Verizon IndyCar Series driver Sebastian Saavedra was at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday and offered his thoughts on the Red Bull Indianapolis GP:
SEBASTIAN SAAVEDRA: “I love motorcycle racing. I have been following it for a long time now I have a fellow Colombian here in Yonny (Hernandez) so I was pulling for him. He had an amazing start and had an incident on Lap 1 which took him out. But it’s amazing. If there is any kind of racing at IMS it will always be IMS.” (Have you raced motorcycles?): “I have not actually, I think my girlfriend would complain. These guys are completely nuts, I have so much respect for them so it is something I will leave for the professionals.”
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AMA PRO VANCE & HINES HARLEY-DAVIDSON SERIES POST-RACE QUOTES:
STEVE RAPP (No. 1 Suburban Motors, winner): “I had a lot of years of practice of where not to be so I could tell going down that last straight -- I knew Danny (Eslick) sat up, and I didn’t want to end up in front so I sat up, Benny (Carlson) went by and I thought, ‘cool.’ I wasn’t sure about being able to pass them but it worked out pretty good, but they sort of got next to each other so it poked a little draft there. To win at Indy, I can check that off the list. I was kind of running out of time, so it’s cool. As a racer you have got Daytona, check that, you have Indy, and you have other tracks and a championship so as a racer there are some things that you want to do and this was definitely one of them, and I have missed it every year I have come.”
DANNY ESLICK (No. 69 Ruthless Racing, second): “There was lots of crazy stuff on the first start. McWilliams missed a shift and I had to swerve to go around him. Wyman got right up next to me and pinched it off in Turn 1. It was a definite eye-opener being in the lead for the championship. I tried to calm down and settle in. Then we had the red flag, the restart and the race to the finish. Everyone has their strong sections of the track. It was just trying to figure out who wanted to be where for the run to the finish line. I was leading down the back straight and I wanted no part of leading that last section onto the front straight. I just sat up and pulled off the side and let Benny (Carlson) go by. I tucked back in line: I thought I had enough for a run to the line. I got by Benny but Steve came by, caught the draft just perfect and nipped us at the line. It was a great race; these guys rode awesome.”
BEN CARLSON (No. 45 Suburban Motors, third): “It was a good weekend for me but that was the second day coming off the frontstretch in first and it didn’t work out so well. I had fun. It was close racing and there were five of us going for it (win). (Last lap) I saw Danny sit up and I saw Steve kind of roll off. Initially I was going on the backstretch and thought if they sit up I could take the lead; if (Kyle) Wyman and (Jeremy) McWilliams got in there with them and knocked them around I could get a run on the straightaway and maybe break the draft. That’s the second time (straight day) I’ve thought that.” ***END DAY 3 NOTES ***