Five U.S. Riders on Grid for Entire Season
By Paul Kelly
indianapolismotorspeedway.com
Friday, December 19, 2008
In 2009, American riders will race in all three classes of MotoGP competition for the first time since 1990, including in the second annual Red Bull Indianapolis GP on Sunday, Aug. 30 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
2006 MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden, Colin Edwards and John Hopkins will represent the United States in the premier MotoGP class, while Stevie Bonsey climbs to the 250cc class. Cameron Beaubier will ride as a rookie in 125cc.
Last season, Hayden, Edwards and Hopkins raced in MotoGP, while Bonsey was in his second season of 125cc.
In 1990, four Americans rode in the premier 500cc category, including World Champion Wayne Rainey. John Kocinski won the 250cc World Championship in his first attempt, and Alan Scott raced in 125cc.
Inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP runner-up Hayden, from Owensboro, Ky., joins Ducati and new teammate 2007 World Champion Casey Stoner after six seasons with Repsol Honda. Edwards, from Houston, returns to the Tech 3 Yamaha team for the second consecutive season. Hopkins, from Ramona, Calif., will ride for the Kawasaki Racing Team for a second season.
Centennial Era Fleesh Ash Blanket
Centennial Era Fleesh Ash Blanket. Size is 50x60.
Bonsey, from Salinas, Calif., will race for the Aprilia Madrid team in his first season of 250cc competition. He is the first full-time American rider in 250cc since Kurtis Roberts in 1997.
Beaubier, 16, from Roseville, Calif., joins the Red Bull KTM 125 factory team with considerable international experience. Beaubier finished fourth in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup in 2007 at MotoGP tracks across Europe, winning at Sachsenring, Germany. He participated in the Red Bull MotoGP Academy program in 2008, only the second American selected for the prestigious program, which grooms riders for future MotoGP competition.
Before competing in Europe, Beaubier raced in WERA and USGPRU road-racing events in the United States. Beaubier competed in motocross and Supermoto before switching to road racing, winning the Supermoto USA lightweight championship in 2004.
Defending Red Bull Indianapolis GP champion Valentino Rossi again will race for the Fiat Yamaha Team in 2009 in the MotoGP class. One of his fiercest rivals from earlier this decade, Sete Gibernau, returns to MotoGP with the new Grupo Francisco Hernando team.
Three MotoGP rookies will debut in 2009: Mika Kallio of Finland with Pramac Racing, Yuki Takahashi of Japan with Scot Racing Team MotoGP and Niccolo Canepa of Italy with Pramac Racing. Canepa was the quickest rider at the test in July 2007 at IMS before the inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP.
There will be 19 full-time MotoGP riders in 2009, one more than last season.
2009 MotoGP World Championship Provisional Entry Lists
|
MotoGP |
|||
|
No. |
Rider |
Country |
Team |
|
3 |
Dani Pedrosa |
Spain |
Repsol Honda Team |
|
4 |
Andrea Dovizioso |
Italy |
Repsol Honda Team |
|
5 |
Colin Edwards |
United States |
Tech 3 Yamaha |
|
7 |
Chris Vermeulen |
Australia |
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP |
|
14 |
Randy de Puniet |
France |
LCR Honda MotoGP |
|
15 |
Alex de Angelis |
San Marino |
San Carlo Honda Gresini |
|
21 |
John Hopkins |
United States |
Kawasaki Racing Team |
|
24 |
Toni Elias |
Spain |
San Carlo Honda Gresini |
|
27 |
Casey Stoner |
Australia |
Ducati Marlboro Team |
|
33 |
Marco Melandri |
Italy |
Kawasaki Racing Team |
|
36 |
Mika Kallio |
Finland |
Pramac Racing |
|
46 |
Valentino Rossi |
Italy |
Fiat Yamaha Team |
|
52 |
James Toseland |
Great Britain |
Tech 3 Yamaha |
|
59 |
Sete Gibernau |
Spain |
Grupo Francisco Hernando |
|
65 |
Loris Capirossi |
Italy |
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP |
|
69 |
Nicky Hayden |
United States |
Ducati Marlboro Team |
|
72 |
Yuki Takahashi |
Japan |
Scot Racing Team MotoGP |
|
88 |
Niccolo Canepa |
Italy |
Pramac Racing |
|
99 |
Jorge Lorenzo |
Spain |
Fiat Yamaha Team |
|
250cc |
|||
|
No. |
Rider |
Country |
Team |
|
4 |
Hiroshi Aoyama |
Japan |
Scot Racing Team 250cc |
|
7 |
Axel Pons |
Spain |
Pepe World Pons WRB |
|
8 |
Bastien Chesaux |
Switzerland |
Racing Team Germany |
|
9 |
Toni Wirsing |
Germany |
Racing Team Germany |
|
10 |
Imre Toth |
Hungary |
Team Toth Aprilia |
|
12 |
Thomas Luthi |
Switzerland |
Emmi - Caffe Latte |
|
14 |
Ratthapark Wilairot |
Thailand |
Thai Honda PTT SAG |
|
15 |
Roberto Locatelli |
Italy |
Metis Gilera |
|
16 |
Jules Cluzel |
France |
Matteoni Racing |
|
17 |
Karel Abraham |
Czech Republic |
Cardion AB Motoracing |
|
19 |
Alvaro Bautista |
Spain |
Mapfre Aspar Team |
|
21 |
Hector Barbera |
Spain |
Pepe World Pons WRB |
|
25 |
Alex Baldolini |
Italy |
WTR San Marino Team |
|
28 |
Gabor Talmacsi |
Hungary |
Balaton Racing Team 250cc |
|
35 |
Raffaele de Rosa |
Italy |
Scot Racing Team 250cc |
|
41 |
Aleix Espargaro |
Spain |
Campetella Racing |
|
48 |
Shoya Tomizawa |
Japan |
Team CIP |
|
51 |
Stevie Bonsey |
United States |
Aprilia Madrid |
|
52 |
Lukas Pesek |
Czech Republic |
Auto Kelly - CP |
|
58 |
Marco Simoncelli |
Italy |
Metis Gilera |
|
63 |
Mike de Meglio |
France |
Mapfre Aspar Team 250cc |
|
75 |
Mattia Pasini |
Italy |
Team Toth Aprilia |
|
125cc |
|||
|
No. |
Rider |
Country |
Team |
|
5 |
Alexis Masbou |
France |
Loncin Racing |
|
7 |
Dominique Aegerter |
Switzerland |
AJO Interwitten |
|
8 |
Lorenzo Zanetti |
Italy |
WWC |
|
11 |
Sandro Cortese |
Germany |
AJO Interwitten |
|
12 |
Esteve Rabat |
Spain |
Blusens Aprilia |
|
16 |
Cameron Beaubier |
United States |
Red Bull KTM 125 |
|
17 |
Stefan Bradl |
Germany |
Kiefer Racing |
|
18 |
Nicolas Terol |
Spain |
Jack & Jones Pons WRB |
|
24 |
Simone Corsi |
Italy |
Jack & Jones Pons WRB |
|
27 |
Stefano Bianco |
Italy |
CBC Corse |
|
29 |
Andrea Iannone |
Italy |
WWC |
|
30 |
Pere Tutusaus |
Spain |
Matteoni Racing |
|
32 |
Lorenzo Savadori |
Italy |
Fontana Racing |
|
33 |
Sergio Gadea |
Spain |
Bancaja Aspar Team 125cc |
|
34 |
Randy Krummenacher |
Switzerland |
DeGraaf Grand Prix |
|
38 |
Bradley Smith |
Great Britain |
Bancaja Aspar Team 125cc |
|
44 |
Pol Espargaro |
Spain |
Belson Derbi |
|
45 |
Scott Redding |
Great Britain |
Blusens Aprilia |
|
60 |
Julian Simon |
Spain |
Bancaja Aspar Team 125cc |
|
66 |
Matthew Hoyle |
Great Britain |
Maxtra Team |
|
71 |
Tomoyoshi Koyama |
Japan |
Loncin Racing |
|
72 |
Marco Ravaioli |
Italy |
CBC Corse |
|
73 |
Takaaki Nakagami |
Japan |
WWC |
|
81 |
Jasper Iwema |
Netherlands |
Kiefer Racing |
|
88 |
Michael Ranseder |
Austria |
Maxtra Team |
|
93 |
Marc Marquez |
Spain |
Red Bull KTM 125 |
|
94 |
Jonas Folger |
Germany |
WWC |
|
99 |
Danny Webb |
Great Britain |
DeGraaf Grand Prix |
|
TBD |
TBD |
TBD |
Belson Derbi |
***
2009 IMS tickets: Tickets for the three events in 2009 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway - the 93rd Indianapolis 500, 16th Allstate 400 at the Brickyard and second Red Bull Indianapolis GP - can be ordered online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com at any time.
Established in 1909, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has long prevailed as an icon of motorsports excellence. Beginning in 2009, the Speedway celebrates its Centennial Era, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the facility in 2009 and the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race in 2011.
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