By Paul Kelly
indianapolismotorspeedway.com
Thursday, November 5, 2009
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EVENT: Grand Prix of Valencia
WHERE: Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo, Valencia, Spain. Circuit is 2.489 miles (4.005 km), with 14 turns. Race is 30 laps.
WHEN: Sunday, Nov. 8. It is the 17th of 17 events this season.
2008 RACE WINNER: Casey Stoner, by 3.390 seconds over Dani Pedrosa
2008 POLE WINNER: Casey Stoner, 1 minute, 31.502 seconds
U.S. TV: MotoGP: 6-7 p.m. (ET), Sunday, Nov. 8, SPEED. 250cc: 5-6 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 8, SPEED.
THE AMERICANS: U.S. riders Colin Edwards (Houston, Monster Yamaha Tech 3), Nicky Hayden (Owensboro, Ky., Ducati Team) and Ben Spies (Longview, Texas, Yamaha Factory Racing Team) will compete in this race. Edwards is sixth and Hayden is 14th in the MotoGP standings after 16 races this season. 2009 Superbike World Champion Spies is riding as a wild card for Yamaha Factory Racing Team. He will join Edwards on Monster Yamaha Tech 3 in the 2010 season.
•Colin Edwards: "First thing first is you've just got to be real careful with the right side of the tire. It's very easy to roll here and just think everything is good. But that right side, because it's not until you really get to the fourth corner where you've got a right-hander. But you don't generate a lot of heat on the right side here. That takes a little bit of time. After that, you've got a couple start-stops, a little back straightaway, you've got a pretty tight corner onto the front straightaway. But the little infield part is just about flowing, carrying your momentum."
•Nicky Hayden: "I love Valencia, and for obvious reasons it is a place that holds very special memories for me. But I don't just like it because it is where I won the title in 2006; I actually just like the circuit itself. I guess it will be my first 'Ducati anniversary,' and it will be interesting to see how far we have come since that first test a year ago. I can't wait to get there. It is a great Grand Prix with a special, welcoming and party atmosphere. Hopefully I can have a good race and enjoy myself. If I can manage a good result, there's a chance we can finish the season in the top 10, with ninth place just 12 points away. I won't be easy, but we'll see what we can do."
•Ben Spies: "I'm really excited for the opportunity to race at Valencia this weekend. I'm fully aware that MotoGP is a big step up from World Superbike and realize it's not going to be possible to achieve the same results in my first year there. I see this weekend as an opportunity to spend some time on the bike and start learning it for next season, and to have some fun, as well."
THEY SAID IT: "Of course, you've got to do the math. It's the whole motivation factor that keeps you rolling. I'd like to get five more points than him and get fifth place. That would be fantastic. At the end of the day, we just have to buckle down and frickin' ride our ass off." - Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards, who is four points behind fifth-place Andrea Dovizioso with one race remaining in 2009
FAST FACTS: The 250cc World Championship is the only title on the line at this season-ending event. Hiroshi Aoyama leads defending World Champion Marco Simoncelli by 21 points, 252-231, and needs to finish 11th or better to clinch his first world title. Valentino Rossi clinched his seventh MotoGP World Championship on Oct. 25 at the Grand Prix of Malaysia, and Julian Simon sealed his first 125cc world title on Oct. 18 at the Grand Prix of Australia … American Ben Spies will ride make his first MotoGP start of 2009 as a wild-card rider for the Yamaha Factory Racing Team. Spies, from Longview, Texas, won the Superbike World Championship this season. He will join fellow Texan Colin Edwards on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 for the entire 2010 MotoGP season, the first all-American MotoGP pairing since Kenny Roberts Jr. and John Hopkins in 2005 at Suzuki. Spies made three MotoGP starts in 2008, including finishing sixth in the Red Bull Indianapolis GP at Indianapolis Motor Speedway … American Nicky Hayden clinched the 2006 MotoGP World Championship by finishing third at Valencia … American Colin Edwards finished sixth in 2008 at this event, his best result in six career starts at Valencia … Casey Stoner has won the last two races this season to become the top rider in the 800cc era of MotoGP, which started in 2007. Stoner has 20 victories during that span, Valentino Rossi 19 … Valencia is one of three circuits at which Jorge Lorenzo has no career victories in any World Championship class. The others are Sachsenring and Laguna Seca … Dani Pedrosa is the only rider to have won races in MotoGP, 250cc and 125cc at Valencia … American Cameron Beaubier will finish his first season in the 125cc class at this event. Beaubier, 16, from Roseville, Calif., is tied for 27th in the World Championship standings this season for the Red Bull KTM 125 factory team.
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IMS tickets: 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.
Race tickets can be purchased online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com at any time. Tickets for groups of 20 or more also are on sale. Contact the IMS Group Sales Department at (866) 221-8775 for more information.
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