Rizla Suzuki MotoGP has headed back across the Atlantic for the second American Grand Prix of the season this time at the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Following a positive post-race test at Brno, both Loris Capirossi and Álvaro Bautista are eager to get back on-track and carry on with the improvements they found at the Czech Republic circuit. This will be the third time that MotoGP has visited Indianapolis and Capirossi will certainly looking to improve on his results there, that has seen him score a personal best of seventh place at the 4,216m track in 2009. Bautista has a podium position to show from his only race at the circuit. He finished third last year after the 250cc class race was cancelled in 2008 due to a hurricane hitting the Indianapolis area. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway or ‘The Brickyard’, as it is also known, was built in 1909 and has become one of the most famous sporting venues in the world since its inception. The vast race-track has a permanent seating capacity of over 250,000, with the facility to raise that to over 400,000 for the ‘Indy 500’ and the ‘Brickyard 400′, both of which are major sporting events on the American calendar and feature IndyCar and NASCAR respectively. On the grounds of the circuit are also the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum and the Brickyard Crossing Golf Resort, making this impressive venue even more amazing. Rizla Suzuki takes to the track on Friday 27th August for the first of two free practice sessions, the second scheduled for the following morning. Saturday afternoon sees an hour of qualifying for all riders to establish their grid positions in readiness for Sunday’s 28-lap race that gets underway at 15.00hrs local time (19.00hrs GMT). Loris Capirossi: “The Brno test was a lot better than the race, but the bike did feel the best it has done all year during the short time I was on-track in the race and we made some improvements on the Monday so these should be good for us when we get to Indy. I finished seventh last year and that was a big improvement on 2008 so I am determined to make another step forward this year. It is very important that we keep focussed and keep trying as hard as we can to get the results to show what we are capable of.” Álvaro Bautista: “I’m still a bit stiff from my crash at Brno, but I have rested and let the injury heal properly so I will be ready for Indianapolis. I really need to finish a whole weekend and get a full practice, qualifying and race in my account. It seems a long time since I crossed the finish line and I am positive about visiting America and making that happen. We made some steps at the Brno test, but we still need to work on those at Indianapolis – and the races that follow – to find out what the true potential of the bike is. That is something we are determined to do and to keep on learning as much as possible about all things to do with the GSV-R and how it behaves on different tracks and in varying conditions and also about myself and how I can ride it to get the best from it.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: REPSOL HONDA TEAM TARGETS INDY SUCCESS The Repsol Honda Team has high expectations for its second visit of the summer to the USA this week as preparations begin for the Indianapolis Grand Prix and round 11 of the MotoGP World Championship. Dani Pedrosa will be looking to go one better than the second place he secured at the last race in the Czech Republic and, if the Spaniard can replicate his dazzling form from Indianapolis 2009, his third race win of 2010 could well be on the cards. On the other side of the factory Honda garage, Andrea Dovizioso is seeking a return to the podium after a positive test session following the Brno race. Pedrosa was emphatically quicker than his rivals through practice and qualifying at Indianapolis last year, a full second faster than anybody else in the Saturday morning session before taking pole position by more than half a second in the afternoon. Pedrosa was leading the race when he fell in the early laps, remounting to take 10th place, but eve n though last year’s result didn’t reflect his clear potential, the 24-year-old arrives at “Indy” in very confident mood, knowing he has the speed to win at the technical circuit. Dovizioso is looking for a top three finish this weekend to reinvigorate a season which started well and has seen the Italian notch up four rostrum results and nine points-scoring finishes from the first ten races of 2010. From mid-season onwards Dovizioso’s clear goal has been to convert podium finishes into race wins, and it was that dogged determination to fight with the leaders which saw him slide out of the Czech Grand Prix two weeks ago as he fought to stay in touch at the front. The 24-year-old Italian’s commitment remains undented, however, as he seeks to reclaim third place in the riders’ world championship from Casey Stoner who lies just four points ahead. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is hosting a MotoGP race for the third successive year and is a standout Grand Prix thanks to a venue which is immense in both scale and reputation. ‘The Brickyard’ as it is known, is based on a 2.5-mile oval and is the historic setting for the legendary Indy 500 race, which sees the fastest cars averaging lap speeds of 230mph during qualifying. The MotoGP circuit uses two sections of the famous oval – the start/finish straight and the banked corner number two – linked by a more intricate in-field section. The lap features many surface changes with varying levels of grip, presenting a particular machine set-up challenge to the riders and crews, especially in the wet conditions encountered on MotoGP’s previous two visits to Indy. The race weekend begins for the Repsol Honda Team with first practice on Friday at 13.55. The 28-lap MotoGP race takes place on Sunday at 15.00 local time (GMT – 4 hours). DANI PEDROSA World Championship position: 2nd 158 points “I’m going to Indianapolis in a very good mood and I’m feeling ready to finish the job we weren’t able to complete in the race there last time. I felt really comfortable riding in Indy last year. I was on top of the timesheets from the first practice, I took pole position and the only mistake I made was in the race. So I hope this time we can put together a strong weekend and take another good result. We were fast and consistent at the last race in Brno and we’ll be aiming to get straight back on that pace again this weekend. It will be important, as always, to establish a good machine setting quickly on Friday, and I think we have a useful base from last year that will help us to find the right direction straight away. We were ready to win again in Brno and this will be our goal in Indianapolis too. Riding in America is different, the Indianapolis circuit is ve ry impressive and I feel very good racing in the States because the support I get from the fans is always very positive. So I’m really looking forward to get out there.” ANDREA DOVIZIOSO World Championship position: 4th 115 points “I always look forward to racing in the U.S.A. and this time is no different. I like visiting America, and the Indianapolis race track is a typical American venue with great facilities and huge grandstands. The MotoGP track is not particularly interesting but the atmosphere is always special. The circuit has many different surface types and last year this was a bit difficult for us, but I think that with this year’s machine package – and especially with the current weight distribution – the variety of asphalt and different levels of grip won’t be an issue. If I look back to the Brno GP I have to say that – except for the final result – it was a good weekend. We were competitive, our race pace was good but the result did not come. So we go to Indy determined to transform this good performance into a result. We need strong results for the team and for the championship positio n. Last year I was fourth at Indy in the race but we weren’t as fast as the front runners – Dani especially was very fast. But this means that we have the potential to do well and this is an extra motivation for the weekend.” More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: FIAT YAMAHA HEAD TO INDY FOR SECOND STATESIDE ROUND This week sees the MotoGP paddock land on US soil for the second time this season for the Indianapolis Grand Prix, at the world-famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Fiat Yamaha Team have already enjoyed success in the States once this season and both Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi will be hoping for a top result at the world’s largest spectator sporting facility. Lorenzo is flying high after enjoying an incredible seven wins from ten races so far this season. The 23-year-old has a championship lead of 77 points over Dani Pedrosa and the Mallorcan knows he simply has to continue in the same consistent way to ensure a first premier-class championship later this year. After another comfortable win last time out in Brno and a useful one-day test afterwards he is feeling confident of another good result in Indiana. He has a g ood record with the track having taken a commanding win there last year and his first ever wet podium in 2008, the first year that MotoGP visited Indianapolis. Rossi’s injury-hit season suffered a low point in Brno when he could only finish fifth after being hopeful of something much better, but he and his team worked hard to understand what had gone wrong during the test and they are satisfied that they won’t see a repeat this week. The reigning World Champion always enjoys racing in America and he was thrilled to take a brilliant podium in Laguna Seca last month, at just his second race back after breaking his leg. Rossi took a memorable win at the Inaugural Indianapolis Grand Prix in 2008, when the race was battered by Hurricane Ike, but last year he slid out when sparring with his team-mate, something he will be looking to make up for this time around. With 257,000 permanent seats the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the largest spectator sporting facility in the world and fills to capacity for its flagship events, the Indy 500 and Allstate 400 car races. Originally constructed in 1909 with a 2.5-mile oval, an exciting 16-turn motorcycle road circuit, which includes part of the historic oval, was purpose-built for MotoGP. Jorge Lorenzo “JUST GOOD MEMORIES IN AMERICA” “The first back-to-back races in the second half of the season are coming, and this first one after a few days of holiday in the US for me. This weekend will be the second race in this country in 2010 and I am looking forward to it because I would like to repeat the same result as I got in Laguna! I just have good memories from America, last month in Laguna and last year in Indy. Last year was amazing, but this time I don’t need to take too many risks. We can avoid it! Indy is a track that I like a lot and it has amazing history. The team and I are planning to continue our great season there this weekend.” Valentino Rossi “A SPECIAL PLACE” “Indianapolis is a special place, an amazing track and as always it’s fun to race in America. I have great memories from 2009 when I won in the hurricane, even if it’s not something I want to repeat! This year we arrive in a different situation to last year, fifth in the championship and not at 100% in physical condition, but I am feeling stronger all the time. Brno was disappointing but the test helped us to understand what went wrong and so we are hopeful that we can be back on good form in Indy.” Wilco Zeelenberg “FINISHING RACES IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING” “I’ve never been to Indianapolis so I’m excited! As for Jorge, he loves Indy and he knows that it’s important to get three or four more good finishes and then see where we are. He has a big lead and he doesn’t need to stick his neck out or take too many risks, he knows that finishing races and taking points is the most important thing.” Davide Brivio “ALWAYS A PLEASURE TO GO RACING THERE” “We go to Indy, where we had a bad race last year, coming from not such a good race in Brno so we really need a good result this weekend! The test after Brno was useful however and we hope to be in good shape this weekend. It’s always a pleasure to go racing in such an amazing place and we just need to keep working to put Valentino in the best possible position to start fighting for victories again as soon as possible.” More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team: ATLANTIC CROSSING FOR MARC VDS RACING TEAM The Marc VDS Racing Team are heading over the Atlantic to the United States, for this weekend’s Indianapolis Grand Prix at the Brickyard, home of the world famous Indy 500 car race. The Moto2 Grand Prix will be run on the infield circuit, which uses the main Indianapolis start finish straight before veering off just before turn one and running inside the banked oval. Hector Faubel heads for Indianapolis determined to build on his points scoring finish in Brno two weeks ago. The 27-year-old Spanish rider struggled initially to get on terms with his Suter MMX machine, but made a big step forward with set-up in Brno, which should stand him in good stead this weekend in America. Scott Redding put in his best qualifying performance to date last time out in Brno and was battling with the race leaders before a collision dropped him down the order. The British teenager completed two days of testing at the Dijon circuit immediately after Brno and heads for America confident he can, once again, run in the top ten in the race. Hector Faubel #55: “We made some big steps forward in Brno and my feeling with the bike improved, as did my confidence after the result there. The first job this weekend is to secure a good position on the grid during qualifying. If I can do that then there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be aiming for a top ten finish in the race on Sunday. I’m looking forward to this race and I’m really motivated to push for a good result in America.” Scott Redding #45: “Brno showed that we can qualify in the top ten and we’re more than capable of running at the front of a race. The result wasn’t exactly what we were looking for, because of the collision with Fonsi Nieto, but the fact that I was up there and battling with the leading group was a big confidence boost for me. Since Brno we’ve done a couple of days testing at Dijon, which was also very positive. We head for Indianapolis knowing we have a competitive bike and I’m confident we can run top ten there once again. A lot of riders don’t like the Indianapolis track and, while I wouldn’t say it’s one of my favourites, I do enjoy racing there. I’m looking forward to the weekend ahead and I hope we can leave Indy with a good result, both for me and for the team.” Michael Bartholemy: Team Manager “I have only been to Indianapolis once before, when Hurricane Ike seriously curtailed the race programme, so it’s not a track I know well. Hector put in a solid performance in Brno, after working hard on the set-up of his bike, and I expect him to improve further this weekend in Indianapolis. I know he’s aiming for a top ten finish and there’s no reason why he shouldn’t achieve this. After his best qualifying and a good fight with the leaders in the early stages of the Brno race I know Scott’s confidence in both himself and the bike have improved. He is also looking for a top ten finish this weekend, but top six could well be a possibility if Scott qualifies well again.” More, from a press release issued by Interwetten Honda: PRESS RELEASE PREVIEW INTERWETTEN HONDA MotoGP TEAM: Hiro’s comeback in Indianapolis A never-ending absence of Hiroshi Aoyama, who crashed at the British Grand Prix in Silverstone back in June and fractured his 12th vertebra in the Warm up, seems to be officially over, as Aoyama will come back to action for the U.S. Grand Prix in Indianapolis after recovering from his injury during the last two months. Today Aoyama got the final okay from his doctor in Barcelona to ride his Honda RC212V again and to come back to action in Indianapolis. Already at the post race test in Brno/Czech Republic a week ago the 28-year-old Japanese proved that he is ready to come back to the racing action, but he and his team were careful about the decision. Aoyama did not fracture a leg, it is his back that is damaged and this injury needs more of recovery time. Nine weeks, more than two months after the crash, Aoyama can’t wait to get back on his bike and race against the other top riders of the premier class, the highest class of motorcycle racing. Indianapolis, the eleventh Grand Prix of this season so far is the perfect opportunity to show that he still knows how to race a bike and the Interwetten Honda MotoGP Team and his fans are looking forward to welcome him back. Hiroshi Aoyama: “I am so happy that I am finally coming back. Today I had another X-Ray and the doctor confirmed me that my broken vertebra looks good and did not change its shape, which is essential in this state of the injury. I got the okay to ride in Indianapolis and I can’t wait to get back on my bike. Of course I want to be fast, but first I have to gain my confidence and feeling with the bike back, then I can concentrate on being fast. It will not be easy after such a long time away to ride with the group again, but step by step I will get there I get my strength back from the start of the season. I missed six races, that is a lot and I have to see how I can cope with the situation after such a long time and how I can cope with the pain level. I am so happy to finally come back.” Daniel M. Epp, Team Manager: “After the successful test in Brno and the further training Hiro was concentrating on during the last couple of weeks, he got the final okay from his doctor in Barcelona to come back to active racing. The back is healing very well and this supports the decision of Hiro to come back now to Indy. We will give him time to get his strength from the beginning of the season back during the next two or three races and then we will see where he can be. We all look forward to welcome him back in our team.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: HONDA MEN HEAD BACK TO THE BRICKYARD The MotoGP World Championship returns to the U.S. for the second time in five weeks for the third annual Indianapolis Grand Prix in the American heartland. The 11th round of the MotoGP World Championship comes two weeks after the Czech Grand Prix, a race in which Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) started from his third pole position of the year and raced to a second place finish. Pedrosa has been the dominant rider of the six strong Honda contingent, with two wins and six podiums, a record which puts him second in the title chase, albeit at a gap of 77 points as the season approaches the two-thirds mark. But if there’s a track where Pedrosa can begin the process of closing the gap, it’s Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A simple scan of the Spaniard’s results at the Brickyard don’t tell the entire story. In 2008 he finished second in the race which was run in, and finally stopped by, the torrential rains and howling winds of Hurricane Ike. Last year the 24-year-old from Sabadell was the fastest rider from the minute he rolled out onto the track. He was fastest in the opening practice, fastest by a second in the second practice, and rode a record lap in qualifying that was best by over half a second. Starting from pole position, Pedrosa was in the lead when his front end slid away on the fourth lap. Undeterred, Pedrosa lifted up his Honda RC212V and rejoined the fight. Racing with a damaged handlebar and foot peg, Pedrosa gradually picked up his pace and raced from dead last, 17th place, to finish 10th, making his last pass for position on the final lap. He finished with the second fastest lap time. Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) wants to put the disappointment of the Czech Grand Prix behind him as soon as possible. Dovizioso had a strong race pace and was a fighting fourth early in the race when he slid off. Now, less than two weeks and an ocean away, Dovizioso has a chance for redemption on a track where he made progress over the first two years. The Italian improved from the first to the second year of the Indy GP. Fifth the first year, Dovizioso finished half a second off the podium in 2009, having closed the gap on third place right up until the final lap. Dovi arrives in Indianapolis within four points of third place in the championship. No one was looking forward to the weekend off after Brno more than Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda). The Frenchman finished a creditable tenth after making a miraculous recovery from a broken left leg suffered four weeks earlier in Germany. Still, he wasn’t at full strength and won’t be for some time, but just making it through the race was an exercise in courage. The Indianapolis road course is predominantly left-biased, which will tax de Puniet’s still mending left leg. Of the track’s 16 corners, ten are left-handed, to go with six rights. Unlike Brno, which features near constant elevation changes, the Indy track is completely flat, with a number of 90 degree corners and relatively few that demand a quick side-to-side transition. San Carlo Honda Gresini team-mates Marco Melandri and Marco Simoncelli will both be racing in Honda colors for the first time at IMS. Melandri raced a different brand each of the past two years, which means the 2010 race will be his third in a row on a different motorcycle. Melandri is fortunate to be aboard the satellite Honda RC212V this year. This season the team has enjoyed the benefit of a revised chassis, swingarm, and, most recently, electronics. The Brickyard has been good to Simoncelli the past two years. In 2008, the tall, lanky Italian was on the pole in the 250cc race. But the same hurricane that shortened the MotoGP race to 20 laps from the scheduled 28 made the track unfit for racing, and the 250 final was canceled. The following year Simoncelli qualified second, jetted into the lead on the fourth of 26 laps and sped to victory. The rider who finished second to Simoncelli last year was Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP). Aoyama hounded Simoncelli much of the race before the Italian stretched his lead to over a second three laps from the end. The 2010 Indianapolis Grand Prix will not only be Aoyama’s first on a MotoGP bike at the famed Speedway, but it will also mark his return to racing. The Japanese rider has been mostly out of action since breaking the T12 vertebra in his back in a violent high-side during morning warm-up for the June 20 British Grand Prix. Aoyama returned to the track last week when he tested his RC212V on the Brno Circuit the day after the Czech Grand Prix. Following the rain-abbreviated test, Aoyama didn’t want to commit to racing in Indianapolis. But a week on he and his doctors decided his fitness level was such that he felt confident in returning. Aoyama knows that, even though he’s been cleared to race, he doesn’t know how he’ll feel after riding the Honda RC212V and that he’ll still have to be cautious. Having missed six races, he doesn’t want to do anything that would risk re-aggravating the injury or suffering a setback as the championship heads towards its climax. Toni Elias (Gresini Racing Moto2, Moriwaki) won the previous Moto2 race in Brno and carries the momentum of that fourth win of the season, and second in a row, into this weekend’s inaugural Moto2 race at IMS. Elias, who twice raced in the MotoGP class at Indianapolis, has been the standout in the Moto2 category. In addition to his four wins, a class record, Elias has been on the front row in six of nine races. Elias’s serial success has given him a 55-point lead after nine of 17 races and the Spaniard and his Gresini Racing team can now begin to think about winning the first ever Moto2 World Championship. The rider with the second most wins is Andrea Iannone (Fimmco Speed Up, Speed Up), the Italian who was inconsistent early on, but has since been a front of the pack fixture. The Italian broke through with his first win in his home grand prix at Mugello, the fourth race of the year. That was followed by a 12th in Great Britain, then a win from the pole in Assen. The next finish was a 13th with an asterisk: He was penalized for passing under a waving yellow while well in control of the race. Following Catalunya he finished second in Germany and third in the Czech Republic. Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2, Moriwaki) has cooled slightly after a mid-season burst that landed him on the podium in three races in a row. Then came a crash in German Grand Prix at the Sachsenring, followed by an 11th place finish in the team’s home grand prix in the Czech Republic, where electronics problem stunted his charge. The Swiss rider believes his team can sort through these Interwetten Honda 125cc Team’s Marcel Schrotter will get his first taste of the Brickyard in his rookie grand prix season. The 17-year-old German is a quick study and the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway isn’t terribly technical. The two American venues couldn’t be more different. The late-July U.S. Grand Prix was held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, the shortest and tightest GP venue, a rollicking, yet intimate, 3.610k natural road course draped over the hills of Monterey, California. By contrast, the Indianapolis Grand Prix is held on a 4.218k road course which is mostly built within, and utilizes stretches of, the famed 2.5-mile/4.02k Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval. The road course was originally conceived for Formula One, with a few fixes added to accommodate motorcycles. Because of the mixture the new and the old, the track has several different surfaces, and therefore varying degrees of grip, though the differences become less noticeable with each passing year. Indianapolis Motor Speedway is epic in scale, the world’s largest spectator sporting facility with more than 250,000 permanent seats. Home to the famed Indianapolis 500, the more than 100-year-old facility sprawls over an area so vast that you could fit Wembley Stadium, San Siro, Camp Nou, the Roman Colosseum, and Vatican City inside. The first ever motorized competition at the venue was a motorcycle race held in 1909 on a crushed stone surface sprayed with tar. Just a few days later the first car race was held, but the track surface produced so many accidents that a decision was made to cover the crushed rock and tar surface with 3.2 million paving bricks. The track was covered by macadam in phases, but the “Yard of Bricks” at the finish line have remained intact since late in 1961 when all but that one meter of bricks was replaced. The race winner has a tradition of kissing the bricks, a tradition the Honda riders would like to enjoy this year. From Indianapolis, the teams immediately return to the Continent for the San Marino Grand Prix at Misano the following weekend. HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa says: “I’m going to Indianapolis in a very good mood and I’m feeling ready to finish the job we weren’t able to complete in the race there last time. I felt really comfortable riding in Indy last year. I was on top of the timesheets from the first practice, I took pole position and the only mistake I made was in the race. So I hope this time we can put together a strong weekend and take another good result. We were fast and consistent at the last race in Brno and we’ll be aiming to get straight back on that pace again this weekend. It will be important, as always, to establish a good machine setting quickly on Friday, and I think we have a useful base from last year that will help us to find the right direction straight away. We were ready to win again in Brno and this will be our goal in Indianapolis too. Riding in America is different, the Indianapolis circuit is very impressive and I feel very good racing in the States because the support I get from the fans is always very positive. So I’m really looking forward to get out there.” Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso says: “I always look forward to racing in the U.S.A. and this time is no different. I like visiting America, and the Indianapolis race track is a typical American venue with great facilities and huge grandstands. The MotoGP track is not particularly interesting but the atmosphere is always special. The circuit has many different surface types and last year this was a bit difficult for us, but I think that with this year’s machine package – and especially with the current weight distribution – the variety of asphalt and different levels of grip won’t be an issue. If I look back to the Brno GP I have to say that – except for the final result – it was a good weekend. We were competitive, our race pace was good but the result did not come. So we go to Indy determined to transform this good performance into a result. We need strong results for the team and for the championship position. Last year I was fourth at Indy in the race, but we weren’t as fast as the front runners – Dani especially was very fast. But this means that we have the potential to do well and this is an extra motivation for the weekend.” LCR Honda rider Randy de Puniet says: “Indianapolis is almost a new track for us and we do not have so many data to check. The grip level is different in every part of the surface. I do not like this track so much and in my opinion it is not safe enough. Last year I was there despite the injury of my left ankle and once again this year I am not at 100%, but I am not worried about it. Indy has a lot of left corners which is not helpful for my leg but in the last 10 days I made a lot of sport to reinforce the muscles so I feel confident ahead the American GP. I will try to finish in the top eight this time.” San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Melandri says: “After disappointing performances on Friday and Saturday at Brno, the race in the Czech Republic restored some faith. In the second part I managed to find the right feeling with the bike, which gave me more enthusiasm and conviction to tackle the Monday tests, during which we made small but significant progress. We found some things with the suspension that bode well for the rest of the season. If we work with the same determination from Friday in Indianapolis we can score a good result in the race. The circuit is quite difficult to ride, but if I can find a good feeling with my Honda RC212V I can be close to the lead group.” San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli says: I came away from Brno feeling somewhat disappointed by the final result but quite happy with the first part of the race. Unfortunately the drop in engine power in the second part did not allow me to be as fast and aggressive and it left a sour taste in my mouth. In any case we did not lose heart and we went into the test on Monday with great determination and managed to make some important steps forward. We gained more confidence with the electronics and were able to better interpret the engine management system. It was a shame that the rain brought it to a premature end because it was a very important test for me and my team and we still have some work to do on the chassis, which we didn’t get time for. I still go to Indianapolis in the right spirit, I like the track and I won the first and only 250 race to take place here. I expect to have a good race and aim to finish inside the top six.” Interwetten Honda MotoGP rider Hiroshi Aoyama says: “Today I had another x-ray after nine weeks since the crash. The damaged vertebra is still in the same shape, so it means that the bone is stable and the doctor gave me the okay for riding the bike in Indianapolis. Normally this state after an injury like mine is quite delicate, as the shape of the bone can change and lose some of its heights, but my bone looks good and is stable. I am so happy to come back and ride my bike again, but still I have to be careful. I want to be fast, but it will not be easy after this long time, because I will have to gain strength again first. First I want to get the feeling back with the bike, then I can concentrate on being fast. I missed six races-that is a lot-and I am so happy that finally I am back with my team and with my bike. In Indianapolis I have to see how much I will be capable of riding the bike and how much pain I will have. I am confident that I will have the feeling back quick, but we will have to see my physical condition once I am in action again. I can`t wait to come back.” Moto2 RIDER QUOTES: Gresini Racing Moto2 rider Toni Elias says: “What a fantastic day at Brno! It was probably the most wonderful victory of my career and to have secured the 100th podium for Fausto Gresini’s team made it extraordinary. We have been working really well lately and I was really happy for me and the guys. We are leading the championship but we must stay focused because there are still many points at stake and even though we go to Indianapolis looking to win we know who our rivals are. Going into the race in America we have to start thinking seriously about the championship and keep this objective in mind.” Fimmco Speed Up rider Andrea Iannone says: “We had a good race in Brno and think we can continue with our progress in Indianapolis. We still have to find a way to increase the life of our tyres, because over the second half of the race I haven’t been able to maintain my pace. Some of the work the team did during the summer break did pay off in Brno and we think we’ll see more progress in Indianapolis. We have experience from racing in Indianapolis last year on a 125; Moto2 should be more fun. See you in Indianapolis, where we’ll do our best to be fast and competitive once again.” Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2 rider Thomas Luthi says: “Indianapolis is not really my favorite track and it is not an easy track as well. The ups and downs mean that there are many waves and bumps on the track and that is not so nice to ride on. Apart from that I see the race as positive. We have to make up a lot from the bad results in Sachsenring and Brno and I am confident that we can do that there. At the moment it is not easy to motivate the team if you have technical problems all the time, but there are better results to come, I am sure.” HONDA 125 RIDER QUOTES: Interwetten Honda 125 Team rider Marcel Schrötter says: “Again this is the first time for me on a circuit. I have never been to Indianapolis and don’t know what to expect from there. I only heard the weather can be a bit bad sometimes. I am looking forward to this as I never raced in the US before. I hope I can get some points as this is my target also for this race.”