Indianapolis GP Race Preview

Indianapolis – 10th August 2014

Circuit: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Circuit Length: 4.170 m

Following a three week break marking the half-way point of the season, the MotoGP paddock will resume racing action this weekend for round ten of the Championship at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Having begun hosting the Motorcycle Grand Prix in 2008, the American circuit has recently undergone some modifications including the reconfiguration of Turns 3, 4, 7, 15 and 16 and a new surface in the infield section. The redesigned layout incorporates the main straight of the legendary oval circuit, as well as ten left corners and six right corners, which with the new turn configurations and braking zones will create more passing opportunities.

#5 Johann Zarco: “I had one podium in the first half of the season which was good but overall I expected to do much better from the beginning. I was strong in two races and my feeling on the bike was good, but one mistake and some bad luck prevented me from taking advantage of this.

For this reason I haven’t had much timeout since Sachsenring because I wanted to keep working on and improving my riding. The first week I went to Motorland and trained there and I have also been riding in France.

“During the summer break I have had time to refocus and I hope to be stronger and achieve a lot more in the second half of the year.

I’m feeling good and have trained hard but to ensure that I have 100% energy for the Indy weekend, I have also had a few days off recently.

“I hope that I will be able to fight for the podium like my last races. In the past I have not always been so strong at Indy, but year by year I have had a different experience, so hopefully this time it will be a good one.”

#2 Josh Herrin: “For me the summer break has been an opportunity to really work on my fitness and mind-set. Over the last few weeks I’ve had time to reflect on the first half of the season and focus on what I need to do to turn things around.

“I have been training hard and taking advantage of having a Supermoto track in my back yard by turning a lot of race distance runs to try and improve my consistency.

“So far my results in Moto2 have been disappointing and I have not shown my true potential. With the team I have behind me I am capable of achieving a lot more. I know I can do better and I’m more determined than ever to show it.

“The second half of the season is my chance to show everyone what I can really do and how much I want this. As much as I have enjoyed the break I can’t wait to get to Indy and get back to racing.”

Johan Stigefelt – Team Manager: “The track at Indy is different to many others. It’s an impressive facility. The corners are predominantly very tight and fairly slow but there is also a long straight and a fast first corner. The modifications made this year will be interesting. I think the new surface is most important though as there were three different types before, which made it quite difficult to ride. I think it will fit the style of our riders quite well.

“Heading into the final half of the season I believe we have a lot more experience to work from. Although we didn’t have a good start and I think we could have done better in some races, we must remember that we are a new team and this is only our first year, so overall we have done a decent job so far.

“We have shown that we have a good team and a strong rider in Johann. Starting in Indy we must continue the good work we had with him at the previous four to five rounds and step it up in the races and do better there. We know our weak points and this is something we are working hard to improve. The Caterham Suter is also getting better and the last updates we received were definitely a step in the right direction.

“With Josh it is different as he is a rookie. However the results so far have been below our expectations and with the team he has behind him, it should have been better. This is where he needs to take a step forward. We believe he is capable of far more than he has shown and we want to give him the chance to prove it. The next two races are his opportunity to show this and we will be working hard to help him better his performance. We are looking to see an improvement throughout Indy and Brno so that we can evaluate how we will move forward in the future. Indy will also be Josh’s home race so I hope he can keep cool and push for a good result.”