FIM MotoGP World Championship Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix Indianapolis Motor Speedway Speedway, Indiana August 19, 2012 Revised MotoGP Race Results (all on Bridgestone tires): 1. Dani Pedrosa, Spain (Honda), 28 laps, 46:39.631 2. Jorge Lorenzo, Spain (Yamaha), -10.823 seconds 3. Andrea Dovizioso, Italy (Yamaha), -17.310 4. Casey Stoner, Australia (Honda), -19.803 5. Alvaro Bautista, Spain (Honda), -22.556 6. Stefan Bradl, Germany (Honda), -30.072 7. Valentino Rossi, Italy (Ducati), -57.614 8. Karel Abraham, Czech Republic (Ducati), -68.442 9. Yonny Hernandez, Colombia (Kawasaki-BQR/FTR), -71.106 10. Aleix Espargaro, Spain (Aprilia-ART), -74.079 11. Toni Elias, Spain (Ducati), -86.305 12. Ivan Silva, Spain (Kawasaki-BQR/FTR), -100.274 13. Colin Edwards, USA (BMW-Suter), -1 lap 14. Steve Rapp, USA (Kawasaki-Attack Performance Racing APR), -1 lap 15. James Ellison, UK (Aprilia-PBM/ART), -1 lap, ran off track* 16. Aaron Yates, USA (Suzuki-GPTech BCL), -1 lap 17. Cal Crutchlow, UK (Yamaha), -19 laps, DNF, crash 18. Randy De Puniet, France (Aprilia-ART), -20 laps, DNF, mechanical 19. Ben Spies, USA (Yamaha), -22 laps, DNF, mechanical 20. Michele Pirro, Italy (Honda-FTR), -27 laps, DNF, mechanical 21. Mattia Pasini, Italy (Aprilia-Speed Master/ART), -28 laps, DNF, crash 22. Danilo Petrucci, Italy (Aprilia-IODA), -28 laps, DNF 23. Nicky Hayden, USA (Ducati), DNS * – Rider #77 Ellison has been demoted 1 position by Race Direction for shortcutting the track (art. 1.21.3) Revised World Championship Point Standings (after 11 of 18 races): 1. Lorenzo, 225 points 2. Pedrosa, 207 3. Stoner, 186 4. Dovizioso, 137 5. Crutchlow, 106 6. Bradl, 94 7. Bautista, 92 8. Rossi, 91 9. Hayden, 84 10. Spies, 66 11. Hector Barbera, 60 12. Espargaro, 39 13. De Puniet, 33 14. Abraham, 18 15. Hernandez, 17 16. Pirro, 16 17. Edwards, 14 18. Ellison, 13 19. Pasini, 13 20. Silva, 11 21. Petrucci, 9 22. Elias, 5 23. Rapp, 2 More, from a press release issued by Speed Master: PASINI CRASHES OUT ON THE FIRST LAP OF THE RACE OF THE GRAND PRIX OF INDIANAPOLIS The MotoGP class got out on the track at Indianapolis for the eleventh race of the 2012 Championship. Mattia Pasini grabbed the eleventh time in the warm up of the morning, confirming some final set-up decisions for the Grand Prix. The Italian started from the fourteenth placement on the grid, but because of a crash on the first lap, his race ended in advance. Therefore Pasini maintains the total of 13 points, nineteenth in the General Classification. Mattia Pasini #54 – crashed out “This was an unlucky Sunday. We were fast throughout the whole weekend and we knew that today our bike could have given us a lot, there was a good chance to achieve a great result in the race and to fight to be the best CRT, considering the pace the other guys had. On the first lap I made a mistake and, in order not to hit another rider, I went outside the track, where it’s very dirty, and I crashed out. I’m sorry because it could have been a very positive Sunday.” More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: SIXTH PLACE FOR MOTOGP ROOKIE BRADL AT INDIANAPOLIS GP Indianapolis, 19th August: the eleventh round of the season at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway was an eventful race with Stefan Bradl ending the 28-lap American round in 6th position after a entertaining battle at the front in the early stages. Stefan Bradl had his second best qualifying performance of the season yesterday on his first visit to the Brickyard on a MotoGP machine heading into today’s race with hopes but the German could not match his yesterday’s impressive pace. Stefan: “Honestly it was not one of our best races so far and I am a bit disappointed because we looked stronger than this. Sixth position is not a disaster but I was expecting a bit more considering the pace of our qualification yesterday. Unfortunately I was not able to push in the first gear corners and I was losing quite a lot in the acceleration areas. I tried to pull it back in section 2 and section 3 which was possible in the begging but not over the all race distance. At the end I had to accept that today we were not so strong but we are doing well and we still hold the sixth position in the world standing”. More, from a press release issued by Power Electronics Aspar Team: ESPARGARÓ AND PUNIET EXPERIENCE MIXED FORTUNES AT INDIANAPOLIS Spaniard rounds out top ten after great race, whilst Frenchman forced to retire with clutch issue. The Indianapolis GP featured a reduced and injured field today, despite the presence of two wild cards. Nicky Hayden missed the race due to his Saturday crash, whilst Casey Stoner took to the grid hurting considerably from his own fall in qualifying. There were six further crashes and breakdowns in the contest. Ben Spies took the early lead, but two laps later he was caught by Pedrosa, who passed him on lap four. There was no looking back, and he won from Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso -ten and sixteen seconds back, respectively. Today was a day to break the deadlock. Aleix Espargaró and Randy De Puniet were competing for the lead of the provisional CRT category standings. Both were riding excellently over the course of the weekend, but a spanner was thrown in the works for one of them come race day. The POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar duo started strong, but mechanical issues affected their end result. Espargaró experienced a gear change problem that affected him on every corner. Despite this, he held on to take tenth place at Indianapolis. De Puniet was not so fortunate, as after eight laps he had to return to the garage with a clutch issue. The Frenchman was disappointed but recognised the uncommon nature of the problem, and will be back to top form at Brno next weekend. 10th Aleix Espargaró: “I was very focused on having a good race, because I had a lot of fun riding this weekend. I got a good start and was feeling comfortable, but at the midway point of the race I realised that the gearbox was starting to fail. Suddenly the bike went into a false neutral. I was still able to catch Valentino and tried to follow him on every corner, but when I hit the false neutral again I ran wide. I had to make up the time again every time. I stick with Hernández after that, but it was hard to get past him with this issue. Despite everything, I was able to place tenth and got six points for my tally, so we have to be satisfied and look forward to next weekend.” Randy De Puniet (DNF): “I started strong, but Aleix and Yonny soon got past me. I then stuck behind them to study their riding. The race started to heat up, but I didn’t want to take any risks. Two laps before the clutch broke, I felt something strange; in the first corner I found it impossible to change gear and lost nearly a second there. On the same lap, on the chicane before the straight, I could tell that something had stopped working correctly and again lost two seconds. The next lap went ok, but after that the clutch gave up on me. I am disappointed, because once again we have lost a lot of points, but now we have to look at the positives and continue to work hard ahead of Brno to recover those points.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: Superb win for Dani and brilliant fourth place for Casey in Indy The Repsol Honda Team has completed the second American race of the season with another fantastic performance, this time at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix. The Japanese manufacturer has now won the past five races in the United States. Dani Pedrosa took a full house in Indy – pole position, circuit record lap and win – in an incredible weekend that marks his second victory of the 2012 season. It is also his second win at this track and 40th career victory in the World Championship in all three classes. Dani crossed the finish line 10.8 seconds ahead of Lorenzo and Repsol Honda team mate Casey Stoner celebrated, considering his physical condition, a formidable fourth position. The current World Champion overcame incredible pain caused by his injury to the right ankle sustained during yesterday’s qualifying session crash. He managed to climb to third position behind Dani and Jorge until six laps remaining when his stamina began to fade and he was passed by Andrea Dovizioso on lap 22. Dani celebrates his longest sequence of successive podiums in the MotoGP class with seven podiums in a row and reduces the gap of Jorge’s championship lead to 18 points. Casey maintains third position in the standings with 186 points, 21 points off Dani. DANI PEDROSA 1st World Championship Standing: 2nd with 207 points “I’m extremely happy with this win and I really want to congratulate the whole team for the great job they’ve done this weekend, the bike worked perfectly. It was difficult at the beginning of the race because the pace was very strong from the start. I got past Ben Spies, but I kept calm because I knew I had the pace today to fight for the victory. When I took the lead, I put in some very strong laps to build up a gap and then I made a mistake in turn 2 going into neutral and Jorge reduced the gap by 1 second. But I was able to get back on my pace and ride comfortably to the end, where I think Jorge struggled a little with the soft rear tyre. We managed to take our second win of the season and every point is important. I want to also congratulate Casey for his result; he did a superb race in his condition and I am sure he will be strong again in Brno”. CASEY STONER 4th World Championship Standing: 3rd with 186 points “I’m definitely disappointed with how the weekend went. We had a strong start on Friday morning and then had a few issues Friday afternoon in FP2. We showed that we certainly had the pace for pole position and fight for the win but unfortunately I had a huge crash in qualifying. The injuries I sustained from the crash made things very difficult for us and we lost precious track time to work on the set up. This morning in warm up I was just getting comfortable on the bike and trying to get a feel for everything rather than working on set up. The race was equally as difficult, we had a rough start and got pushed back some positions and had to fight our way back through. As soon as we did, unluckily Ben had a bike failure and I found myself in the middle of the smoke, unsure where I was going and what I might hit and we lost positions again. At the end of the race it was almost impossible to maintain the pace. The painkillers I took to dull the pain gradually wore off at around the half way point and as I was compensating for my injury with the other side of my body, I simply had no energy left. It was frustrating to give up the podium position to Andrea but we did everything we could and at least I was able to ride and take some points” More, from a press release issued by Avintia Blusens MotoGP Team: First win for Avintia Blusens in CRT! Yonny Hernández first and ninth in the general ranking. Silva third in CRT and twelfth scores again after completing a good race Indianapolis, 19 August 2012. It was a great race for the Avintia Blusens MotoGP team members as Yonny Hernández got his first win in the CRT class. The Colombian rider completed a fantastic weekend throughout which he remained among the best. Although he completed a good qualifying practice yesterday he definitely went beyond all the expectations today as he won the race and is now ninth in the championship ranking before one of the strongest riders in the CRT class and MotoGP riders in general. Yonny made a good start and was constantly battling with Espargaró for the win. They swapped the lead with each other in a closed fight until Aleix got off the track in the penultimate lap which delayed him a little and enabled Yonny to cross the finish in the first position three seconds ahead of his Aprilia rival. For his part Silva completed a good G.P. in which he went through ups and downs but eventually finished third in the CRT´s and scooped the points related to the twelfth position. Undoubtedly a good weekend and a well-deserved reward for the Avintia Blusens MotoGP team. Yonny Hernández (9º, +1´11.106): “I couldn’t express what it’s like to cross the finish and be with Pedrosa, Lorenzo and Dovizioso in the “playpen”. The team did a great job and managed to get me a bike I can feel comfortable on. The evolution of the chassis and the new swing has given me a lot more self-confidence and enabled me to ride to the max. I now have more grip on the rear wheel but we still need to find the way to avoid to lose so much grip in the final laps. We have made huge progress since the beginning of the season. I am moved and all I can do is thank the team and try to follow the same direction over the next races.” Iván Silva (12º, +1’40.274): “I am happier than on other occasions because we got a good result. I felt more at ease on the motorbike and I managed to sustain a good pace. I have equalled my fastest lap of the weekend in race conditions and I think it is positive. What’s more I finished third in the CRT and I scored again. Now we need to carry on working in the same direction and brace up for Brno to take advantage of the fact this is a track I am familiar with.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Pedrosa powers home from pole to win at Indianapolis Round 11: Indianapolis Grand Prix Race Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Sunday 19 August 2012 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium, Extra-hard. Rear: Medium, Hard (Asymmetric) Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Hard (Main), Soft (Alternative) Weather: Dry. Ambient 27-28°C; Track 45-48°C (Bridgestone measurement) Dani Pedrosa completed a dominant weekend on the Repsol Honda RC213V by scoring his second win of the season at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to edge closer to rival Jorge Lorenzo in the MotoGP™ championship standings. Starting from pole position on the combination of the harder slick options front and rear, Pedrosa lost out in the early stages of the race before working his way to the front where he established a fast pace setting a new record fastest lap of 1’39.088 along the way – that would ultimately see him finish the race 10.823 seconds ahead of Jorge Lorenzo. Yamaha Factory Racing star Lorenzo scored a valuable twenty points for his championship bid by taking second place ahead of Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Andrea Dovizioso, who crossed the line in third place for the fifth time this season. Avintia Blusens rider Yonny Hernandez rode an impressive race to be the first CRT rider across the finish line in ninth place, the result catapulting the Columbian four places up the championship table. Track temperatures were slightly lower for the race compared to yesterday’s qualifying session, with a peak of 48°C towards the end of the race but generally track conditions were very similar to those experienced in the other afternoon sessions. The abrasive tarmac of the Indianapolis circuit resulted in every rider opting for the harder front slick option, while rear tyre choice was split between the harder rear slick for the works bikes and softer rear slicks for the CRT bikes with a couple of exceptions; Jorge Lorenzo and Pramac Racing’s Toni Elias on works bikes opted for the softer rear slick, while NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Colin Edwards and Attack Performance’s Steve Rapp were the two CRT riders that selected the harder rear slick for the race. Hiroshi Yamada Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Department “Though conditions were slightly cooler today, it was still quite warm and today’s race proved to be a real challenge for the riders, motorcycles and tyres, so congratulations to Dani and Repsol Honda for their win today and their impressive showing over the whole race weekend. Casey’s performance to finish in fourth place with his injured ankle was also very impressive and I would like to extend my best wishes to Casey, Hector and Nicky and I hope they make swift and full recoveries from their injuries. Our team now heads to Brno where we will support both the Czech Republic Grand Prix as well as the post-race test on Monday.” Masao Azuma Chief Engineer, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department “Weather and track conditions for today’s race were similar to yesterday and so tyre choice was largely reflected by what we saw in yesterday’s race simulations. Almost every rider on the more powerful works machines selected the harder rear slick, while the majority of the CRT bikes selected the softer rear slick for its slight advantage in edge grip. Overall our tyre allocation for this race worked well at a circuit that is quite punishing on tyres, with the special construction rear tyres we supplied performing well in the extreme conditions, while our revised compound selection provided riders with good options for the race with a new pole position record and race lap record being set, while the race time was thirteen seconds faster than last year. This was a positive outcome at a circuit that is one of the most gruelling en­vironments for race tyres.” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda Race winner “It’s been a good weekend for me and for the race the bike was working well though we were sliding all the way around the track, although the bike did have a good feeling. I had good pace today, but it was a tough race and I had to work hard to keep my concentration, but thanks to my team and everyone around me for helping me get this win.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: On a day where all three MotoGP™ classes took to the infamous Brickyard it was Repsol Honda Team’s Dani Pedrosa who recorded an emphatic premier-class victory at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix in an eventful race ahead of Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso. It was Pedrosa who got the holeshot, but it was Yamaha Factory Racing’s Ben Spies who led the opening laps after overtaking the Spaniard early on. Yamaha’s Lorenzo, the only prototype rider to opt for the soft option rear tyre, had a less than ideal start, but was soon up into third, forcing his way past Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Andrea Dovizioso. It was heartbreak early on for the Speed Master Team, as Mattia Pasini dropped his bike on the opening lap, escaping unscathed. Meanwhile, Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner, riding with a pain killing injection due to his fractured right ankle with torn ligaments, forced his way past San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Álvaro Bautista with a strong move. With 24 laps remaining Pedrosa made a move on Spies stick down the home straight to take the lead. A lap later, Stoner was a man on a mission as he also took LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl to go fifth. It was misery for Spies with 22 laps left as the American’s engine blew down the straight, causing the oil flags to come out, with the Yamaha rider immediately pulling off the racing line. This affected the following group, as Stoner dropped back behind Dovizioso and Bradl. San Carlo’s Michele Pirro and Came IodaRacing Project’s Danilo Petrucci were also robbed of any good luck as then had to retire with technical issues. Three laps later, Tech 3’s British rider Cal Crutchlow lost the front end of his bike in turn 4, unfortunately putting an end to his charge. In the meantime, Stoner had fought his way back past his group into third, while Power Electronics Aspar’s Randy de Puniet had to pull in with a mechanical issue. With 12 laps to go Pedrosa, who was on record breaking pace, had a big wobble, yet managed to stop himself running onto the grass. This did not stop the Spaniard however, and he soon rediscovered his rhythm. Five laps on, Dovizioso was all over the back of Stoner, who was fighting fearlessly with his injury, and took him for third. In the end it was Pedrosa whose dominant performance resulted in his second win of the season ahead of Lorenzo and Dovizioso, taking his fifth podium this year. Lorenzo retains his championship lead, though it has been cut to 18 points by his Spanish rival. It was however Casey Stoner that arguably put in the best ride of the day, having gritted his teeth to finish a tremendous fourth despite injury. Bautista came in fifth, ahead of Bradl, Ducati Team’s Valentino Rossi and Cardion AB Racing’s Karel Abraham. Top CRT wet to Avintia Blusens’ Yonny Hernandez in ninth, ahead of De Puniet’s teammate Aleix Espargaró. Moto2™ At the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix it was Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol’s Marc Márquez who recorded a dominant win in the Moto2™ race in front of Pol Espargaró and Julian Simón to extend his championship lead. Speed Master’s Andrea Iannone took the holeshot ahead of Pons 40 HP Tuenti’s Pol Espargaró and Technomag-CIP’s Dominique Aegerter. And it was Aegerter who was fastest in the early laps as he took and held the lead. Márquez, who did not have a good start made his way aggressively past Iannone and Espargaró in the first two laps to hunt down the Swiss rider, whom he overtook with 23 laps left down the home straight. With 22 laps reaming, Espargaró, who had dropped down the order, went past Blusens Avintia’s Julián Simón, as he looked to claw back space on Márquez at the front. Two laps later Iannone and Espargaró both went past Aegerter, who looked to be slowing, down the home straight. And it was the Spaniard who was soon finding the pace he displayed all weekend as he went past the Italian to take second. Simón took advantage of this to slip into third. On the same lap it was disappointment for QMMF Racing Team’s Elena Rosell, as she crashed out of the race. In the meantime, Iannone looked to be slowing, as he was also passed by Marc VDS Racing Team’s Mika Kallio and Aegerter. With 15 laps remaining S/Master Speed Up’s Alessandro Andreozzi crashed out of the race, though fortunately walked away unscathed. With 11 laps left, Márquez had pulled out of gap of over six seconds, whilst Iannone had been handed down to tenth. Interwetten-Paddock’s Tom Lüthi was however starting to find some form as he battled with Kallio for fourth. On the same lap, NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Yuki Takahashi was forced to pit for a new front tyre. Four laps on, Tech 3 Racing’s Xavier Siméon slid into NGM’s Alex de Angelis, taking both out of the race. Six laps before the end, Aegerter’s teammate Roberto Rolfo also had his race ended with a tyre issue and pain in his recently operated knee. In the final few laps, the Moto2 front runners had spread out significantly, with Márquez keeping his nerve after a faultless ride to extend his championship lead with an emphatic victory, ahead of Espargaró in second and Simón in third. Márquez now holds a 39-point over Espargaró in the championship, while Simón recorded his firs podium since Portugal 2011. Mika Kallio won the battle for fourth, ahead of Lüthi, Marc VDS’ Scott Redding, Aegerter, Came IodaRacing Project’s Simone Corsi, Iannone and Italtrans Racing Team’s Claudio Corti. Moto3™ In a Moto3™ race with drama until the end at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix it was RW Racing GP’s Luis Salom who stormed to his first-ever victory ahead of Sandro Cortese and Jonas Folger, as Maverick Viñales crashed out in the final turn. Red Bull KTM-Ajo’s Danny Kent, RW Racing GP’s Luis Salom and Kent’s teammate Sandro Cortese got off to the best start, leading the pack in the early bends. There was however a big crash early on as JHK Laglisse’s Adrian Martín took out TT Motion Events Racing’s Niklas Ajo, whilst Moto FGR’s Jasper Iwema was collected by San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Niccolò Antonelli. Ajo, who got back on track was black-flagged shortly after for “unsporting behaviour” after confronting Martín after the crash. With 17 laps to go, Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Alex Rins and Blusens Avintia’s Maverick Viñales were swapping positions in second place, as AirAsia-SIC-Ajo’s Zulfahmi Malaysian Khairuddin tried to pull out a gap at the front. Whilst the scrap at the front was going on, Ambrogio Next Racing’s Alex Márquez crashed out of his first ever Moto3 race. JHK’s Efrén Vázquez, who was in the pursuing group behind the top three, slid off track with 12 laps to go, ending a frustrating weekend for the Spaniard. Salom’s teammate Brad Binder had retired with an engine problem, and with only seven laps remaining Technomag-CIP-TSR’s Alan Techer lost the front of his bike, putting an end to his race. The last lap was a nail bighting affair with Cortese, Viñales and Salom swapping positions fiercely with fairings touching throughout. Yet it was Salom who judged it perfectly to take his first ever Grand Prix victory ahead of Cortese, while Viñales provided last minute drama by falling in the final turn, unable to get his bike re-started. Folger benefited from this to take his first win of the season on his first race with the Aspar team. This now gives Cortese a 29-point lead at the top of the championship. Rins’ teammate Oliveira was the first non-podium finisher in fourth, in front of Team Italia FMI’s Romano Fenati, Khairuddin, Rins, Redox-Ongetta-Centro Seta’s Jakub Kornfeil, Andalucia JHK Laglisse’s Alberto Moncayo and Caretta Technology’s Alexis Masbou. Folger’s teammate Hector Faubel was absent from the race due to injuries sustained in a crash yesterday, as was Caretta Technology’s Jack Miller, after breaking his left collarbone for the second time this season yesterday. Mahindra Racing’s Danny Webb was another withdrawal, having fractured his right wrist in qualifying. More, from a press release issued by NGM Mobile Forward Racing: Edwards in the points at Indianapolis Starting the race on twentieth place on the starting grid at the Indianápolis GP, Colin Edwards gets in the point for the fourth time this Seaton equaling his result at Laguna Seca. In a race where the crashed and “pit in” have set the tone, the NGM Mobile Forward Racing Team was able to provide to Edwards a reliable bike that unfortunately was not fast enough to be back at the performance level from the begining of the Seaton. Colin Edwards 13th “I thought I had a good start but I found a kind of bottle-necked up into turn two. There were just incidents here and there through the race, in the end a few guys crashed and after that I just tried to get into a rhythm, get into a pace. Then I saw someone in front of me and thought could hang on to him, but then Spies broke the engine and I saw a big smoke; I didn’t know what to do because I couldn’t really see and then once I passed the smoke just picked up the pace again. Ivan (Silva) was in front of me, he caught up with me when the smoke came out and I tried to stay with him but he didn’t make any mistakes.” Giovanni Cuzari CEO/ Team owner “Colin and the team have worked very hard all weekend but unfortunately we were not able to reach our goal of best CRT here at Colin’s second home race. The team has made significant improvements and that will be useful in future races. We have our eyes set on next week’s race at Brno, where hopefully these improvements will make the difference.” Sergio Verbena Crew Chief “It has been a complicated weekend up until yesterday’s qualifying session. We have tested things that Colin seems to like and during the race we were able to have a constan pace at same lap times than the ones done during the qualifying on Saturday. We go home with three points and even if the best CRTs are still far and we miss one second to be at their level. we will continue to work on closing the gap in the next races.” More, from a press release issued by Ducati: Valentino Rossi seventh at Indianapolis, Hayden questionable for Brno Valentino Rossi had a difficult weekend at Indianapolis. In both the qualifying session and the race, he couldn’t manage to match his times from the cooler free-practice sessions, when he lapped at the pace of the second group. Affected by the lack of grip that occurred just a few laps after the start, the Italian concluded the race a lonely seventh. Nicky Hayden, after a qualifying crash in which he suffered a hard blow to the head and two small fractures to the second and third metacarpals of his right hand, had to watch the race from the garage. The American then returned home to nearby Kentucky, where in the course of the next two days he will decide whether or not to take part in the Czech Republic Grand Prix on Sunday. Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) 7th “It was a very complicated weekend. We expected it a little bit because last year was also challenging, but there were also some positive signs these two days. In the morning practice sessions and also in today’s warm-up, I was able to ride a bit better, with a pace of around 1:40.5. In the race though, with the higher temperatures of the afternoon, the rear tyre started to slide a lot after just a few laps. The harder I tried to push, the more it slid, so I actually went slower. I tried to stay with the others but I closed the front twice, and I nearly crashed. At that point, I decided to make it to the finish without making mistakes. I’m pleased that we go directly to Brno next week because it’s a track that I like a lot and last year we had a decent race. Then we’ll also have a test where we’ll try to take a good step forward with the bike because there are only seven rounds until the end and we have to do some better races.” Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) DNS “To miss any race is tough, but to miss my home GP is extremely difficult. Still, I realize that I had a pretty big one yesterday and was knocked out for quite a while, so to be here today more or less okay is positive. There’s no really big damage, although injuries to the right hand are always worse than the left. Even if I thought I could have ridden today, the doctors wouldn’t have cleared me because I was knocked out for so long. Concussions need to be taken seriously, so I don’t fault them for that. It was really difficult watching the race. It would have been tough today, but we were improving through the weekend, and I had a pretty decent pace. That’s how it goes sometimes. I’ll try to get healthy and come back as soon as possible.” Vittoriano Guareschi, Team Manager “After just a few laps today, it became very difficult for Valentino to ride. He tried to overcome the problems but couldn’t manage it, and at that point he decided to take home seventh-place points. We’ll try to do better at Brno. Over the next couple of days, we’ll also know whether or not Nicky will be able to be there. He has two small fractures in his right hand, so he’ll undergo some additional exams to check whether it will be possible to ride or if it’s better to skip the Czech Republic and recover for Misano. Anyway, we’ll go there with the bikes and the full team.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha MotoGP Team: Lorenzo Podiums with Second at Indianapolis Yamaha Factory Racing rider Jorge Lorenzo was back on the podium today, taking second place in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis. The Championship leader had struggled all weekend to find an optimum set up, only making a step forward in yesterday’s qualifying session. Lorenzo, who was one of only two riders to take a gamble on the softer tyres for the race, dropped a couple of places from the start then worked to get behind his team mate Ben Spies in second. After the Texan’s unfortunate DNF he was promoted to second and began chasing down Pedrosa’s lead. Lacking the pace to stay with the leader he settled for second, taking 20 valuable Championship points. Fellow Factory rider Spies was denied his chance to shine in front of his home crowd following an engine failure early in today’s race. After a strong weekend with impressive pace Spies made a superb start to today’s race, flying past pole man Dani Pedrosa to secure the lead on the second lap. Having then allowed Pedrosa past and tucked in behind disaster struck with an engine failure on lap six. With no time to rest the team now head back across the Atlantic to Europe for the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic in Brno next weekend. Lorenzo leaves Indianapolis leading the Championship by 18 points, Spies remains in tenth place with 66 points. Jorge Lorenzo Position : 2nd Time: +10.823 “We thought that the soft tyre could finish the race well so we took a risk with it. At the beginning it wasn’t so bad and I could follow Ben and Dani. Then Ben had his engine failure which was lucky for my position but I am so sorry for him. Dani was a little step forward today and had a tyre advantage in the end. Anyway, second was the best we could do today which is very good for the Championship.” Ben Spies Position : DNF Time: “Today was unfortunate again. We had a big crash yesterday and I honestly didn’t know if I could ride at 100% today. I got a lot of sleep and great physio from the clinic guys who did an amazing job. We got off to a good start and felt great, When Dani passed me I could see he was using the rear tyre more than I was so the plan was to let him get a maximum three seconds ahead and start reeling him back in at the end. As soon as he passed me the bike started to slow down, I wasn’t sure what was happening then all of a sudden it blew up so I tried to get off the line as quickly as possible. I’m disappointed not just for me but for the team, I think we definitely had second place and possibly the win.” Wilco Zeelenberg Team Manager “We’re very happy with this second place. It was a very difficult weekend for us, although Saturday qualifying was a big step forward. Second behind Dani was a great result and a good step to the next race. We hope we’ll struggle less on the Friday at Brno which should be a better track for us.” Massimo Meregalli Team Director “Another tough race, it’s difficult to find different words. We will investigate what has happened. From here to the end of the season we must start to have some good luck and I’m sure some good results will arrive for Ben. He has no need to show us anything we can see his speed and talent. We are looking forward to Brno where it could be a great circuit for him. Jorge made his usual intelligent race, he achieved 20 points which are crucial for the standings and he made no mistakes. He delivered the maximum that he could here.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: PEDROSA STORMS TO VICTORY AT THE BRICKYARD Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) stormed to his second victory of the season with a record-breaking win on a warm, sunny day at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Team-mate Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda RC213V) rode bravely with a heavily damaged right ankle, the legacy of a qualifying crash, to finish just off the podium in fourth. Yamaha riders Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso were second and third, respectively. Starting from a new pole position record, Pedrosa used the power of his Repsol Honda RC213V to take the lead from Yamaha rider Ben Spies on the third of 28 laps. Spies tried to stay with him, but was already losing ground when his engine expired in a puff of smoke down the straightaway. That put his team-mate Lorenzo into second but at a margin of 2.293s. Lorenzo would never get much closer. Pedrosa was consistent throughout with something in reserve. He unleashed his full power on the 15th lap when he set a new race lap record, shattering the old mark by .8s. Over the final 13 laps he continued to stretch his advantage, winning by 10.823s. It was the second largest MotoGP margin of victory to the 14.996s win he had recorded in the German Grand Prix. It was Pedrosa’s first win from pole since the 2010 San Marino Grand Prix at Misano. By winning for the second time at IMS, with a new race record time that was 13s faster than last year’s race, Pedrosa took five points off championship leader Lorenzo. With seven races remaining, he has closed to within 18 points, 225 to 207. Stoner lost ground and now sits third at 189. The reigning world champion was not certain he would ride until the morning. Saturday’s qualifying crash had caused multiple traumas to his right leg, including several small chipped bone fractures, a 10mm fracture on the talar dome below the tibia and fibula, contusions to the anterior tibia, posterior tibia and medial malleolus, and soft tissue swelling around the ankle. He also tore his deltoid, anterior talofibial, calcaneal and fibular ligaments in addition to a high ankle sprain. He could not walk without the aid of crutches. Rather than getting involved in the early cut and thrust, Stoner allowed the field to sort itself out before making his push. He patiently made his way up the order, though his progress was interrupted when Ben Spies had a smoking engine failure on the front straight on lap six. Stoner had to make his way through the smoke on the fastest part of the course and lost touch with the leaders. Once clear of the smoke, he went after Dovizioso, passing him for third on tenth lap. Stoner kept the Italian at bay for 12 laps, but the healthier rider would not be denied while Stoner struggled with his physical limitations. Dovi took back the final podium spot from Stoner on lap 22 and, while the Australian hounded him for a handful of laps, Dovizioso was able to break free. Now Stoner has five days to recover before practice starts for next weekend’s Czech Grand Prix at Brno. Much of the race was processional over the second half. Alvaro Bautista (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC213V), who had been part of the battle for third, lost touch with those in front and pulled away from the rider just behind, LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl. When that happened, near the midpoint of the race, the two riders solidified their positions. Bautista was happy to return to the feeling with the motorcycle that he had had before the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello. Fifth place was his second best finish of the season; he had been fourth at the British Grand Prix. Bradl was expecting more after an encouraging performance in qualifying. That potential was not realised because he could not push out of the many slow corners on the track. Still, he gained ten points on the rider ahead of him in the championship while maintaining sixth in his rookie season. Bautista’s teammate did not have much luck in his first visit to Indiana on a MotoGP machine. Michele Pirro (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC213V) retired early in the race with a swingarm problem. It was his fourth straight non-finish. Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol Suter Marc Marquez gave a master class in the Moto2 race, setting a number of new lap records early on while pulling away to a commanding victory, his fifth of the season. Marquez took the lead on the third of 26 laps, and with the exception of a lap mid-race, stretched his lead at will. By the end of the race he had pulled out a cushion of 5.855s. The win helped him pull back some of the points he had lost finishing fifth in the previous round at Mugello. Marquez now has a lead of 39 points, 199 to 149, over Pol Espargaro (Pons HP 40 Tuenti Kalex), the second place finisher. Espargaro took over second on the eighth lap, by which time Marquez already had a gap of 3.321s. Other than the 11th lap, when Marquez was off pace and Espargaro took advantage, Espargaro could not make inroads. Instead he had to fend off Julian Simon (Blusens Avintia Suter), who he pulled away from in the later stages. For Simon it was his first podium of the season. Simon, in turn, had over 6s on Mika Kallio (Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex), the former MotoGP rider who had company from Thomas Luthi (Interwetten-Paddock Suter) and Scott Redding, Kallio’s team-mate. Andrea Iannone (Speed Master Speed Up) arrived in Indianapolis tied for second in the championship with Espargaro, but an off day dropped him to ninth. He now trails Espargaro by 13 points and Marquez by 52. The Moto3 race ended in tragedy for Maverick Vinales (Blusens Avintia FTR Honda), the young Spaniard who crashed in the final turn sequence while going for victory. Vinales had been in the thick of the fight for most of the race, while waiting until the end to make his grab for glory. But the he ran wide in the penultimate corner and onto a dirty section of the track, causing his tyres to wash out. Vinales could not re-start his motorcycle and scored no points. The race was won by KTM rider Luis Salom, the Spaniard getting his first victory with Sandro Cortese (KTM) second and Jonas Folger (KTM) third. Manuel Oliveira (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Suter Honda) narrowly missed out on the final podium spot by taking fourth; the gap was .127s. In his first visit to America, Romano Fenati (Team Italia FMI FTR Honda) was a very close fifth, with Oliveira’s teammate Alex Rins finishing seventh. Cortese continues to lead the championship with 184 points to 155 for Vinales. MotoGP Rider Quotes: Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: Race winner “I’m extremely happy with this win and I really want to congratulate the whole team for the great job they’ve done this weekend. The bike worked perfectly. It was difficult at the beginning of the race, because the pace was very strong from the start. I got past Ben Spies, but I kept calm because I knew I had the pace today to fight for the victory. When I took the lead, I put in some very strong laps to build up a gap and then I made a mistake in turn 2 going into neutral and Jorge (Lorenzo) reduced the gap by one second. But I was able to get back on my pace and ride comfortably to the end, where I think Jorge struggled a little with the soft rear tyre. We managed to take our second win of the season and every point is important. I want to also congratulate Casey (Stoner) for his result; he did a superb race in his condition and I am sure he will be strong again in Brno.” Casey Stoner: Repsol Honda: 4th “I’m definitely disappointed with how the weekend went. We had a strong start on Friday morning and then had a few issues Friday afternoon in FP2. We showed that we certainly had the pace for pole position and fight for the win, but unfortunately I had a huge crash in qualifying. The injuries I sustained from the crash made things very difficult for us and we lost precious track time to work on the set-up. This morning in warm-up I was just getting comfortable on the bike and trying to get a feel for everything rather than working on set up. The race was equally as difficult. We had a rough start and got pushed back some positions and had to fight our way back through. As soon as we did, unluckily Ben (Spies) had a bike failure and I found myself in the middle of the smoke, unsure where I was going and what I might hit and we lost positions again. At the end of the race it was almost impossible to maintain the pace. The painkillers I took to dull the pain gradually wore off at around the halfway point and, as I was compensating for my injury with the other side of my body, I simply had no energy left. It was frustrating to give up the podium position to Andrea (Dovizioso), but we did everything we could and at least I was able to ride and take some points.” Alvaro Bautista, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 5th “This result is fruit of all the hard work the guys in the team have done this weekend to get the feeling back that we had before Mugello. I knew I could have a good race today and after making some positions up at the start I was able to run with the front guys for most of the race. At the end (Andrea) Dovizioso and (Casey) Stoner were two or three tenths quicker than me, so I couldn’t follow them but I think this is a positive result for us, especially after a couple of difficult races for us. I hope this means we are on the right lines for the upcoming races but I want to thank everybody in the team for helping me to get my confidence and feel for the bike back, as well as all the sponsors and everybody who has kept faith in us.” Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP: 6th “Honestly, it was not one of our best races so far and I am a bit disappointed because we looked stronger than this. Sixth position is not a disaster, but I was expecting a bit more considering the pace of our qualification yesterday. Unfortunately I was not able to push in the first gear corners and I was losing quite a lot in the acceleration areas. I tried to pull it back in section two and section three, which was possible in the begging, but not over the all race distance. At the end I had to accept that today we were not so strong but we are doing well and we still hold the sixth position in the world standing.” Michele Pirro, San Carlo Honda Gresini: DNF “I am really upset right now because this is our fourth retirement in a row. It is another technical setback and I am extremely disappointed by it.” Moto2 Rider Quotes: Marc Marquez, Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol Suter: Race winner “Although it might not have seemed like it, that was a very difficult race. It is very hard to keep the same focus and pace throughout an entire weekend. I surprised myself, because my strategy was to conserve the tyres, but I decided to try to escape once I’d noticed that everyone had the same tactic. At the midway point I had built up a lead that allowed me to manage the race through to the end.” Pol Espargaro, Pons 40 HP Tuenti Kalex: 2nd “A second place with a slightly bitter taste, because I had been very fast in practice, also in my rhythm, and I have not been able to repeat it in the race. The tyre compound chosen has not gone as expected and finishing second, considering the chattering in both the front and back, is almost a miracle. I have not been comfortable at any time and when I placed second I realised that I could not catch (Marc) Marquez. Yesterday I lapped several times in 1m, 42s and the rest in 1m, 43s, and today there was no human way to go below 1m, 44. This is my fifth consecutive podium in Indianapolis, the sixth of ten races in 2012, and now I’m looking ahead and think that we can return to fight for the win in seven days in Brno.” Julian Simon, Blusens Avintia Suter: 3rd “I’m really happy to be on the podium. I start the second part of the season very good and this is my objective for the second part, to stay in this line, continue with this work. I changed something in the team and also in the bike and also congratulations today to the team, because it’s very important for me to recover the good sensation in the bike, because the first part of the season was very difficult. Also, last year was complicated after I broke my leg. So for me this podium is like a victory, so I’m really happy. Also congratulations to (Marc) Marquez and Po (Espargaro)l, because they were stronger here. And for Brno I hope to continue with this line and this work and I hope to stay also here.” Moto3 Rider Quotes: Manuel Oliveira, Estrella Galicia 0,0 Suter Honda: 4th “It was a hard race. We knew we had the pace to be with the leaders and that’s how it was. Maybe the grid position didn’t help too much but we made up the places quickly. I knew that in the second half of the race the tyres would suffer and even though I made up more positions I couldn’t get to the front. We’ve started the second half of the season well though and I’m pleased with myself and for my team.” Romano Fenati, Team Italia FMI FTR Honda: 5th “Racing in Indianapolis was an emotional experience. At the start I got stuck in the middle of the pack, losing contact with the top three. The tyre choice helped me to climb back and post the fastest lap, but towards the end I had no grip left and didn’t want to take too many risks. We consolidated the fourth place in the championship, where we still lead among the rookies.” Alex Rins, Estrella Galicia 0,0 – Suter Honda: 7th “It was a pretty action-packed race. In the first half I was part of the lead group and I saw that I definitely needed to start pushing. When I did, Khairruddin caught back up with me at the end of the start-finish straight, so I had to push the tyres a lot. That affected the second half of my race with all the wear to them. I wasn’t able to go any faster and obviously this affected me. Now we have to focus on the good points about the weekend and look ahead to the Czech Republic.” More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Podium joy for delighted Dovizioso at Indianapolis Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider Andrea Dovizioso’s outstanding form in the 2012 MotoGP World Championship continued today, with the Italian collecting his fifth rostrum in seven races in baking hot conditions at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Starting from the front row of the grid for only the second time this season, Dovizioso made a fast start and slotted in behind Ben Spies and Dani Pedrosa in third spot in the early exchanges. As the race unfolded in front o f a crowd of over 65,000 sun-drenched fans, Dovizioso became locked in an enthralling battle with reigning World Champion Casey Stoner. Stoner grabbed third on lap 10 but a determined Dovizioso didn’t let the heroic Australian out of his sights and his relentless pressure finally paid off when he moved back into the top three on lap 22. Dovizioso was able to streak away from Stoner to consolidate his status as the leading non-factory in the World Championship rankings after today’s race didn’t have the positive outcome that Cal Crutchlow was hoping for. The British rider failed to score points for the first time in an impressive second season in the MotoGP class. Crutchlow looked on course to finish inside the top six for the ninth time in 11 races whe n he latched onto the back of a pack including Dovizioso, Stoner, Bradl and Bautista dicing for third before the halfway stage. But just as the 26-year-old was sizing up an attack to move into the top six, he lost the front-end of his YZR-M1 machine at Turn 4 on lap 10. Andrea Dovizioso 3rd 137 points: “This podium is once again confirmation of our great work as a team and I am really proud of the support I get from all my crew in the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team. For us a podium is always like a victory and of course I’m really happy but I think we still can do better. But honestly I didn’t expect to be so strong at this track. Unfortunately I could not push as hard as I would have liked to at the beginning of the race, so I lost a bit of time and could not stay with the leading group. And afterwards when Ben broke the engine I did half of the straight trying to see through the smoke and I was not sure if there was oil on my tyres, so I lost some important tenths. Maybe the position could not have been better but for sure the gap would have been less to Dani and Jorge. I’m not completely satisfied because I wasn’t as consistent as I’d hoped, but to be on the podium is a great feeling and a good reward for all our hard work. I also want to pay tribute to Casey today because he delivered a brilliant performance. Physically he wasn’t in the best shape but it was still very hard to beat him. Now we got to Brno with a lot of confidence and I’m optimistic that the podium is a realistic target again.” Cal Crutchlow DNF 106 points: R 20;Unfortunately today was the first time this season I have not finished a race and not been inside the top 10, so it is pretty disappointing. I had exactly the same crash yesterday morning during free practice and I will hold my hands up and say it was a silly mistake. I can’t blame the track because it was on the part with the old asphalt. I opened the throttle and lost the front but that was an area we seemed to be struggling with the whole weekend. What is disappointing is that I had fought my way to the back of the group battling for the podium and I was confident with my pace. So to crash out is disappointing and I am sorry to the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team because we could have had another strong result. The big positive is I was 1.2s faster than last year on this track and at this level it is not a bad run to go 10 races in a row inside the top 10. I’ve got a chance to put things right in Brno next weekend and I will be doing my best to be challenging for a top resu lt again.” Herve Poncharal Team Manager: “I am running out of superlatives to describe the job Andrea has been doing this season but another podium finish here in Indianapolis is a fantastic result. That is the fifth time in the last seven races that Andrea has been on the podium and this is way beyond our wildest dreams. Honestly I didn’t expect us to be on the podium here but Andrea and the whole Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team did another incredible job. It was a tough race throughout and I have to say big respect to Casey because he showed too today why he is the current World Champion. Andrea had to push at his maximum to beat him but now we can go to Brno hoping that this brilliant run of form can continue. It’s really a pity that Cal crashed because he was looking very strong at the back of the group and waiting for the right moment to make his move. It was a small mistake but when you look how consistent and fast he has been in 2012, we can’t be too upset. I know Cal will be determined to bounce back quickly from this result and we will be giving him our 100% support to make sure that happens in Brno.” More, from a press release issued by Indianapolis Motor Speedway: MotoGP RACE REPORT: RED BULL INDIANAPOLIS GP Pedrosa becomes first two-time MotoGP winner at Indy, closes on Lorenzo in points INDIANAPOLIS, Sunday, Aug. 19, 2012 – Dani Pedrosa became the first MotoGP rider to win the Red Bull Indianapolis GP twice and turned up the heat on World Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo with a dominant victory Sunday, Aug. 19 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Pedrosa beat fellow Spaniard Lorenzo to the line by 10.823 seconds on his Repsol Honda. It was the second victory of the season for Pedrosa, who also won this event in 2010. The victory helped Pedrosa close to within 18 points of Lorenzo with seven races remaining. “It was difficult at the beginning of the race because the pace was very strong from the start,” Pedrosa said. “I got past Ben Spies, but I kept calm because I knew I had the pace today to fight for the victory. When I took the lead, I put in some very strong laps to build up a gap and then I made a mistake in Turn 2 going into neutral, and Jorge reduced the gap by one second. “But I was able to get back on my pace and ride comfortably to the end, where I think Jorge struggled a little with the soft rear tire. We managed to take our second win of the season, and every point is important. Andrea Dovizioso finished third on a Monster Yamaha Tech 3 machine. Reigning World Champion Casey Stoner produced a superb performance to finish fourth on his Repsol Honda after suffering fractures in his right ankle and lower right leg, and torn ligaments in his right ankle in a huge crash Saturday. Alvaro Bautista rounded out the top five on his San Carlo Honda Gresini bike. American Ben Spies rocketed to the lead on the first lap from the fourth starting position on his Yamaha Factory Racing machine. Pedrosa and Spies swapped the lead on the third and fourth laps of the 28-lap race, with Pedrosa keeping the top spot for good on Lap 4. Spies was running a comfortable second when white smoke began to stream from his exhaust pipes just as he crossed the Yard of Bricks start-finish line to start Lap 7. Spies pulled off track, out of the race. It was a day of highs and lows for the other American riders. Colin Edwards finished 13th on his NGM Mobile Forward Racing Suter-BMW. Steve Rapp, 40, scored two points by finishing 14th on the Attack Performance APR machine. It was the MotoGP debut for American Motorcyclist Association veteran Rapp and Attack Performance, based in California. Aaron Yates finished a solid 16th on his GPTech BCL fielded by Michigan-based GPTech, just missing scoring a point. It was the MotoGP debut for AMA veteran Yates and GPTech and Yates’ MotoGP debut and his first race since suffering severe leg injuries in a crash in March 2010. American Nicky Hayden did not race on his Ducati after suffering a concussion and two broken metacarpal bones in his right hand in a huge crash Saturday. In the other World Championship races, Marc Marquez of Spain expanded his points lead with a commanding victory on his Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol Suter-Honda in the Moto2 race. Luis Salom of Spain earned his first Grand Prix victory with a thrilling, last-lap victory in the Moto3 race. Salom climbed from third to the lead by diving his RW Racing GP Kalex-KTM under Sandro Cortese and Maverick Vinales in Turn 10 on the final lap. He held on over the last six turns of the 16-turn, 2.621-mile IMS circuit to beat Cortese by .056 of a second. Jonas Folger finished third after Vinales fell out of the race in the second-to-last turn. He was unhurt. Tyler O’Hara won the AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200 Series race Sunday after PJ Jacobsen fell out of the lead on Lap 4 of the 10-lap race. Kyle Wyman finished second. Wyman won the first XR1200 race Saturday when Jacobsen fell out of the lead on Lap 5, triggering a four-bike pileup that forced AMA officials to red-flag and then end the race with no further competition. The next MotoGP World Championship race is the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic on Sunday, Aug. 26 at the Brno Circuit. *** PODIUM FINISHER QUOTES DANI PEDROSA (Winner, Repsol Honda Team): “I’m extremely happy with this win, and I really want to congratulate the whole team for the great job they’ve done this weekend. The bike worked perfectly. It was difficult at the beginning of the race because the pace was very strong from the start. I got past Ben Spies, but I kept calm because I knew I had the pace today to fight for the victory. When I took the lead, I put in some very strong laps to build up a gap and then I made a mistake in Turn 2 going into neutral, and Jorge reduced the gap by one second. But I was able to get back on my pace and ride comfortably to the end, where I think Jorge struggled a little with the soft rear tire. We managed to take our second win of the season, and every point is important. I want to also congratulate Casey (Stoner) for his result; he did a superb race in his condition, and I am sure he will be strong again in Brno.” JORGE LORENZO (Second, Yamaha Factory Racing): “We thought that the soft tire could finish the race well, so we took a risk with it. At the beginning, it wasn’t so bad, and I could follow Ben and Dani. Then Ben had his engine failure. which was lucky for my position, but I am so sorry for him. Dani was a little step forward today and had a tire advantage in the end. Anyway, second was the best we could do today, which is very good for the championship.” ANDREA DOVIZIOSO (Third, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Racing): “For us, a podium is always like a victory, and, of course, I’m really happy, but I think we still can do better. But honestly, I didn’t expect to be so strong at this track. Unfortunately, I could not push as hard as I would have liked to at the beginning of the race, so I lost a bit of time and could not stay with the leading group. And afterward, when Ben broke the engine, I did half of the straight trying to see through the smoke and I was not sure if there was oil on my tires, so I lost some important tenths. Maybe the position could not have been better, but for sure the gap would have been less to Dani and Jorge. I’m not completely satisfied because I wasn’t as consistent as I’d hoped, but to be on the podium is a great feeling and a good reward for all our hard work. I also want to pay tribute to Casey (Stoner) today because he delivered a brilliant performance. Physically, he wasn’t in the best shape, but it was still very hard to beat him. Now we got to Brno with a lot of confidence and I’m optimistic that the podium is a realistic target again.” *** AMERICAN RIDER QUOTES COLIN EDWARDS (13th, NGM Mobile Forward Racing): “I thought I had a good start, but I found it kind of bottle-necked up into Turn 2. There were just incidents here and there through the race, in the end a few guys crashed, and after that I just tried to get into a rhythm, get into a pace. Then I saw someone in front of me and thought could hang on to him, but then Spies broke the engine and I saw a big smoke. I didn’t know what to do because I couldn’t really see, and then once I passed the smoke, just picked up the pace again. Ivan (Silva) was in front of me. He caught up with me when the smoke came out and I tried to stay with him, but he didn’t make any mistakes.” STEVE RAPP (14th, Attack Performance APR): “I said after qualifying that I thought I could beat some of the guys in front of me. That was our goal, and we accomplished our goal. It was our first MotoGP, and we scored a point. The bike was amazingly good all weekend. I can’t think Richard (owner Richard Stamboli) and the guys enough. We improved the bike every second, every session. I was completely happy with the bike, and I got a decent start and ran with some of the guys who have been racing all year. I learned a little bit, picked up a few things and just ran to the end. I wanted to run with the guys the whole race, but I dropped off maybe seven or eight laps into it, and from then on, I was on my own the rest of the race. At that point, it was actually easier for me because I could just concentrate on what I was doing, riding my own pace, trying to be smooth and doing the best I could. It’s just more self-satisfaction than anything. As a racer, everything happens is based on who you are racing and who you beat. If you race and beat nobody, you’re really not that good. You have to ride with guys who are good and beat them.” AARON YATES (16th, GPTech BCL): “I wish we could have been a little more competitive, but we did what we could with what we had to work with. Everybody’s happy. We finished the race, and we were 16th – that’s better than where we started. I had a good start. I ran up in there, but a lot of guys were getting a little crazy, so I gave them a lot of room and sat back and watched. The start of the race was the first time I’ve ridden a bike with a full load of fuel. Man, it did make a difference. I ran into the corner and couldn’t get the bike to slow down or get it to turn. The bike was already overweight, and adding all that weight (fuel) at the top of the tank really made it tough. I got to going quicker halfway through the race in a steady pace. We had a comfortable race. We made it to the end, and that’s what this was all about. This is pretty big for the team, especially the way this team came together. This is just a group of guys following one fellow’s idea to progress up and do MotoGP.” BEN SPIES (Not classified, Yamaha Factory Racing): “Today was unfortunate again. We had a big crash yesterday, and I honestly didn’t know if I could ride at 100 percent today. I got a lot of sleep and great physio from the clinic guys, who did an amazing job. We got off to a good start and felt great. When Dani passed me, I could see he was using the rear tire more than I was, so the plan was to let him get a maximum three seconds ahead and start reeling him back in at the end. As soon as he passed me, the bike started to slow down. I wasn’t sure what was happening. Then all of a sudden, it blew up, so I tried to get off the line as quickly as possible. I’m disappointed not just for me but for the team. I think we definitely had second place and possibly the win.” NICKY HAYDEN (Did not race, Ducati Team): “To miss any race is not fun. But to miss my home race is just bull. Especially after we had worked this weekend and improved the bike a bit. It’s tough. The main thing is I’m more or less OK. A broken hand and a pretty severe concussion’s not OK, but that was a pretty big one, a little bit scary. I’m happy to be able to at least come in here today and support the race and see things.” *** POINTS Riders: Jorge Lorenzo 225, Dani Pedrosa 207, Casey Stoner 186, Andrea Dovizioso 137, Cal Crutchlow 106, Stefan Bradl 94, Alvaro Bautista 92, Valentino Rossi 91, Nicky Hayden 84, Ben Spies 66, Hector Barbera 60, Aleix Espargaro 39, Randy de Puniet 33, Karel Abraham 18, Yonny Hernandez 17, Michele Pirro 16, Colin Edwards 14, Mattia Pasini 13, James Ellison 13, Ivan Silva 11, Danilo Petrucci 9, Toni Elias 5, Steve Rapp 2. Manufacturers: Honda 246, Yamaha 241, Ducati 115, ART 54, BQR 20, FTR 16, Suter 14, Ioda 9, APR 2, BQR-FTR 2. *** MotoGP SUPPORT CLASS WINNERS Moto2: Marc Marquez, Spain, Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol Suter-Honda Moto3: Luis Salom, Spain, RW Racing GP Kalex-KTM AMA Pro Vance & Hines XR1200: Kyle Wyman (Race 1), Tyler O’Hara (Race 2) *** 2013 tickets: IMS will begin accepting ticket renewals and ticket applications for the 2013 Red Bull Indianapolis GP MotoGP event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Monday, Aug. 20. Visit www.imstix.com, call (800) 822-INDY or (317) 492-6700 or visit the IMS Ticket Office at the IMS Administration Building at the corner of Georgetown Road and 16th Street between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET) Monday-Friday. Tickets for groups of 20 or more also are available. Contact the IMS Group Sales Department at (866) 221-8775 for more information. Information on camping at IMS during the Red Bull Indianapolis GP is available at www.imstix.com. Hotel package information can be found at visitindy.com/redbull.