AMERICAN Moto2 TRIO GETS UP TO SPEED AT INDIANAPOLIS TEST Hayden, DiSalvo, Noyes prepare for Red Bull Indianapolis GP INDIANAPOLIS, Friday, Aug. 20, 2010 American riders Roger Lee Hayden, Jason DiSalvo and Kenny Noyes began to get familiar with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during testing Aug. 19-20, preparing for the Red Bull Indianapolis GP on Aug. 27-29. All three riders will compete in the new Moto2 class during the annual Grand Prix motorcycle race at IMS. Moto2 replaced the 250cc class this season. Riders compete on bikes with 600cc Honda engines and Dunlop tires, with the emphasis placed on lower costs and rider skill. Hayden, from Owensboro, Ky., turned the most test laps on the No. 34 Team Honda/Moriwaki machine that he will race as a wild-card entry. Legendary 1993 500cc World Champion Kevin Schwantz is the team manager. Full-time World Superbike rider Hayden is the younger brother of 2006 MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden, who has finished on the podium in each of the first two Red Bull Indianapolis GP races. “The track is really nice,” Roger Lee Hayden said. “We’d like to get a top 10. It’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be difficult. We’re going to have to do our best, riding my best ever. The bike’s going to have to be performing well, but that’s our goal.” DiSalvo, from Stafford, N.Y., turned laps on the No. 42 FTR M210 that he will race as a wild-card entry. Longtime American Motorcyclist Association standout DiSalvo has made two Grand Prix starts during his career and also started this season in World Supersport, so he has experience competing at the world level. But he realizes that racing in front of Grand Prix team bosses next weekend is a big opportunity. “I just want to try to come and validate the performances we had in World Supersport this season,” DiSalvo said. “The bike we were on, we felt wasn’t quite what it should have been, so subsequently we’re not with the team anymore. But it’s cool because it gives us an opportunity to do some fun and really exciting stuff like a wild card at the American Grand Prix. I just want to put on a good show for everyone and try to make the American fans proud and just have a good result.” Full-time Moto2 rookie Noyes, from Borrego Springs, Calif., tested on a Kawasaki 600 instead of his regular No. 9 Jack & Jones by A. Banderas Moto2 bike. MotoGP rules prevent full-time series riders from testing on their race bikes outside of official series tests. “It’s the coolest thing,” Noyes said. “I’ve come here to the Brickyard to come to the Museum when I raced dirt-track, and to actually be racing here in the World Championship, representing the United States, is an awesome feeling. “It actually seems more of a simple track on paper than when you get out there. It’s got some corners where it’s really important to line up for the next transition. It’s a really good thing that we got out here and got to see it so on Friday we’re not so far behind like we’ve been at so many other places. A great opportunity.” The new Moto2 formula has attracted grids of 40 motorcycles or more at nearly every race. One of the most exciting moments of any MotoGP event weekend is watching at least 40 bikes pile-drive into Turn 1 on the first lap of the Moto2 race, with bikes sometimes spread five- and six-wide to get the edge into the first corner. Moto2 riders practice from 1:55-2:55 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27, with another practice from 9:55-10:55 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 28. The 26-lap Moto2 race is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 29. *** Moto2 TEST AMERICAN RIDER QUOTES: JASON DiSALVO (Stafford, N.Y.): “It’s a great track, and it really suits our bike well. One of the things I like about the circuit is just the unique corners. There’s a lot of corners where the entry kind of fades into the turn. I think a lot of it comes from the Formula One track running backward. It was kind of set up for those guys really to get a run on to some of the longer straightaways. But for us, coming the other way, it makes for a unique entrance and definitely I think it’s going to set up some good passing opportunities here. And overall, I’m just super-pumped to be out here at Indianapolis. This is probably the most famous racetrack in the whole world. It’s cool to be out here, flashing across the bricks at triple-digit speeds.” (About the track surface): “We’ve only had an opportunity to test this bike at one other track. It was quite bumpy. It was up in western Michigan, and it was really kind of bumpy and definitely very demanding on the bike and the suspension. Some of the GP guys, the GP regulars, would consider this track to be bumpy. But for me, coming from the only track we’ve tested on, this is like a pool table. It’s really cool, and the bike seems to like it a lot. So hopefully we’ll just keep improving our pace around here and be ready come race time next week.” (Do you feel pressure to perform in front of Grand Prix teams next weekend? Are you in the shop window?): “Definitely, to some extent. I know for me, I’ve been around this industry for a long time. Started the season out in World Supersport. Really, I just want to try to come and validate the performances we had in World Supersport this season. With the bike we were on, we felt wasn’t quite what it should have been, so subsequently, we’re not with the team anymore. But it’s cool because it gives us an opportunity to do some fun and really exciting stuff like a wild card at the American Grand Prix. I just want to put on a good show for everyone and try to make the American fans proud and just have a good result.” ROGER LEE HAYDEN (Owensboro, Ky.): “The track is really nice, really safe. It’s fun. A few of the corners were tighter than I thought they’d be, which is not a bad thing. But most of the European circuits you see, they’re fast tracks. That’s the only one thing that’s a little different. But I like the track, overall. It’s really fun.” (About expectations for the race): “We’d like to get a top 10. It’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be difficult. We’re going to have to do our best, riding my best ever. The bike’s going to have to be performing well, but that’s our goal. Those guys have been riding all season, so it’s kind of an uphill battle. But we’ve did three tests, and the team is working extremely hard, and I think we’re feeding off each other. We all have the same goal in mind, and we want to do really well next week.” KENNY NOYES (Borrego Springs, Calif.): “First impression was it’s pretty awesome. Just being here, even though the grandstands are empty, seeing the size of everything, it’s a lot different from the tracks over in Europe. It’s got a lot of technical corners. It actually seems more of a simple track on paper than when you get out there. It’s got some corners where it’s really important to line up for the next transition. I did feel some of the asphalt changes out there, but it seemed pretty smooth. A couple of places I thought were going to be bumpier from watching the MotoGP race. It seemed like a really awesome track. It’s going to be important to have a good setup. It’s a really good thing that we got out here and got to see it so on Friday we’re not so far behind like we’ve been at so many other places. A great opportunity.” (Unlike Roger and Jason, you started road racing in Europe. When is the last time you raced in the States?): “I came back and did some AMA races. We were going to come back to the AMA after being up front in Spain. Before this came, we were going to come back to AMA. I went to Virginia and Ohio two years ago. But you’re right: I started over in Europe, especially in Spain. I know those tracks really well. So that’s where we’ve been the most competitive this year. Hopefully the most here guys will have is two years experience, so hopefully here it can be a little more like our home track.” (About being an American racing at Indianapolis): “It’s the coolest thing. I’ve come here to the Brickyard to come to the Museum when I raced dirt-track, and to actually be racing here in the World Championship, representing the United States, is an awesome feeling.” *** IMS tickets: Tickets for the 2010 Red Bull Indianapolis GP are on sale now. A new structure offers additional value and flexibility to fans attending the annual MotoGP event. Among the highlights of the new ticket structure are lower prices and single-day reserved and general admission tickets for Race Day, Sunday, Aug. 29. Children 12 and under will be admitted free any day of the event if accompanied by an adult holding a general admission ticket. Fans can order tickets online at www.imstix.com, call the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700, or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area or visit the ticket office at the IMS Administration Building at the corner of Georgetown Road and 16th Street. Online orders can be made at any time. Hours for phone orders and the ticket office are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET) Monday-Friday. General admission tickets provide access to the grounds, viewing mounds along the infield section of the circuit and selected grandstands, which provide excellent angles to see the greatest riders in the world. Fans can now print their tickets three-day reserved seat and Race Day-only general admission and reserved seat tickets with their printer after ordering tickets online at www.imstix.com. Tickets for groups of 20 or more also are on sale. Contact the IMS Group Sales Department at (866) 221-8775 for more information. More, from a press release issued by FTR MOTO: SECOND MOTO2 WILD CARD OF THE YEAR FOR FTR MOTO FTR MOTO will field a record five riders on its M210 machines in next week’s Indianapolis, USA round of the Moto2 World Championship as American Jason DiSalvo has been awarded a wild card entry and will race the FTR machine owned by the Canadian FOGI Racing Team operation. DiSalvo, 26, will join the FTR regulars of the Speed Up Team’s Andrea Iannone and Gabor Talmacsi, Karel Abraham on the Cardion AB Motoracing Team M210 and Spain’s Alex Debon and his Aeroport de Castello-Ajo Team FTR machine. Former American Superbike rider DiSalvo becomes the ninth rider this year to race one of the FTR M210 machines and is the second World Championship wild card rider with an FTR after Kev Coghlan rode the same FOGI Racing M210 at Silverstone, GB two months ago. The DiSalvo Indianapolis entry will be run by the GPtech Team of former American racer Geoff Maloney. “It’s great that we’ve got a wild card rider in his home Grand Prix again and Jason has tremendous experience so could provide a formidable challenge,” said FTR’s Steve Bones. Bones continued: “Geoff Maloney has called on a lot of existing FTR experience and personnel including the machine from Angus Borland of FOGI and the technicians from the Monlau Competicion Team who contest the CEV Spanish Championship. “The guys have been testing in America this week and everything seems to be on schedule for Jason and the M210 to be competitive come next weekend.” More, from a press release issued by American Honda: Torrance, CA: After two days of extensive testing at world-famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the final touches have been made to the American Honda Moto2 team’s Honda Moriwaki MD600 in preparation for the team’s debut at the Red Bull Indianapolis GP on August 27 to 29. Under the leadership of team manager Kevin Schwantz and with the support of Kevin Erion and his Erion Racing crewmembers, Roger Lee Hayden completed two successful days of testing on his Honda-powered race machine. After two previous tests””one at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway and a second at Barber Motorsports Park””it all came together at the team’s final test on August 19-20. “We’ve continued to improve on our lap times and more importantly Roger is getting more and more comfortable on the bike,” said Erion. “We made some changes to the swingarm and suspension settings and also worked on finding additional grip via changes to the shock and clutch setup.” “Roger is communicating really well with the team, which has helped us identify exactly where our strengths and weaknesses are, and I think he’s riding the bike really well,” said Schwantz. Because motorcycles have not raced at Indy since the last USGP in 2009, the track was a bit “green.” “Roger felt the track was pretty green on the motorcycle racing line on Thursday morning,” said Schwantz. “A few of us jumped on bikes at lunchtime and laid down 25 laps or so to put rubber on the racing line. When Roger went back out in the afternoon, the grip on the track was better. It all went well and I think we’re in good shape heading into the race next week.” Hayden returned home to Kentucky after the team’s Barber test last month where he enjoyed a short break from his hectic international travel schedule. Feeling refreshed, Hayden is ready to make the team’s debut at the Indianapolis race. “Testing went good,” said Hayden. “We learned that the Indianapolis track is a lot more like the first track we tested at (Chuckwalla) and very different from Barber. It’s actually tricky to gauge how fast we are at this point as the Moto2 class has never raced on this track and we don’t have specific lap times that we can measure our speed against. By looking at past MotoGP and 250cc lap times on this track we are able to get an indication of how fast we think we need to be and we believe we’re just about there. I really like riding this bike because it’s fairly small and in the tight, fast corners you can change direction so fast. It hits lines perfectly and I’m able to carry tons of corner speed through turns, which makes it a lot of fun.” American Honda wishes the team best of luck at the Red Bull Indy GP. While there, please stop by the Honda display and find out about all the activities Honda has planned for the Indy weekend. Honda staff will be on site to sell Drudi-designed replica team T-shirts and hats with the proceeds benefiting the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation® (PBTF). There will also be a photo opportunity for fans to have their portrait taken with the painted team bike, with the proceeds benefiting the PBTF. Practice for the Moto2 class begins Friday, August 27, with the race taking place on Sunday, August 29.