Indianapolis Grand Prix Preview

MotoGP returns from its summer break and heads State-side for the tenth round of the 2015 season, this time to the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Despite the circuits' legendary status, the addition of MotoGP to 'The Brickyard's' calendar came relatively recently. The first event took place in 2008, but was disrupted by the remnants of Hurricane Ike which led to the cancellation of the 250cc race. Valentino Rossi took the honour of the first ever MotoGP winner at Indy. The race has been a fixture on the Grand Prix schedule since, and has seen some classic moments including last year's titanic fight for the win between Marc Marquez, Jorge Lorenzo and Rossi.

The 4.2km road course is similar to that used by Formula 1 prior to 2008 but run anticlockwise. The circuit saw some modifications made for the 2014 race which improved overtaking opportunities at turns 3 & 4 and turns 14, 15 & 16. Turn 1 also yields a possibility for overtaking, but it is preceded by an 800m blast from the final corners which requires a bike with good mid-corner grip to propel onto the pit-straight. This will suit the Yamaha's most, as will most of the circuit. But Honda have 5 wins to Yamaha's 2, and the RC213V has shown well at the previous two events especially for Marc Marquez, who incidentally has the most wins of any with 4. So this will be a perfect setting to see just how well the teams have developed their machines over the summer break.

Valentino Rossi heads into this weekend with a 13-point advantage over team-mate Jorge Lorenzo. Indy produced an explosive race last year, so explosive that it earned the IMS 'Event of the Year', and the first half of 2015 has thrown twists at every turn – what drama lies in prospect when battle recommences in America!

Circuits Stats: Circuit Length – 4.2km (2.59mi) Number of Turns – 16 (10 left, 6 right) Longest Straight – 872m Number of Laps – 27 Fastest Lap – 1:31.619 (Marc Marquez, 2014) Circuit Record – 1:32.831 (Marc Marquez, 2014) Top Speed – 345.7km/h Average Speed – 160.3km/h Most Wins – 4 (Marc Marquez) Most Poles – 2 (Marc Marquez, Dani Pedrosa)

Classic Indy Moment: 2014 had many a highlight, but for me it was the Indianapolis Grand Prix. In particular it was an overtake. Marc Marquez was clear favourite to win: he'd dominated the opening 9 races, never lost a race in America since 2010 and was on-form all weekend. Race day came and the Yamaha duo got themselves into the mix. Rossi and Lorenzo had the pace to stay in front, but they were embroiled in a duel for the win. Marquez used this to his advantage and used the two of them to make an overtake worthy of a champion. Coming into turn 1, the Spaniard went for a wider entry to put himself on the inside for turn 2. Meanwhile, Lorenzo was lining Rossi up for a lunge at turn 2. The Spaniard made his move, but so did Marquez. The Honda rider used his compatriot to sit up Rossi and take the position from the both of them. Marc cleared off into the distance soon after and racked up win number 10 of 2014.

The Weekend Schedule:

Friday: Moto3 FP1 – 14:00-14:40 MotoGP FP1 – 14:55-15:40 Moto2 FP1 – 15:55-16:40 Moto3 FP2 – 18:10-18:50 MotoGP FP2 – 19:05-19:50 Moto2 FP2 – 20:05-20:50

Saturday: Moto3 FP3 – 14:00-14:40 MotoGP FP3 – 14:55-15:40 Moto2 FP3 – 15:55-16:40 Moto3 QP – 17:35-18:15 MotoGP FP4 – 18:30-19:00 MotoGP QP1 – 19:10-19:25 MotoGP QP2 – 19:35-19:50 Moto2 QP – 20:05-20:50

Sunday: Moto3 WUP – 13:40-14:00 Moto2 WUP – 14:10-14:30 MotoGP WUP – 14:40-15:00 Moto3 Race – 16:00 Moto2 Race – 17:20 MotoGP Race – 19:00

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