Motorcycle Racing - Indianapolis Grand Prix
2009/08/31 12:02 Filed in: Motorcycles
MotoGP has been around for sixty years; the current series is supported by the big four Japanese manufacturers and Ducati. Manufacturer’s are not limited to racing the bikes they sell, like the AMA road racing series. They can build “one-off” machines that often represent the future state-of-the-art in showroom street or sport bikes. MotoGP competes on road racing tracks (none of this “go fast, turn left” stuff) around the world; the riders in this series are the absolute best.
The thrill of watching MotoGP or even better, being at a race like this, is incredible. These bikes approach 200mph on the straight-aways and lean angles are so dramatic that elbow sliders are being added to the riders racing leathers. The three hundred pound bikes develop well over two hundred horsepower. The rules are structured so the bikes are well matched; it’s up to the teams and the riders to make the difference.
Currently, there are two races held in the U.S. A July race is run at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California and the second is held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. For racing fans, these are the premiere tracks in the U.S. We’ve also got two riders competing in MotoGP: Nicky Haden and Colin Edwards. Nicky placed third on his factory Ducati and Colin Edwards came in fifth on his Yamaha. Nicky is called the “Kentucky Kid” and is the oldest brother of three that have been racing all their lives. Colin Edwards is the “Texas Tornado” and hails from Conroe, Texas; making him a home town prodigy.
Although Nicky and Colin are proven winners they’ve not been competing that well this year, especially Nicky. Colin Edwards is in fifth place and Nicky is in twelfth for the season. The series leader is Valentino Rossi, an Italian, who was in a battle for the lead at the Brickyard when he crashed. Dani Pedrosa, who won the pole position, also crashed. The Indy track is a tough one; it’s been criticized as bumpy in places and is flat … no banked turns. Seeing the leaders crash was disappointing but it did open up the field for our U.S. riders to be local heros … they certainly deserve it.
If you’re not familiar with MotoGP or the AMA road racing series you can get up to speed using these resources: www.motogp.com or www.amaproracing.com/rr/. The Speed Channel, Fox and ESPN are places to look for upcoming races. There’s still five MotoGP races left in the 2009 season (the 2010 season begins in April). The AMA series has only two races left this season but will begin again in March at Daytona Bike Week.
Raoul
The thrill of watching MotoGP or even better, being at a race like this, is incredible. These bikes approach 200mph on the straight-aways and lean angles are so dramatic that elbow sliders are being added to the riders racing leathers. The three hundred pound bikes develop well over two hundred horsepower. The rules are structured so the bikes are well matched; it’s up to the teams and the riders to make the difference.
Currently, there are two races held in the U.S. A July race is run at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California and the second is held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. For racing fans, these are the premiere tracks in the U.S. We’ve also got two riders competing in MotoGP: Nicky Haden and Colin Edwards. Nicky placed third on his factory Ducati and Colin Edwards came in fifth on his Yamaha. Nicky is called the “Kentucky Kid” and is the oldest brother of three that have been racing all their lives. Colin Edwards is the “Texas Tornado” and hails from Conroe, Texas; making him a home town prodigy.
Although Nicky and Colin are proven winners they’ve not been competing that well this year, especially Nicky. Colin Edwards is in fifth place and Nicky is in twelfth for the season. The series leader is Valentino Rossi, an Italian, who was in a battle for the lead at the Brickyard when he crashed. Dani Pedrosa, who won the pole position, also crashed. The Indy track is a tough one; it’s been criticized as bumpy in places and is flat … no banked turns. Seeing the leaders crash was disappointing but it did open up the field for our U.S. riders to be local heros … they certainly deserve it.
If you’re not familiar with MotoGP or the AMA road racing series you can get up to speed using these resources: www.motogp.com or www.amaproracing.com/rr/. The Speed Channel, Fox and ESPN are places to look for upcoming races. There’s still five MotoGP races left in the 2009 season (the 2010 season begins in April). The AMA series has only two races left this season but will begin again in March at Daytona Bike Week.
Raoul