15/09/08 - Valentino Rossi extended his lead in the MotoGP World Championship with victory at the first ever Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix, cut short with just seven laps remaining owing to safety concerns caused by high winds and a wet track.

Run at 3pm local time, the race got underway on soaking asphalt, the 125cc race having already been amended by the meteorological conditions.

Rossi was targeting 69 in two different forms in the early stages of the race, looking to claim the new record for premier class wins by chasing down the rider assigned to that same number. Local hero Nicky Hayden, the man who had inaugurated the Indianapolis circuit back in April and who debuted the other American track on the calendar –Laguna Seca- with a victory back in 2005, was giving no quarter as he set a fearsome pace at the front. The Repsol Honda rider took the lead on the second lap, and set the fastest laps of the race in a continuous attempt at breaking free from Rossi.

The MotoGP series leader was, however, able to follow the 2006 World Champion all the way, and made the almost inevitable overtaking maneuver on lap 14. From then on it was a case of holding his nerve to take his fourth consecutive victory, the premier class milestone, the first Indianapolis MotoGP win and, most importantly, an almost insurmountable 87 point lead at the head of the standings.

Hayden returned to the podium on his comeback race after missing two Grands Prix with a foot injury. He held his nerve in spite of some wobbly moments to come home second and make his rostrum comeback –a first of the year for the `Kentucky Kid´. The American had lost almost all of a five second advantage to second Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo on the twentieth lap of the race, in which the decision was made to bring the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix to an early conclusion.

Lorenzo took a podium for the second consecutive race, having been untroubled by the chasing pack during the middle stages. Almost nineteen seconds behind, reigning titlist Casey Stoner came home in fourth place, albeit now with only the smallest of chances to retain his crown in 2008.

After leading a MotoGP race for the first time in his career, Andrea Dovizioso brought his JiR Team Scot Honda home less than a second behind Stoner, with home rider and AMA Superbike champion Ben Spies rounding off the top six.

Sylvain Guintoli, Dani Pedrosa, Chris Vermeulen and Alex de Angelis were the final riders in the top ten.



Valentino Rossi – Race Winner
"I think that those are the worst conditions in which I have raced in my career. Together with the new track and the new surface, there was also a lot of water and at the end the bigger problem of the wind. I was in front, and all the bags and beer cans were getting thrown onto the track by the wind. It wasn´t consistent and was very strong, so you never knew what was going to happen in the straight. I was in front and didn´t want to put my hand up, because I was leading the race, but I was looking for the red flag on every lap and when it came I think it was a good decision. Good work was done on the track to prepare for the race because the rain was coming down strong. I don´t remember when I last won four races in a row, but it means that I am in good shape and now waiting for Motegi."




An early conclusion to the 125cc opener at Indianapolis gave Jack&Jones WRB´s Nico Terol a first World Championship victory of his career, the Spaniard benefitting from the appearance of rain and a red flag on lap seventeen.

Despite having crossed the line after rival Pol Espargaro on that lap, with FIM rules stating that results be based on the last full lap for all riders it was Terol who would be placed on the top step of the podium, an incredible achievement for the teenager in a revelatory season.

Espargaro´s pit crew had been celebrating his draft to the line, but the youngest ever podium finisher would have to content himself with second place. The race quickly became a battle of Spanish starlets, as Espargaro´s early breakaway was halted by a small mistake on lap ten. Running slightly wide, the Belson Derbi rider´s fault allowed Terol to catch up and pass his fellow countryman, beginning a duel between two riders hungry for their first ever World Championship glory.

After spots of rain fell on the Indianapolis asphalt, it became clear that every lap could potentially be the final time around the track for the 125cc competitors. Well aware of this was Stefan Bradl, who took the necessary risks to ensure that it was he who emerged on top of the closing pack and on the podium for a fourth time.

Scott Redding, Marc Marquez, Simone Corsi, Bradley Smith, home rider Stevie Bonsey and series leader Mike di Melgio rounded off the first ten past the line in the abbreviated race.



There was no 250cc Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix at the IMS circuit in 2008, with the scheduled race cancelled due to safety concerns. The contest had previously been rescheduled for after the MotoGP race but, with that event red flagged, the decision was made not to run the quarter-litre bikes in any capacity.

The remnants of Hurricane Ike hit raceday at the new Indianapolis circuit on Sunday afternoon, after a difficult weekend of mixed conditions. Standings leader Marco Simoncelli had placed on pole for the latest race in the World Championship, in one of the only dry sessions undertaken by the riders at The Brickyard.

The next round of the 250cc series will be held at Motegi, on September 28th.