2008 Indianapolis motorcycle Grand Prix

United States  2008 Indianapolis Grand Prix
Race details
Race 14 of 18 races in the
2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
Date September 14, 2008
Location Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Course Permanent racing facility
4.216 km (2.620 mi)
MotoGP
Pole position
Rider Italy Valentino Rossi
Time 1:40.776
Fastest lap
Rider Italy Valentino Rossi
Time 1:49.668
Podium
First Italy Valentino Rossi
Second United States Nicky Hayden
Third Spain Jorge Lorenzo
250 cc
Pole position
Rider Italy Marco Simoncelli
Time 1:45.168
Fastest lap
Rider Race Cancelled
Podium
First Race Cancelled
Second Race Cancelled
Third Race Cancelled
125 cc
Pole position
Rider Spain Pol Espargaro
Time 1:50.475
Fastest lap
Rider Germany Stefan Bradl
Time 1:50.460
Podium
First Spain Nicolas Terol
Second Spain Pol Espargaro
Third Germany Stefan Bradl

The 2008 Indianapolis motorcycle Grand Prix was the fourteenth round of the 2008 MotoGP Championship. It took place on the weekend of September 1214, 2008 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway the first time the circuit has hosted a major motorcycle racing event since its first year of operation in 1909. As there was a United States Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca earlier in 2008, this marks the championship's second visit to the USA in 2008, the first time this has ever happened. Unlike the Laguna Seca round, the meeting features the supporting 125cc and 250cc classes, marking their first visit to North America since 1994.

The layout of the circuit is similar to the setup used for the United States Grand Prix Formula One events at the circuit between 2000 and 2007, but not identical. It has been reversed to a counterclockwise layout, with a new Snake Pit complex just after the start-finish line, meaning that the bikes do not use any of the banked oval corners. The double-hairpin at the Hulman Straight was replaced with a traditional esses.

The event was heavily affected by the arrival of the remnants of Hurricane Ike on Indiana; the race day the weather was overcast and cold, with a 100% chance of rain during the event. The 125cc class started with dry track however, and went on until rain began to fall, with 7 laps to go. However, since two-thirds of the scheduled distance had been run, the race was declared over and full points were given. The intensity of the rain then led the organizers to postpone the 250cc race after the MotoGP race, hoping the winds and rain would stop.

The MotoGP race was started at the scheduled time, with a very wet track but little rain, and it went on until lap 21, when strong winds began again to blow. Fearing for the safety of the riders, the stewards red-flagged the race, which was declared over, and full World Championship points were given. The winds did not stop after the race, and safety concerns led to the final cancellation of the 250cc race.

MotoGP classification

The front row for the MotoGP class. From bottom to top, pole sitter Valentino Rossi, 2nd place starter Casey Stoner, and 3rd place starter Jorge Lorenzo.
The red flag is displayed at lap 21.
Pos No Rider Manufacturer Laps Time Grid Points
1 46 Italy Valentino Rossi Yamaha 20 37:20.095 1 25
2 69 United States Nicky Hayden Honda 20 +5.972 4 20
3 48 Spain Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 20 +7.858 3 16
4 1 Australia Casey Stoner Ducati 20 +28.162 2 13
5 4 Italy Andrea Dovizioso Honda 20 +28.824 7 11
6 11 United States Ben Spies Suzuki 20 +29.645 5 10
7 50 France Sylvain Guintoli Ducati 20 +36.223 14 9
8 2 Spain Dani Pedrosa Honda 20 +37.258 8 8
9 7 Australia Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 20 +38.442 15 7
10 15 San Marino Alex de Angelis Honda 20 +42.437 12 6
11 13 Australia Anthony West Kawasaki 20 +47.179 19 5
12 24 Spain Toni Elias Ducati 20 +55.962 9 4
13 14 France Randy de Puniet Honda 20 +57.366 6 3
14 21 United States John Hopkins Kawasaki 20 +58.353 16 2
15 5 United States Colin Edwards Yamaha 20 +1:00.613 11 1
16 65 Italy Loris Capirossi Suzuki 20 +1:05.620 13
17 56 Japan Shinya Nakano Honda 20 +1:05.854 17
18 52 United Kingdom James Toseland Yamaha 20 +1:07.968 10
19 33 Italy Marco Melandri Ducati 20 +1:21.023 18

125cc classification

Terol celebrates with members of his crew, as Espargaro and Bradl shake hands.
Pos No Rider Manufacturer Laps Time Grid Points
1 18 Spain Nicolas Terol Aprilia 16 29:51.350 6 25
2 44 Spain Pol Espargaro Derbi 16 +1.708 1 20
3 17 Germany Stefan Bradl Aprilia 16 +3.984 3 16
4 45 United Kingdom Scott Redding Aprilia 16 +4.277 9 13
5 11 Germany Sandro Cortese Aprilia 16 +4.413 10 11
6 93 Spain Marc Márquez KTM 16 +4.454 13 10
7 24 Italy Simone Corsi Aprilia 16 +6.261 7 9
8 38 United Kingdom Bradley Smith Aprilia 16 +7.782 11 8
9 51 United States Steve Bonsey Aprilia 16 +12.035 15 7
10 63 France Mike Di Meglio Derbi 16 +12.251 2 6
11 77 Switzerland Dominique Aegerter Derbi 16 +15.465 8 5
12 6 Spain Joan Olivé Derbi 16 +18.312 12 4
13 35 Italy Raffaele De Rosa KTM 16 +20.137 17 3
14 1 Hungary Gábor Talmácsi Aprilia 16 +24.651 16 2
15 99 United Kingdom Danny Webb Aprilia 16 +27.592 4 1
16 16 France Jules Cluzel Loncin 16 +35.432 31
17 21 Germany Robin Lasser Aprilia 16 +37.082 22
18 33 Spain Sergio Gadea Aprilia 16 +38.549 23
19 71 Japan Tomoyoshi Koyama KTM 16 +38.571 18
20 7 Spain Efrén Vázquez Aprilia 16 +40.991 24
21 55 Netherlands Hugo Van Den Berg Aprilia 16 +1:06.197 30
22 54 United States PJ Jacobsen Aprilia 16 +1:06.327 25
23 48 Switzerland Bastien Chesaux Aprilia 16 +1:07.067 34
24 94 Germany Jonas Folger Aprilia 16 +1:14.709 29
25 95 Romania Robert Muresan Aprilia 16 +1:20.413 32
26 5 France Alexis Masbou Loncin 16 +1:21.880 27
27 74 Italy Davide Stirpe KTM 16 +1:22.026 33
28 36 France Cyril Carrillo Honda 16 +1:22.159 35
29 90 United States Kristian Lee Turner Aprilia 16 +2:11.524 36
Ret 8 Italy Lorenzo Zanetti KTM 13 Retirement 28
Ret 72 Italy Marco Ravaioli Aprilia 10 Accident 26
Ret 22 Spain Pablo Nieto KTM 9 Retirement 20
Ret 60 Austria Michael Ranseder Aprilia 7 Accident 19
Ret 73 Japan Takaaki Nakagami Aprilia 6 Accident 14
Ret 29 Italy Andrea Iannone Aprilia 5 Retirement 5
Ret 12 Spain Esteve Rabat KTM 2 Accident 21
Previous race:
2008 San Marino Grand Prix
FIM Grand Prix World Championship
2008 season
Next race:
2008 Japanese Grand Prix
Previous race:
None
Indianapolis Grand Prix Next race:
2009 Indianapolis Grand Prix

References

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