After the classic summer event in the Czech Republic, the Continental Circus crosses the Atlantic Ocean for the eleventh Grand Prix of the season at the mythical Indianapolis Circuit. The United States track, opened in 1909, will be the venue where the Repsol riders will once again battle it out for victory after the second place won by Dani Pedrosa in the Czech Republic, a race at which Marc Márquez held onto his lead of the 125cc category despite dislocating his shoulder during free practice.
A year ago, the bittersweet result of the MotoGP race saw a disappointing fall for Dani Pedrosa while he was leading the race and a comeback for Andrea Dovizioso who was just one step away from a podium place. This season, the aim of both is to make another step forward at the controls of the Honda RC212V with a good result. Following his second place in the Czech Republic, Dani Pedrosa returns to the United States with the aim of fighting for the win. A win which, even though achieved a year ago in Laguna Seca, resulted in falls while leading the races both in Indianapolis and this season’s visit to the Californian Circuit.
His Repsol Honda Team-mate, Andrea Dovizioso, arrives at the North American circuit with the objective of again finding his way onto the podium at a special Grand Prix as those held in the United States always are. After a great start to the season in which he showed good consistency, the Italian rider has seen himself move away from the front-runners, despite showing a good pace both in practice and parts of the races. Despite a fall in the Czech Republic, some positive testing the following Monday at Brno served to revive the spirits of the Repsol rider with a view to the Indianapolis meeting.
In the 125cc class, the category leader – Marc Márquez – takes on the tenth event of the World Championships with a 15 point advantage at the top of the overall standings and, ten days of rest have allowed the injury to his left shoulder, incurred in the free practice of the Czech Republic, to improve . After visiting Doctor Mir and starting functional rehabilitation at the Sant Cugat CAR, Márquez arrives at the Indianapolis event still off top form but with the intention of returning to fight for the podium and clock up as many points as possible towards the championship.
Dani Pedrosa
“I’m going to Indianapolis in a very good mood and I’m feeling ready to finish the job we weren’t able to complete in the race there last time. I felt really comfortable riding in Indy last year. I was on top of the timesheets from the first practice, I took pole position and the only mistake I made was in the race. So I hope this time we can put together a strong weekend and take another good result. We were fast and consistent at the last race in Brno and we’ll be aiming to get straight back on that pace again this weekend. It will be important, as always, to establish a good machine setting quickly on Friday, and I think we have a useful base from last year that will help us to find the right direction straight away. We were ready to win again in Brno and this will be our goal in Indianapolis too. Riding in America is different, the Indianapolis circuit is ve ry impressive and I feel very good racing in the States because the support I get from the fans is always very positive. So I’m really looking forward to get out there”.
Andrea Dovizioso
“I always look forward to racing in the U.S.A. and this time is no different. I like visiting America, and the Indianapolis race track is a typical American venue with great facilities and huge grandstands. The MotoGP track is not particularly interesting but the atmosphere is always special. The circuit has many different surface types and last year this was a bit difficult for us, but I think that with this year’s machine package – and especially with the current weight distribution – the variety of asphalt and different levels of grip won’t be an issue. If I look back to the Brno GP I have to say that – except for the final result – it was a good weekend. We were competitive, our race pace was good but the result did not come. So we go to Indy determined to transform this good performance into a result. We need strong results for the team and for the championship positio n. Last year I was fourth at Indy in the race but we weren’t as fast as the front runners – Dani especially was very fast. But this means that we have the potential to do well and this is an extra motivation for the weekend”.
Marc Márquez
“I feel quite a lot better than one week ago and I’m undergoing rehabilitation at the Sant Cugat CAR and, although I’m still not one hundred percent, I really want to go for it. We will try to have a good weekend and not make any mistakes. The priority will be to see how I feel on the bike and then we’ll see where we end up. I’ve always liked the Indianapolis Circuit so we’ll see if we go well with this bike as, with the KTM the feelings were always good. There are a lot of potholes and it will be very important to get a good set up but the team has experience and I know the circuit too so we’ll try to get back onto the podium and clock up points for the Championship”.
