Valentino Rossi wrote another chapter in his ever-expanding history book at Indianapolis today, claiming his 69th premier-class win and becoming the most successful rider in premier-class history in the process. His hat trick of pole position, fastest lap and race victory made for a perfect first Indianapolis Grand Prix for the Italian and a third place for Jorge Lorenzo rounded off an exceptional weekend for the Fiat Yamaha Team.
More bad weather in the early afternoon led to the 250cc race being abandoned and the early part of the MotoGP race was run on a very wet track. Rossi dropped to fourth at the start and then surrendered another place to Lorenzo on the next lap, but he soon found his rhythm and made his way back past Casey Stoner, Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso into second behind Nicky Hayden by lap six. Passing Hayden was no mean feat and it took the seven-time world champion another eight laps to finally get by the American, at which point he quickly began to pull away. Hurricane Ike was not finished with Indianapolis however and on lap 16 of 28 it started to rain heavily once again, accompanied by strong gusts of wind which became very dangerous. The race was eventually red-flagged after 20 laps and, after a few minutes confusion as to whether there would be a restart, Rossi was confirmed as the first ever MotoGP winner at the Brickyard.
Rossi’s 69th win takes him ahead of his fellow countryman Giacomo Agostini to the top of the all-time premier class winners list, a record which has stood for more than 30 years. Agostini claimed the 1975 500cc title with Yamaha and won six of his 68 victories with the Japanese factory.
Rossi is now 87 points clear of Stoner, who finished fourth today, which means he is able to win the championship at the next round in Motegi by finishing fourth or above.
Valentino Rossi Position: 1 Time: 37'20.095:“This is fantastic because it’s been a long time since I won in the rain and even longer since I won four in a row! To win the first race here at Indianapolis is a great emotion and to beat Agostini’s record is also incredible, now I hope my record will stand for 30 years like his! It was an amazing race and, once I was able to pass Stoner, I knew I had the chance to win so I pushed very hard. I had a great race with Nicky; he was really hard to pass so congratulations to him. When the wind and rain came it became very hard, I think I could have kept going for another eight laps okay but there were things flying through the air – beer cans, plastic glasses – so really I think it was the right decision to stop the race! Sincerely I don’t think I’ve ever ridden in conditions like these and I was lucky because I was far in front and therefore didn’t have to take any big risks. It’s been a perfect weekend for us despite the weather because we made the pole position, the fastest lap and we won, so I want to congratulate my team once again for a fantastic job, today and all year. Also thanks to Bridgestone because my tyres were very good today. I’ve really enjoyed racing here in Indy and I am looking forward to coming back next year. Now we have a big advantage and it would be great to win the championship in Motegi, but it’s not over yet so we will keep our concentration and keep working! Finally I want to dedicate this victory to my Grandfather Dario, who sadly died today aged 82.”
Davide Brivio (Team Manager):“We’re very happy that we were able to race at this historic track, despite the terrible weather! This is very important for the championship and now we have the chance to try to win in Motegi in two week’s time. Valentino was fantastic today and he showed once again how strong he is this season; he has won seven times in many different conditions so we’re in good shape. Well done to the team for their hard work and congratulations to Jorge and his crew as well, Yamaha is very strong!”
Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix Race Classification:
1. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 37’20.0952. Nicky Hayden (Honda) +5.972
3. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) +7.858
4. Casey Stoner (Ducati) +28.162
5. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda) +28.824
World Championship Classification: 1. Rossi 287 pts2. Stoner 200 pts
3. Dani Pedrosa 193 pts
4. Lorenzo 156 pts
5. Dovizioso 129 pts
Indianapolis: Record Lap:V. Rossi (Yamaha) 2008, 1'49.668
Indianapolis: Best Lap:V. Rossi (Yamaha) 2008, 1'40.776
More information on the team and riders: yamaha-racing.com
