Repsol Honda's Nicky Hayden (Photo: Pro Honda Images) ยป More Photos
While in Indianapolis this past weekend MCUSA's Kevin Duke learned that Dennis Noyes' earlier report of a second World Championship motorcycle racing round for the Unites States is looking increasingly likely. Here's his report:
A.J. Foyt has won at Indy, as has Michael Schumacher. One day we might be able to apply the Indy-winner moniker to Nicky Hayden or Valentino Rossi.
Yep, it's looking like a good bet the MotoGP series will be coming to the most famous racetrack in the world, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in 2008.
While in Indiana over the weekend for the massive Dealer Expo motorcycle show, MCUSA president Don Becklin and I were invited to the famed Speedway for an informal gathering with track representatives. While overlooking the snow-covered, 559-acre facility, we were told of the many reasons why bringing a GP event to Indy makes sense.
It all goes back to 1909 when the legendary cross-country racer Erwin "Cannonball" Baker won one of the first races ever at the Speedway - on a motorcycle, an Indian V-Twin.
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A lot has happened since then, but the IMS today hosts just three events each year - the Indy 500 (Indianapolis Racing League), the Brickyard 400 (NASCAR) and the U.S. Grand Prix (Formula 1). That leaves a possible opening for another major event, and IMS reps are enthusiastic that the world championship MotoGP series is a great fit.
Speedway officials proudly boast that more than 65% of the U.S. population resides within a 700-mile radius of Indianapolis, and more interstates converge in the capitol of Indiana than in any other city in the nation, appropriately nicknamed the "Crossroads of America." A look at the number of dollars spent by motorcyclists in and around the area helped convince the IMS that hosting a bike event makes good business sense.
The FIM, the sport's international governing body, has already inspected the track and approved it for racing. No, the bikes won't take to the banking like the current Formula 1 course. Instead the Speedway has drawn up plans to reconfigure the circuit to avoid that potentially dangerous section. And once that construction has taken place, the new configuration will also become the new F1 circuit.
