Stateside MotoGP fans Rejoice!
Ron Lieback
AllAboutBikes Staff Writer
On August 30, you’ll be able to get within distance of Valentino Rossi’s dominating YZR-M1 at the Red Bull Indianapolis GP at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS). But besides us two-wheeled racing fans celebrating the second year of another stateside MotoGP event besides Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, IMS is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.
Although IMS’s heritage is based around automobiles, its history begins with motorcycles. The first motorsport event ever held at the facility in 1909 consisted of seven motorcycle races, sanctioned by the Federation of American Motorcyclists (FAM). This was originally planned as a two-day, 15-race program, but ended before the first day was completed, due to concerns over the suitability of the track surface for motorcycle use. Remember, back then Indiana had no paved streets, and the lack of experience with track surfaces led to the laying of somewhat inadequate riding material.
The 1909 racers used many bikes, including Indian, Reading Standard, Harley-Davidson, NSU, Thor, Excelsior, Merkel and Peugeot. One event, a four-lap race that received only three entries, had its winner, Lingenfelder, cruise to victory at an average speed of 55.23 mph. The final motorcycle event that year was a four-man, four-lap race won by Erwin G. Baker, later known for his speed feats and the nickname “Cannonball”. Although the events of 1909 were far from a resounding success, they did lead to a significant part of Indianapolis history: the new track surface featured 3.2 million street bricks, leading to the world famous “Brickyard” moniker; the start/finish straight line still has original bricks in place.
The layout at IMS for current MotoGP races is similar to the setup used for the Formula One United States Grand Prix from 2000 to 2007, but not identical. It has been reversed to a counterclockwise layout, with a new Snake Pit complex just after the start/finish line (the bikes do not use any of the banked oval corners). The double-hairpin at the Hulman Straight will be replaced with traditional esses.
The 2007 Red Bull Indianapolis GP marked the first motorcycle-racing event at the facility since its first month of operation in August 1909. Hurricane Ike caused some difficulties, but the racing went on. And as we all probably remember, that iconic number 46 white and blue Fiat-endorsed Yamaha ridden by that skilled-from-above Italian Rossi took first place. Hmmm…can he make it two years in a row?
