Honda has been having a remarkable MotoGP season this year and they will be looking to continue that success this weekend at Indy. Casey Stoner will be looking to extend his lead over Jorge Lorenzo this weekend, while teammates Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso also pose a threat to the podium.
Stoner extended his lead to 32 points ahead of the 2010 champion at the last MotoGP race at BRNO, but Stoner hasn't had winning luck at Indy. Stoner took fourth in 2008, missed the 2009 race, and crashed out of the race last year. Stoner has finished on the podium at every race but one this year, and it wouldn't be surprising to see the Repsol Honda rider extend his podium streak to 10 this weekend.
"In the past seasons the track at Indy has been extremely bumpy and also slightly dangerous so I'm looking forward to going there and riding the new surface," Stoner said. "It will also be nice to ride the Honda there, as it took a lot of work to get the set up right on the Ducati at such a peculiar circuit.
I've only ridden the circuit in 2008 and 2010 and we were pretty competitive there last year, but then I lost the front in the race, so it will be good to get there, test the new surface and get to work on the set up on my RC212V."
Dani Pedrosa will also be looking for a race win at Indy. Pedrosa, who crashed out of the BRNO race, took the race win at Indy in 2010.
"I'm heading to Indianapolis and really looking forward to the race," Pedrosa said. "Last year we had a good race there and I hope I can repeat this again. The asphalt has changed, so we will have to adapt to the new surface, check how the tyres are working there and look for the best race setup possible. Physically I'm improving little by little; already in Brno I felt better than in the past months, so I hope I can be in good shape for the race. Obviously the last race result was very disappointing for me and my team after such a good weekend, but we take the positive things from it and move forward."
Dovizioso, who is currently third in the series, will be looking for his first win this season. Dovizioso has earned five podiums so far, but the top of the box has eluded him in 2011.
"We arrive in Indy after a podium finish in Brno and I hope we can continue this momentum. The Indianapolis racetrack is a typical American venue with great facilities and huge grandstands, the track is not particularly interesting but all in all it's a very nice event. This year the track has been resurfaced in some parts so for sure it will be much more fun to ride as in the past it was very bumpy and there were different kind of asphalts. Last year in the practice and qualifying sessions we were fast but we struggled in the race, finishing 5th. I'm confident we can be competitive again this year, we are very motivated and focused".
