MotoGP Riders Talk Traction at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

MotoGP Riders Talk Traction at Indianapolis Motor Speedway—By Matthew Miles

Arguably the most important subject discussed during Thursday’s pre-Red Bull Indianapolis GP press conference at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the costly recent resurfacing of a significant portion—Turns 5 through 16—of the 2.621-mile infield roadcourse.

Last year, current MotoGP points-leader Casey Stoner, among others, was openly critical of the bump-riddled track. This year, he is cautiously optimistic. “It’s going to be interesting to see what [this new surface is] like, how much grip we have and how the weather works out this weekend.

“It’s a very hard track, very challenging. It’s not sort of normal braking and turn and exiting corners. There are tricky little sections to it and also some faster sections that take a little bit more guts than some corners.”

Dani Pedrosa, Stoner’s Repsol Honda teammate, was also hopeful. “In the past, it was very tricky because of the change of the asphalt. Also, the bumps. But now it’s a completely new surface, so we have to check the grip on the new section. And that’s going to be tricky for the tires and the performance of the bike. But as soon as we can do some laps and get some rubber on the ground, maybe the track conditions [will] start to be a little better.”

“The track surface is definitely different,” added factory Yamaha rider Ben Spies. “[We’re not] going to be relearning the track, but there’s going to be some differences from last year. Everybody’s got to cope with that in a different way.”

Nicky Hayden has already put in some time on the new pavement, albeit on a Ducati 1198, not his GP11.1 works racer. “Riding a streetbike doesn’t really help,” he admitted. “So, it was more for show. I rode around and did some wheelies.

“The new surface is really, really smooth—almost like glass—and it’s not near as patchy. From Turn 4 all the way to the finish, it’s the same pavement. So, I will be anxious to get out there tomorrow, get some rubber down and see how quick it comes in. I don’t expect any tire-wear issues.

“Turn 5 was getting really bumpy. The curbs are fixed; they were ‘staggered’ the wrong way and the drainage wasn’t good. It’s a big step. I think [the Speedway] made a statement by repaving the whole track and saying, ‘Hey, we want this race.’ They went way above and beyond, did a lot a work.”

Even with the new pavement, San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli said the race will be tough. “It was easy to [make a] mistake because there were a lot of bumps. I walked one lap, and it seems pretty good, a lot smoother. My first impression is that they did a good job. But, sure, [this] is a difficult racetrack and you have to concentrate because the race is very long—28 laps. So, it will not be easy.”

http://www.cycleworld.com Matthew Miles

UPDATE: Here’s what Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) said after the first session at the Speedway: “I don’t feel safe on this new asphalt. To be honest, I have never felt asphalt so slippery. The surface is very dirty and doesn’t improve so much from the first lap to the last lap. I tried to change my line and almost crashed. I’m very disappointed about the new asphalt. There are less bumps than last year, but I prefer the asphalt with the bumps.”
http://www.cycleworld.com Matthew Miles

UPDATE: Comments from Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) following FP1: “[The track] is absolutely not improved. It’s very slippery. There is absolutely no grip. It was much, much better in the way before. But it is like it is now; there is nothing to do. The grip is so poor, you just can’t lean the bike in the corners. The tires look destroyed this morning. We hope with more running on the track we can get a little better grip and tire wear, because, at the moment, it is completely horrible.”
http://www.cycleworld.com Matthew Miles

UPDATE: Valentino Rossi, after FP2: “I am not happy about the work on the track. This morning, I was more worried. The problem is that, unfortunately, nobody use the track. So, the track was very dirty, and this morning was like in the wet. But this afternoon, the step is massive. You can have quite normal grip. The asphalt is okay. The problem is just the dirt. So, I think that tomorrow and Sunday coming better. If you get off line, you are in the shit–like rain. [The tires] are coming better. We have damage to the tire because the asphalt, the surface, is very new.”
http://www.cycleworld.com Matthew Miles

UPDATE: Casey Stoner after FP2: “The track feels terrible, to be honest. It’s got to be one of the slipperiest tracks I’ve ever ridden on in my career. We saw a big improvement from the first session to the second, but it’s still by no means in good condition. If you get off line, there’s just nothing there. We destroyed a hard front in, like, four laps. As far as the bumps go, everything felt pretty good. There’s no point in changing anything with setup because it’s going to change so much over the weekend. We’re just going to have to wait for the track to come to us.”
http://www.cycleworld.com Matthew Miles

UPDATE: Ben Spies, after FP2: “This morning was, I wouldn’t say dangerous, but it was very unpredictable. But it was to be expected with the new pavement; it had no rubber on it. This afternoon, it was much better–one hundred times better. If we don’t see rain, I think the track is going to be great on Sunday. The track’s doing funny things to the tires, just because it’s a new surface. Even though the pavement is really smooth, it has a lot of sharp edges. We’ll just have to wait and make bigger decisions tomorrow afternoon.”