Dani Pedrosa dominated the Red Bull Indianapolis GP using his Repsol Honda powered mount to finish nearly 11 seconds ahead of runner up Jorge Lorenzo and close the gap in the championship points race in the process.
“The pace of the race was fast from the start,” said Pedrosa to reporters afterwards. “My bike was fantastic and I was able to put considerable distance between myself and the field with some very strong laps.”
Strong is indeed an understatement as Pedrosa took the lead on lap four and never looked back leading the balance of the race en route to his second career win at Indianapolis.
Points leader Jorge Lorenzo was able to bring his Yamaha Factory Racing entry home in second, but was clearly disappointed about his inability to overcome his choice of tires for the event. “Certainly we took a risk with the softer tire hoping to finish well,” said the championship points leader following the race. “I could keep up at the beginning, but second place was the best we could do.”
Andrea Dovizioso, powered by Yamaha, finished third, and Casey Stoner brought his Repsol Honda home in fourth.
NOTES: Lorenzo left Indianapolis with an 18 point lead in the championship points standings over Pedrosa.
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Casey Stoner’s fourth place finish was nothing less than remarkably brave considering he suffered fractures and torn ligaments in his leg and ankle just the day before in a crash preparing for the race. American Nicky Hayden experienced a horrific crash as well that day and as a result missed the race with a broken hand and a concussion.
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Marc Marquez captured the Moto 2 race riding a Honda. Luis Salom won the Moto 3 event by virtue of a textbook pass on the last lap of the race in turn 10 of the course. Tyler O’Hara edged out Kyle Wayman to win the AMA Vance&Hines X1200 race.
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The attendance for the event was just under 66,000, and anyone who purchased a ticket had to leave satisfied considering the full day of spirited racing held in absolutely perfect weather.
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Many thanks to Doug Boles and his IMS staff for the accessibility and resources granted to file this report.
Danny Bridges, who highly recommends the excitement of Moto GP to all motorsports fans, can be reached at (317) 578-1780 or at Bridgeshd@aol.com.
Danny Bridges is an award-winning journalist and a longtime sports columnist for the Indianapolis Recorder. He covers college, professional sports and especially all things IndyCar racing. He can be reached at 317-370-8447 or at bridgeshd@aol.com.
