2008-09-15  Rider claims after Indianapolis race
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After difficult Indianapolis race, riders definitely had something to talk about. For sure, Nicky Hayden was one of those riders with lot of things to say, after returning to the podium after long time. Jorge Lorenzo was also over the moon, as he took first podium in wet race in his career. Read rider impressions after American race. Valentino Rossi - 1st: This is fantastic because it’s been a long time since I won in the rain and even longer since I won four in a row! To win the first race here at Indianapolis is a great emotion and to beat Agostini’s record is also incredible, now I hope my record will stand for 30 years like his! It was an amazing race and, once I was able to pass Stoner, I knew I had the chance to win so I pushed very hard. I had a great race with Nicky; he was really hard to pass so congratulations to him. When the wind and rain came it became very hard, I think I could have kept going for another eight laps okay but there were things flying through the air – beer cans, plastic glasses – so really I think it was the right decision to stop the race! Sincerely I don’t think I’ve ever ridden in conditions like these and I was lucky because I was far in front and therefore didn’t have to take any big risks. It’s been a perfect weekend for us despite the weather because we made the pole position, the fastest lap and we won, so I want to congratulate my team once again for a fantastic job, today and all year. Also thanks to Bridgestone because my tyres were very good today. I’ve really enjoyed racing here in Indy and I am looking forward to coming back next year. Now we have a big advantage and it would be great to win the championship in Motegi, but it’s not over yet so we will keep our concentration and keep working! Finally I want to dedicate this victory to my Grandfather Dario, who sadly died today aged 82. Nicky Hayden - 2nd: Man, it felt really good to be in the lead and I felt quite comfortable. It’s been a long time. I was thinking ‘this only happens in the movies’: your home race, missing the last two and coming back to win. I was able to stay focused but Valentino came past and he had a little more speed, especially in section three. Then when he touched the line onto the back straightaway I was able to make up a little more ground and I thought maybe I was okay. But when it started raining heavy I was in trouble because when it had dried I’d used up a lot of the left side of the tyre, so it got pretty gnarly with all the water. Sure, you dream about winning your home race, but honestly I shouldn’t be too greedy with how things have been. I’ll take this second and enjoy it. I’d just like to say a big thanks to my team, all my guys, my friends, my family, everyone who’s stuck with me through tough times. Also, thanks to Indy and everyone for making this race happen. It’s a great feeling to be able to race so close to home, I enjoyed it. I gave the maximum today, I can’t say I left much on the table and that’s how it’s supposed to be. When they stopped the race it was pretty treacherous. It was the right thing to do. Conditions were really tough, especially with the winds because you’d be on a dry line and all of a sudden it’d blow you onto the wet. When they said we were going to do another eight laps, part of me thought ‘hey, let’s line back up and try again’. But I’m not leading the championship, so I’ve got nothing to worry about. A big thanks to the fans too, we only had to be out in the wet for an hour, they’ve been out there since Thursday. Jorge Lorenzo - 3rd: This is the first wet podium in my career, including the European, Spanish and even Mallorcan Championships! To be honest, I really didn’t want to leave my motorhome before the race because I was so warm and comfortable and I really don’t like to race in the rain, but today I think things have changed! I got a good start, which surprised me, and then I was able to pass Dani and then Valentino, which surprised me even more! I am so happy to finally discover that I can be fast in the rain as well. After Valentino passed me back I tried to follow him but he was a bit too fast so I concentrated on keeping my pace consistent, then the rain and especially the wind came and it was quite crazy! I was still fast though I closed the gap to Nicky, who I think had some problems by then, and maybe I could have passed him with some more laps but it was very dangerous and so better to stop the race. We are still not perfect but our bike and Michelin tyres were very good today so I want to thank Yamaha and Michelin again, and my team for their hard work. Well done to Valentino and I hope we can continue like this for the last four races. Casey Stoner - 4th: I think it was the right decision to stop the race because the conditions were really dangerous - more for the strong wind than the heavy rain, which made it difficult to keep the bike upright. I'm never going to be satisfied with fourth place but it would have been foolish to push harder in those conditions and I made the right decision not to do so. I got a good start but I quickly lost confidence because the rear tyre was tearing up quickly and by the time they stopped the race I was struggling to hold my lap times. Andrea Dovizioso - 5th: I am very pleased with the outcome of today, obtained under conditions that were – quite simply – incredible. We had intense rain and then a strong wind, which then led to the early conclusion of the race. It was very easy to make mistakes and ruin the race, but I started fast, as often happens with me, and I was quick to take the lead. In fact, in the beginning I wanted to stay in front of everyone. I gave the maximum today to earn the most points possible. The tyres worked well, but today the choice was difficult and we opted for a solution that gave us sufficient confidence. We must further improve with our tyres, and Michelin are working hard to be more efficient. I believe that in different climatic conditions, we could have also fought for the podium. Ben Spies - 6th: It was a good race today for me because my goal was to better my result at Laguna and I did that. I know that I had a fourth place bike today though because the crew had got it working great, but after 10 laps I couldn’t see anything through my visor and that was why I never made an attack because I had to follow the other guys around me to see where I was going – I think if I had lost them I would have got caught by everybody! I rode as hard as I could and ended the race with a good sixth place. I wish we could have done a bit better, but every time I’m getting on a GP bike I’m getting better results so who knows what’s to come! Sylvain Guintoli – 7th: Unfortunately I didn’t start well. I took too much time to warm up the new tyres but when I found a good feeling I have done a good comeback. If I would have started better I could have surely finish in a better position. I am anyway satisfied because I come from a race, in Misano, where I didn’t go so well and now I found back a good feeling with the bike. I hope to be able to improve even more in the last four races. Dani Pedrosa - 8th: That was a very tough race. I started quite cautiously and then I began to push harder, but in the mid-stages I wasn’t enough fast and I lost some time. Towards the end I found a good pace. Four or five laps before Race Direction stopped the race, the wind got really strong and there was a lot of dirt and debris getting blown on to the track. Finishing eighth is not a good result for me, but considering the conditions I couldn’t do any better. All in all, it has been an important weekend for us. We have gained a lot of experience in both wet and dry conditions which will help in the future, so we will keep working hard. The tyres worked well today and I’m feeling confident for the next race at Motegi in two weeks time. Chris Vermeulen - 9th: It was very difficult out there today and starting from 15th didn’t help. There was a lot of spray and a quicker line soon formed so it was very tricky when you moved off that to try and pass. I got through into the top-10 and felt like I had a bit more, but when I tried to push there was no more lap-time to come. I was then kind of stagnant with the guys from fourth place on and just couldn’t catch them. At the end the conditions got really bad and the wind was so strong things were blowing all over the place and it was getting a bit dangerous, so it was a good idea to stop the race even though it was a pity we didn’t go the full distance. So here’s to coming back here next year and doing a lot better! Alex De Angelis - 10th: Frankly I’m a little disappointed I expected to be very good in the wet today but my rear tyre went off very quickly. Maybe it was too hard for the conditions because the rear end was sliding a lot. After Friday’s wet practice I was very confident but today I could not go forward. Anthony West - 11th: I'm actually really disappointed because I was sure we could have achieved a much better result in the wet today. The track was cleared of standing water before the beginning of the race, and because I was so far back I had to really push hard to make up positions in the opening few laps. We got up to 10th place and I really felt we were capable of catching the riders ahead, but as the weather deteriorated so did the grip level left in my tyre, as I'd worked it so hard in the beginning, and we couldn't push any harder towards the end. From dead last on the grid eleventh isn't so bad, and given the weather we were up against, at least we were able to fight for what nearly was a top ten place. Toni Elias – 12th: I can remain positive because we have improved with this sort of track conditions. Surely the twelfth position isn’t the best but it went better than the previous occasions. A pity the race wasn’t dry: this morning during the warm up I felt really good and I could have fought with Valentino and Casey for the first three positions. I remain anyway trustful, we will surely have another possibility to do well in the next four races. Randy De Puniet - 13th: It was a tough day today. We started with a quite good warm up in the dry and we were optimistic for a dry race. But the conditions were very difficult before the start and I did not get a good start losing five places in the first lap. I struggled from the beginning with lack of grip both front and rear but I tried the best I could trying not to make any mistake. Overall I tried to survive the race and it’s not very clear why we had such a poor grip but we must find a solution for next race in Japan which can potentially be wet. John Hopkins - 14th: Warm-up this morning was dry and then the weather deteriorated not long before the race. We got a really good start, and we ran a fairly hard compound rear tyre as we thought a dry line might appear before the end of the race. This took a while to get up to temperature, so I rode quite steadily in the opening laps and unfortunately lost a few places. We got into a good rhythm and our lap times were good, but then the weather rapidly got worse. The rain we could deal with, but the wind was unbelievable, which made it hard to get the bike to change direction. There was a lot of debris all over the track and then the race was red-flagged. Overall 14th is certainly not where we wanted to finish, but in the dry we definitely made some improvements during qualifying and I hope we can put these to good use next time out in Japan. Colin Edwards - 15th: We spent too much time trying to make a new setting work, and because we’d had so much time on it we went for it in the race. But I couldn’t get the bike to turn. My tyres felt great and I didn’t have a problem with them at all, but I couldn’t carry any corner speed. I’d get into the corner and I kept running wide. The only way to fix that is to go slower so you can hold the line and it wasn’t really fun out there. I thought I’d got a good start and I got behind a couple of guys but everybody seemed to check up. They were right in front of me and the next thing I know, six guys are flying around the inside and outside of me. I was almost last by the second corner and I just put my head down to try and make some progress but I couldn’t do anything. It is disappointing because I’m not out there not trying and running around in fifteenth. I’m out there trying my absolute hardest. The conditions were unbelievable. There was all kinds of debris at the end and you didn’t know if it was gong to hit you because the wind was so unpredictable. It was a smart decision to stop it and maybe it could have come a lap or two earlier. Loris Capirossi - 16th: The whole weekend has been hard for me as I never found the best solution on the bike. During this morning’s warm-up the bike felt a bit better in the dry and we hoped the conditions would stay like that for the race - unfortunately the conditions were not only worse they were the worst I have ever ridden in! In the first corner someone pushed me wide and I was last and although I tried to fight back it was so difficult out there that I couldn’t really make any difference. I want to forget about this weekend, the race has now gone and I want to concentrate on the next event and make a good result for Suzuki and the team in Japan! Shinya Nakano - 17th: It was a very difficult race today because I started from the back of the grid and the conditions were terrible. I managed to pass a few riders in the first laps but I could not find a consistent pace. Towards the end I began to understand the conditions better and started to catch the others in front of me but they red flagged the race, it was the right decision. I’m disappointed because in the dry warm up this morning I was fourth fastest so I will keep that positive in mind as I prepare for my home race at Motegi in two weeks. James Toseland - 18th: I didn’t get off the line very well but I was a bit aggressive into the first turn and went round the outside and passed a few people. I felt pretty good but when it wasn’t raining and the track started to dry out, my lap times just stayed the same. And as it dried out everybody else got quicker and I couldn’t go any faster. It was spinning and obviously I was a bit too soft with the rear setting. I had the same tyre as Andrea Dovizioso, so it was obviously the setting. I know I was running a softer setting than Colin and Jorge. When it was quite wet at the start it was obviously pretty good, but as it dried out it was just spinning. When it rained again I found a bit of pace again and could so similar times to the people in front, but by that time I’d lost a lot of places. At the end the wind was unbelievable. And the problem was it wasn’t always in the same direction. It was totally unpredictable and it was gusting to the point where you had to anticipate something happening. They ran it for as long as they could but it was getting a bit hairy out there. It is a disappointing result but we’ll move onto Japan for the next race, where I am obviously hoping to give Yamaha a positive result. Marco Melandri - 19th: I'm really disappointed because after riding in the wet on Friday I was expecting a pretty good race today. As it happened I struggled to rediscover the same feeling, especially with the engine braking. I never had a good feel for the bike and there was no grip on the front or the rear. I couldn't ride it from the first lap and in conditions like that it is incredibly difficult.

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