Indianapolis 2010
AS EXPECTED, BEN SPIES HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED AS JORGE LORENZO'S TEAM-MATE AT YAMAHA NEXT YEAR, REPLACING VALENTINO ROSSI WHO WILL MOVE TO DUCATI TO PARTNER NICKY HAYDEN FOLLOWING CASEY STONER'S MOVE TO HONDA. WHETHER OR NOT BEN'S CURRENT TECH-3 YAMAHA WAS UPGRADED TO FACTORY SPECIFICATION FOR THIS RACE WAS NOT ANNOUNCED BUT HE PULED OFF A CRACKING QUALIFYING RIDE BY TAKING POLE POSITION - OFFICIALLY STILL A ROOKIE!
HE GOT A GOOD START ON SUNDAY IN FRONT OF HIS HOME CROWD AN KEPT THAT POSITION WHILST THE FIELD SORTED THEMSELVES OUT. JORGE HAD GOT BOXED IN AT THE START AND IT TOOK HIM A WHILE BEFORE HE WAS ABLE TO START CHALLENGING. BUT IT WAS DANI PEDROSA WHO PROVIDED THE MAIN CHALLENGE TO SPIES AND AFTER A FEW LAPS HE WAS ABLE POWER PAST THE AMERICAN.
THE DUCATIS SUFFERED VARIOUS PROBLEMS - NICKY'S KNEE-SLIDER CAME ADRIFT AND DANGLED FROM HIS LEATHERS FOR THE WHOLE RACE. CASEY STONER SUFFERED YET MORE FRONT-END PROBLEMS, DESPITE HAVING CHANGED THE SHOCK-ABSORBERS YET AGAIN, AND EVENTUALLY HE SLID OFF AND OUT OF THE RACE. THE BUMPS AND CRACKS ON THIS TRACK ARE REACHING DANGEROUS PROPORTIONS - RIDERS FROM ALL THREE CLASSES WERE CRASHING CONTINUALLY ALL WEEKEND AND IT WAS ONLY BY GOOD FORTUNE THAT THERE WERE NO LIFE-THREATENING INJURIES.
VALENTINO HIMSELF CRASHED THREE TIMES DURING FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, SOMETHING UNHEARD OF. IN THE RACE, HE STAYED UPRIGHT BUT PERHAPS HE HAD TO BE ULTRA CAUTIOUS IN VIEW OF HIS HEALING, BROKEN LEG BONES BECAUSE HE LOOKED A LITTLE SUBDUED DURING THE RACE. EVEN JORGE FOUND IT HARD WORK AND I THINK THEY WILL ALL BE GLAD TO RETURN TO EUROPE NEXT WEEK
SO DANI TOOK HIS 3RD WIN THIS SEASON - SOMETHING HE HAS NOT ACHIEVED SINCE STEPPING UP TO MOTOGP. BEN CAME A FINE SECOND AND JORGE PLAYED THE PERCENTAGE GAME AND SETTLED FOR A CERTAIN 3RD PLACE. THIS WAS HIS WORST FINISH OF THE SEASON! HE STILL HOLDS A 68-POINT LEAD OVER DANI, WHO SEEMS TO BE THE ONLY RIDER LEFT WHO COULD MOUNT A CHALLENGE IF JORGE SLIPS UP.
STARTING GRID
| | | | | |
| 1.
|
Ben Spies
|
| 2.
|
Jorge Lorenzo
|
| 3.
|
Nicky Hayden
|
| 4.
|
Andrea Dovizioso
|
| 5.
|
Dani Pedrosa
|
| 6.
|
Casey Stoner
|
| 7.
|
Valentino Rossi
|
| 8.
|
Marco Simoncelli
|
| 9.
|
Colin Edwards
|
| 10.
|
Loris Capirossi
|
| 11.
|
Alvaro Bautista
|
| 12.
|
Marco Melandri
|
| 13.
|
Hiroshi Aoyama
|
| 14.
|
Aleix Espargaro
|
| 15.
|
Mika Kallio
|
| 16.
|
Hector Barbera
|
| 17.
|
Randy de Puniet
|
RESULT
| |
| 1.
|
Dani Pedrosa
|
| 2.
|
Ben Spies
|
| 3.
|
Jorge Lorenzo
|
| 4.
|
Valentino Rossi
|
| 5.
|
Andrea Dovizioso
|
| 6.
|
Nicky Hayden
|
| 7.
|
Marco Simoncelli
|
| 8.
|
Alvaro Bautista
|
| 9.
|
Aleix Espargaro
|
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Riders :
| |
| Jorge Lorenzo
|
251
|
| Dani Pedrosa
|
183
|
| Andrea Dovizioso
|
126
|
| Casey Stoner
|
119
|
| Valentino Rossi
|
114
|
| Ben Spies
|
110
|
| Nicky Hayden
|
109
|
| Randy de Puniet
|
78
|
| Marco Simoncelli
|
63
|
Constructors :
|
| Yamaha
|
260
|
| Honda
|
220
|
| Ducati
|
159
|
| Suzuki
|
56
|
Race Results posted by
David Little
30th August 2010
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