Ducati Team focuses on Indianapolis GP
“This break served as an opportunity to make important decisions for the future, but now I want to return to thinking about the races because we want to improve and during the weekend it’s important to focus completely on what we have to do on the track. Indianapolis isn’t one of my favourite circuits, although I do have a win there. It’s a particular track because it’s one of those that goes in the opposite direction, so the lines are a bit strange in many of the corners. It’s a tricky track, but we’ll try to do our best and have fun.”
“Laguna was fun, but Indy is really my home GP, just across the state line from Kentucky. Hopefully we can do a good result. We struggled more at Laguna than I expected, but Indy is much faster, with more opportunities to open the throttle. It should be nice to ride that track on the 1000s, and it will be fun for the American fans to really get to see them in action. Last season, tyre wear was critical there, but hopefully the pavement will come in a bit better this year. I hope to be competitive starting on Friday, and I’ll definitely be disappointed if we don’t get the best result of the season so far.”
“The past month has been very intense for everyone, but now things are clearer. We can therefore concentrate on our work on the track as we continue to improve our bike so that Vale and Nicky can finish the season on an upward trend. Indianapolis is a challenging track laid out inside the famous oval for the 500, and it therefore features different types of asphalt, making for conditions that stress the tyres. It will be important to find a setup that makes it possible to take advantage of the hard tyres.”
Best Pole: Casey Stoner (Honda – 2011), 1:38.850 – 153.541 Km/h (95.406 mph)
Circuit Length: 4.216 km (2.620 mi)
2012 MotoGP Race: 28 laps (118.048 km/73.352 mi)
2012 MotoGP Schedule: 2:00 p.m. Local Time
2011 POLE: Casey Stoner (Honda), 1:38.850 – 153.541 Km/h (95.406 mph)
2011: 10th (Rossi)
2010: 6th (Hayden)
2009: 3rd (Hayden)
2008: 4th (Stoner)
Bike: Ducati Team Desmosedici GP12
Race number: 46
Age: 33 (born in Pesaro 16 February 1979)
Residence: Tavullia (Pesaro, Italy)
GPs: 268 (208 x MotoGP, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc)
First GP: Malaysian GP, 1996 (125cc)
Number of wins: 105 (79 x MotoGP, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc)
First GP win: Czech Republic GP, 1996 (125cc)
Poles: 59 (49 x MotoGP, 5 x 250cc, 5 x 125cc)
First Pole: Czech Republic GP, 1996 (125cc)
World Titles: 9 (6 x MotoGP, 1 x 500cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 125cc)
2011: 14th; Race, 10th
2010: Grid, 7th; Race, 4th
2009: Grid, 3rd; Race, DNF
2008: Grid, 1st; Race, 1st
Bike: Ducati Team Desmosedici GP12
Race number: 69
Age: 31 (born 30 July 1981 in Owensboro, Kentucky, USA)
Residence: Owensboro, Kentucky, USA
Number of GPs: 161 (161 x MotoGP)
First GP: Japanese GP, 2003 (MotoGP)
Number of wins: 3 (3 x MotoGP)
First GP win: USA GP, 2005 (MotoGP)
Poles: 5 (5 x MotoGP)
First Pole: USA GP, 2005 (MotoGP)
World Titles: 1 (MotoGP, 2006)
2011: 8th; Race, 14th
2010: Grid, 3rd; Race, 6th
2009: Grid, 6th; Race, 3rd
2008: Grid, 4th; Race, 2nd