By Paul Kelly
redbullindianapolisgp.com
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Event Schedule | Live Timing | Rider Preview Audio | IMS Tickets
EVENT: Grand Prix of Great Britain
WHERE: Donington Park, Castle Donington, England. Circuit is 2.5 miles (4.023 km), with 11 turns. Race is 30 laps.
WHEN: Sunday, June 22. It is the eighth of 18 events this season.
2007 RACE WINNER: Casey Stoner, by 11.768 seconds over Colin Edwards
2007 POLE WINNER: Colin Edwards, 1 minutes, 28.531 seconds
U.S. TV: 4-5 p.m. (ET), Sunday, June 22, Speed
THE AMERICANS: U.S. riders Colin Edwards (Houston, Yamaha Tech 3), Nicky Hayden (Owensboro, Ky., Repsol Honda Team), John Hopkins (Ramona, Calif., Kawasaki Racing Team) and Ben Spies (Longview, Texas, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP) will compete in this race. Edwards is fifth, Hayden ninth and Hopkins 12th in the MotoGP standings after seven races this season. Spies is making his MotoGP debut as a replacement for the injured Loris Capirossi.
•Colin Edwards: "I don't know what it is about Donington. It's always been like a second home, I guess. I have all kinds of friends and family that come to see the race. I just kind of get along good with the track. I always feel comfortable at Donington. At Donington, one of the most important things is braking. You have hard braking and trail braking in, and you can get underneath somebody."
•Nicky Hayden: "I'm quite excited about Donington. I hope I'll be able to use the pneumatic-valve engine. But we'll see what the decision is; we'll go with what the team says. The weather can be a big issue at Donington - it can do anything. The track itself is almost like two tracks. The first bit is awesome. You've got to be brave through Craner; you need some guts because it's pretty exciting down through there. I quite like it if the bike is working good. The last bit of the track is a lot of hard braking. No matter how good you hit the first part of the track, if you can't get through the two little hairpins at the end of the lap, it kills your lap times. The two sections are completely different, so it's a compromise with the setup. What works through the first part can be a bit different to what works through the last part, so it's not an easy track for the suspension guys and the chassis guys."
•John Hopkins: "Following the Catalunya race, we had a one-day test where I rode as many laps as I could with the back injury I sustained in practice. This brought a few positive results before I headed over to England, where I've spent time visiting family and friends with (wife) Ashleigh. In the lead up to the last two races, I had been training very hard, so thankfully I haven't lost any fitness, which is always a problem when carrying injuries, and I've had the chance to rest to help the healing process. I'm still very stiff and sore, but Donington Park is like a home away from home, and it's a track I definitely enjoy. For me, the British Grand Prix is one of the biggest races of the season, with many members of my family coming to support me, and regardless of my injury, I'll be looking to gain a strong result aboard the Kawasaki."
•Ben Spies: "I was excited that my first GP was to be at Laguna Seca in the States, but I'm now more excited by this. I think this will be a good thing for me to start out at Donington; it is a track I don't know so I have no pressure. I haven't done any testing on the bike or with race and qualifying tires so I am not really expected to do anything much, so I can just go out there and learn how everything works and enjoy the event. This will be good for when we get back to the wild-card races in Laguna and Indianapolis because I know those tracks and I'll have some knowledge of the bike and be able to put my head down and go for it there. This is great for me to get the chance, but it is in an unfortunate way that I am there because of the injury to Loris (Capirossi), and I wish him all the best on a full recovery. I hope I can represent everybody really good and just want to go out there and have some fun!"
THEY SAID IT: "The atmosphere at Donington is different, not as Latin as the last two races. The crowd seems to be much more enthusiastic about motorcycling in general rather than just supporting individual riders." - Repsol Honda Team rider Dani Pedrosa
FAST FACTS: There will be a fourth American on the MotoGP grid this weekend, as two-time reigning AMA Superbike champion Ben Spies will race for the Rizla Suzuki MotoGP team as a replacement for Loris Capirossi, who suffered a broken right hand in the Catalunya Grand Prix on June 8. Spies, 23, from Longview, Texas, won AMA Superbike titles in 2006 and 2007 while riding for the Yoshimura Suzuki factory team. He leads the series standings after 11 rounds this season, with seven victories. He also will compete as a wild-card rider for Suzuki at the Red Bull Indianapolis GP on Sept. 14 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix on July 20 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif. ... This is a home race of sorts for American rider John Hopkins, who holds dual citizenship from the United States and the United Kingdom. Hopkins' parents were born in Great Britain … American Colin Edwards has enjoyed more success at Donington Park than any other MotoGP circuit. "The Texas Tornado" has four top-six finishes at Donington, including second in 2004 and 2007 … A British rider never has won his home Grand Prix at Donington. British riders James Toseland (MotoGP), and Scott Redding, Bradley Smith and Danny Webb (125cc) will race this weekend at Donington … It's been 130 races since a British rider finished on the podium in the MotoGP category. Jeremy McWilliams was third in 2000 at Donington … Points leader Valentino Rossi has five MotoGP-class victories at Donington Park, in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005. He placed fourth last season, his first finish off the podium at Donington in his MotoGP career … Rossi will make his 200th Grand Prix start this weekend, including all classes of competition. He debuted in the 125cc class in 1996 … The 125cc and 250cc classes also compete this weekend. American Stevie Bonsey, from Salinas, Calif., is 11th in the 125cc standings for the DeGraaf Grand Prix team.
***
Red Bull Indianapolis GP tickets: Tickets are on sale for the inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP on Sept. 14, 2008.
Tickets can be purchased either online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com at any time; on the phone by calling (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area or (317) 492-6700 locally between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday; or visiting the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Ticket Office on the first floor of the IMS Administration Building at 4790 W. 16th St. in Indianapolis from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
All tickets for this event are three-day tickets, with both reserved and general admission seating available.
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