By Paul Kelly
redbullindianapolisgp.com
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Live Timing | Event Schedule | IMS Tickets
EVENT: Grand Prix of San Marino
WHERE: Misano World Circuit, Misano Adriatico, Italy. Circuit is 2.597 miles (4.180 km), with 15 turns. Race is 28 laps.
WHEN: Sunday, Aug. 31. It is the 13th of 18 events this season.
2007 RACE WINNER: Casey Stoner, by 4.851 seconds over Chris Vermeulen
2007 POLE WINNER: Casey Stoner, 1 minute, 33.918 seconds
U.S. TV: 11 p.m.-midnight (ET), Sunday, Aug. 31, SPEED
THE AMERICANS: U.S. riders Colin Edwards (Houston, Yamaha Tech 3), Nicky Hayden (Owensboro, Ky., Repsol Honda Team) and John Hopkins (Ramona, Calif., Kawasaki Racing Team) will compete in this race. Hopkins missed the Grand Prix of Czech Republic on Aug. 17 due to a heel injury. Edwards is sixth, Hayden eighth and Hopkins 17th in the MotoGP standings after 12 races this season.
•Colin Edwards: "Misano is weird. It used to be great. I liked it the way it was. It was a left, left, left kind of a dirt-track style. It's hard once you've done something one way and then you try to change your mind and say, 'OK, now you're running it backward.' You always tend to find the faults when you're running it backward. But it's OK. It's kind of a little go-kart track. It's just in a nice location."
•Nicky Hayden: "I had hoped my progress would be quicker. I still need crutches at this stage, but unless something goes south I definitely plan on trying to ride. I've been seeing doctors, and I'm going to get something molded to wear in my boot. I've been doing some training in the pool and a few things at the gym, nothing too crazy. Misano is almost a Laguna without the hills. It's a tight little scrappy track where you need a bike you can be aggressive with. I enjoyed it last year, but I'd just as soon they flipped it back around and go the old direction for those big lefts that used to go on to the back straightaway. I remember seeing the old 500s guys riding those on TV."
•John Hopkins: "We had a positive weekend in Brno following my return to the track after a long absence through injury, and we managed to put the Kawasaki on the front row. Although I didn't quite achieve the result we were hoping for, Anthony (West) got into the top five, which just shows that the Kawasaki is improving all of the time and is capable of gaining good results. I really enjoy the Misano circuit. I managed to get on the podium there last year, so it's certainly a track I like. I've spent the last week in Miami resting and training just to give the injuries that I am still carrying the best possible time to recuperate, so I'm feeling stronger and ready to achieve the results we are more than capable of."
THEY SAID IT: "I'm certainly excited to be getting back out there with the boys because I hated missing Brno. I've been doing all the old 'voodoo' stuff they tell you to do: bone stimulators, lasers, ultrasound, all that stuff, I'm doing everything possible to get back." - 2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda Team about his recovery from a heel injury that caused him to miss the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic on Aug. 17.
FAST FACTS: This is the last event before the inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP on Sept. 14 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway … Points leader Valentino Rossi can tie the record for the most MotoGP/500cc career victories with a win at this event. Rossi has 67 career wins at the top flight, just one less than Italian legend Giacomo Agostini … Misano is the only circuit, other than series debutant Indianapolis Motor Speedway, at which Rossi is winless in either 500cc or MotoGP … Rizla Suzuki MotoGP rider Loris Capirossi will set a record for the most starts in World Championship history, 277, if he is on the grid for this race. Capirossi is now tied with Alex Barros at 276 starts … If Capirossi finishes in the top three at Misano, it will be the 100th podium finish of his Grand Prix career … Rossi and Shinya Nakano are the only MotoGP riders to have scored at all 12 races this season. Rossi leads the points; Nakano is ninth … American John Hopkins finished third at this event last year, one of his four podium finishes in 2007 … The 125cc and 250cc classes also compete this weekend. American Stevie Bonsey, from Salinas, Calif., is 13th in the 125cc standings for the DeGraaf Grand Prix team … Just 1.249 seconds separated the top five finishers in the 250cc class last year at this event.
***
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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