INDIANAPOLIS — Valentino Rossi will never forget his first motorcycle race in Indianapolis.
Yes, the 30-year-old Italian won last year’s rain-shortened event, surviving the gusty winds that sent debris flying across the track’s road course. The poor conditions forced competitors to play it safe rather than push the limits — not the way MotoGP organizers wanted to introduce new fans to the sport.
So Rossi, the six-time world champion and current points leader, wants to show Midwestern fans what real international motorcycle racing is like.
“If we have good weather (Sunday), all the people, all the crowd will see another type of show,” Rossi said before Friday’s first practice session. “This track is great, especially because the surface has an incredible grip. We also have some different surfaces during the lap. So I think if we have sun it is a lot more enjoyment than last year.”
Unfortunately for competitors, the rain returned Friday.
It started during a practice round for one of circuit’s developmental series, and a steady, light rain persisted while the headliner riders spent an hour fine-tuning their equipment. Spain’s Dani Pedrosa, fourth in the points this season, posted the fastest lap on a day rooster tails were commonplace. The Repsol Honda rider finished 2.621-mile course in 1 minute, 51.07 seconds, 84.58 mph.
Rossi, the defending race winner and early favorite, was third. He turned the lap in 1:51.814.
Weather has dominated the talk at the track.
Forecasters are calling for sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-70s for Saturday’s qualifying and partly cloudy skies with temperatures in the low 60s are expected for Sunday’s race. The best news: Zero percent chance of rain Sunday.
If it actually plays out that way, the competitors will finally have an opportunity to make a better second impression.
“Last year was difficult for everybody on the track, but it looks like this year it’s going to be better,” Pedrosa said. “So we hope we can have the three races this time and the fans can enjoy all the classes.”
The big question is whether Rossi will be as dominant in good conditions at Indy as he was in the rain.
Last year, Rossi posted the best speed in practice, won the pole and beat American Nicky Hayden by nearly six seconds before the remnants of Hurricane Ike stopped the race early.
This season, Rossi has won five of the first 11 races and holds a 50-point lead over Fiat Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo, of Spain. Rossi also has won five poles this season and won the series’ most recent race in the Czech Republic.
He has enough experience to know what it takes to win — rain or shine.
“When there’s a lot of rain, there’s a big amount of water on the track, and it’s quite dangerous,” Rossi said. “This track is funny, and a good way from dry. Everybody hopes for a good condition after the bad condition of last year.”
American fans will be following Hayden, the 2006 world champion who competes for the Ducati Team and lives about three hours away in Owensboro, Ky. The only other American expected to make the field is Houston’s Colin Edwards of Monster Yamaha Tech 3.
Both have higher expectations, for themselves and the spectators this year.
“Apart from the weather and the cooler styrofoam lids flowing across the track and tents falling over, I think everybody was pretty surprised how many people did show up,” Edwards said. “This should be should be a lot better.”
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