The MotoGp race at Indy was a tad pedestrian but that’s not the fault of the series. There were many story lines heading into the race such as Casey Stoner’s injured ankle and Nicky Hayden’s absence from the grid due to a incident earlier in the weekend that saw him knocked unconscious. The circuit itself is tricky but certainly not a favorite on my list of fun tracks in MotoGP and perhaps it was destiny that Dani Pedrosa win his second Indy race but for me, the story of the weekend had to be Casey’s resolve in finishing the race with a fractured ankle and torn ligaments. A ride of courage given the champion announced his retirement at the end of the season.
As for the other story line, Ben Spies has been riddled with bad luck this season. So much bad luck that some fans consider there is some sort of conspiracy at work in the Yamaha garage. Spies was leading the race and fell back one spot to Pedrosa before his engine failed in a puff of white smoke.
I’ve become a MotoGP fan over time and while I do not follow the politics and inner-workings like our friends over at Motomatters.com, I do love the racing and watch every race. Dani Pedrosa, Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo all come to mind as riders who have recently rode with seriously beat up, bruised and broken bodies. They are truly made of iron and the series expects their heroes to play hurt. You could see the angst on Nicky Hayden’s face as he watched from the sidelines and there is no doubt the kid from Kentucky would much rather be riding than watching.
I know many motorcycle racing fans have told me to ditch MotoGP in favor of WSBK and I know that series is fun to watch but I can’t help myself from remaining loyal to MotoGP because it’s rides like Casey’s that remind me why I started watching in the first place. MotoGP has a nuance and fundamental character that permeates the series that I have not felt anywhere else. Having attended the race at indy, I can say that there is an undertow to the series that pulls you in and while WSBK may have that as well, I just haven’t the time to find out yet…I still have a job to do covering the opinion of Formula One and a man can only watch so many races.
As our own Grace pointed out, I do lament the lack of a pre-race show of the proportions that Laguna Seca saw on SPEED versus today’s race.
What were your story lines of the race weekend?
