Moving the Earth for MotoGP at Indy
Construction began today at North America's most famous track in order to accomodate MotoGP's second United States Grand Prix, which will take place at the famous Brickyard on September 14, 2008 (the USGP hits Laguna Seca July 18-20, 2008.) The new 16-turn, counterclockwise road course will run 2.601 miles, and is scheduled to be completed in time for opening day of the 92nd Indianapolis 500 in early May.
In a press release, IMS President and COO Joie Chitwood said with a bit of tongue-in-cheek understatement, "Our motorcycle event is Sept. 14, 2008, and we have a little event called the Indy 500 in May and you really can't work on anything in May." Modifications to the pre-existing 2.66 mile road course include the addition of a four-turn section intended to add a little excitement to the competition.
Tracks don't get much more iconic than Indianapolis, and Indy's addition to the '08 season will certainly further elevate MotoGP's awareness stateside.
Comments
Indy isn’t _replacing_ Laguna, it’s _in_addition_ to Laguna. So, you don’t have to miss the corkscrew unless you want to.
Ron, you’re right! Indy will replace the Turkish GP… thanks for catching that.
This is going to be really good for the sport. The exposure will be great with two events. Seca is famous for motorcycles, but Indy, well, that’s going to bring a whole new crowd to the sport.