In less than one week, MotoGP riders will take to the Indianapolis MotoGP circuit for the second annual Red Bull Indianapolis GP. We can all pray that this year’s weather will be better!
(Silence)
OK, MotoGP was on its “summer vacation” in late July and early August, and both Nicky Hayden and Colin Edwards have been able to kick back a bit back home in the States. Nicky’s been off his game this season, but Edwards recorded a podium in July at Donington and could earn his first MotoGP victory at Indianapolis.
Check out Colin’s message to fans about this season and the Red Bull Indianapolis GP by clicking here.
But to win at Indy, he’ll have to outpace the Fiat Yamaha riders Rossi and Lorenzo. It seems that the two of them have owned the field in each outing this season. In Brno, especially, you could see how competitive the teammates are when Rossi pressured Lorenzo into a wipeout under braking. It’s racing, good racing!
Over the next week, the IMS staff will place the final touches on the race course. Just a month ago, 43 NASCAR Sprint Cup cars and drivers competed 400 miles on the oval. Next week, three classes of world elite riders will compete on the road course.
Leading up to the event, the festivities will be aplenty. Motorcycles on Meridian downtown and XBL freestyle stunt shows in nearby Broad Ripple Village on Friday and Saturday night, AMA Flat Track racing Saturday night at the Indiana State Fairgrounds and three full days of activity on at IMS, with all sorts of cool stuff happening on and off the track.
Tickets are still available at imstix.com!
Jarrod
Finally, a few days off. The IndyCar Series takes its first weekend off in four weeks, and it’s much deserved. For most in the “traveling circus”, the weekend off is time to catch up with family, friends and sleep.
The same is said for the MotoGP paddock, as well. It started at Assen then a weekend off, Laguna, Sachsenring, Donington Park followed by a few weeks before and after Brno. It’s a grueling schedule across large bodies of sea! This is the most tiring stretch of races for all three classes in MotoGP. Luckily for Red Bull Indianapolis GP fans, the riders will be well rested before they hit the bricks at IMS on Aug. 28-30.
On Wednesday, July 15, I took a stroll over to the IMS Hall of Fame Museum to check out the eagerly anticipated Alpinestars line of Red Bull Indianapolis GP clothing. It’s a fair amount of articles ranging from T’s to hoodies for both men and women.
Here are my picks!
1) Vintage Inspired T with Indianapolis Motor Speedway and a Picture of Nicky on the Vintage Indian.
2) Black AStars Hoodie (I like)
3) Black and White Petite polo(Women’s)
4) Flat Billed AStars hat
5) Black Woven Crew Shirt (I like)
I couldn’t resist the crew shirt and hoodie. I wanted to get the entire line, but I figured it would be a little much to be head-to-toe event gear. Perhaps I could get a few pieces for writing this blog?
Most don’t know but Red Bull is extremely sensitive with their brand being associated with other brands. This is a very unique line of clothing that blends Alpinestars(the official clothing line of MotoGP), Red Bull, MotoGP and the IMS Centennial Logo all on great-looking products.
All of these products are available at the IMS Online Store and Hall of Fame Museum Gift Shop. Act fast, though, because the gear is flying off the shelves. Seriously, I had to order my size!
Buy tickets for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard!
Jarrod
What did you think of the first MotoGP race of the season?
Qatar is a cool track, especially under the lights. I was pretty proud of Nicky for doing as well as he did considering his massive high-side in qualifying. I was also impressed by Colin Edwards. He looks like he may be able to contend for the podium each week and perhaps a win if he plays the race properly.
But no, not even The Doctor could beat Stoner. For a guy who “may not have been able to race again” due to his weird hand injury, I was extremely impressed with his ability to not only kick Hayden’s rear, but he was able to be even more dominating after his career-threatening surgery!
While the festivities were happening halfway around the world, I was celebrating a Easter weekend with the family, and my Honda CRF 250x! I’m not exactly sure how I convinced my wife to let me sneak down to Lawrence County Rec. Park in southern Indiana on Easter weekend, but I did.
Just Phil and I went down, but it was well worth it. I was pretty surprised on how many people weren’t there. When we arrived at 11 a.m., there were only five other trailers! It couldn’t have been a better day, about 68 and sunny! I guess its good news for us, considering it’s an easy day trip to take the motos down there.
Here are a few highlights of the trip:
1. Phil the sinking tug boat! Click to watch.
2. Jarrod, overly excited about making it through a mini-pond. I swear, after watching Nitro Circus, I should have just hauled mail and skipped across the top. Click to watch.
3. Jarrod climbing through the mud, rocks and tree stumps. Click to watch.
It was fun. This week I am off to Long Beach for the Toyota Grand Prix IndyCar Series race. Watch it on VERSUS Saturday and Sunday!
Jarrod
We are officially on the road for the “Man Trip.”
This all started when my wife “purchased” a cabin for me and my friends to stay at so we could go dirt biking in the mountains in Tennessee.
I use the term “purchased” very loosely because I found out today that our trip was not confirmed. But because I love my wife and took her for better or worse, the mistake was made by the people at Ride Royal Blue. However, in all of the confusion, RideRoyalBlue.com has been more than gracious and is hooking us up with free breakfast.
Last night Phil and Taj (those of you that have seen the movie “Van Wilder” will understand this reference, well actually you will not because Taj is not Indian nor tan, but it is the nickname he got in college and it stuck so well there are people who still do not know his first or last name) loaded the trailer with two ATV’s, two dirt bikes and a ton of gear. We are very prepared.
Currently we are on I-275. There are there are two Chevys, two trailers, seven guys, four ATV’s, two dirt bikes, one gator, four cases of beer, three half-gallons of whiskey, four empty bags of Wendy’s, two empty sugar-free Red Bull cans, and the back window is whistling everything but Dixie.
The next time you hear from us, it will either be from a hospital or we will be posting videos and pictures. Wish us luck!
Jarrod
P.S.: It is finally nice to see Nicky show some speed on the Ducati. Go Nicky!
First off. Find me on Twitter at TheRideIndyGP and find me on Facebook at Jarrod Krisiloff. I do my best to give sneak peaks to my blogs on Facebook and of little snippets of my daily life 140 characters at a time on Twitter. While I’m fairly proficient in the social Web world, I have to say that I am not one who actively participates in it.
Before I get into my life, let’s talk about Stoner and Hayden making the podium at the annual Madonna Di Campiglio press event in northern Italy. The 2009 launch event features Scuderia Ferrari drivers and Ducati Corse riders in a combined press event on the slopes of northern Italy. Stoner won the karting event, F1 championship runner-up Massa was second, and Red Bull Indianapolis GP runner-up Nicky Hayden was third.
Last weekend was a big weekend. Not for riding, but for motorcycles. Well, maybe it wasn’t a big weekend, but I certainly got my moto crave for the year.
Last year I spent at least a day a week on my Tiger throughout the winter. No thanks to this years snowy, figg’n cold and wet winter, I’ve been grounded on four wheels. As I mentioned in my last e-mail, my wife purchased a trip for me and my “bros” on what we are calling “The Man Trip.” The Man Trip is going to take place in early March at RideRoyalBlue.com. She picked up the Redneck Lodge for me and five buddies. So, armed with two motos and two quads, we have a solid group of guys that can’t wait for the trip.
Since the trip is getting close and I’ve been off my bikes for quite awhile, I felt that it was time to take a few minutes to fire them up. My Triumph Tiger started right up. By the way my son, Van, absolutely loves my Tiger. Every time we walk down to the garage, he points and grunts. From what I can tell…That means start it up!
Anyway, so last weekend me, Bobby Wilson (bobbywilsonracing.com) and my buddy Phil went over to our shop and fired up the Scrambler, which took forever. Finally she fired and growled for warm air. Once we cleaned the Scrambler, it was on to the dirt bikes.
Phil’s Honda 230F fired up pretty easily - it has an electric start - and my Suzuki 250 took a little time. I swear I kicked 50 times before I finally got it running. Once it was fired up, it was a wheelie machine! So cold (20F), yet so much fun. The three of us wheeled the bikes on to our trailer and headed over to Dreyer for a little 2009 tune-up. Both Phil and I had a list of items that needed to be done so that we could be sure that we got to enjoy every bit of the 430 miles of trails at Ride Royal Blue.
Here is my list:
1. New rear tire…no wonder I can do donuts on any surface!
2. New rear brakes…I never really examined my brakes considering the bike is still new to me, but I had about a Band Aid’s worth of pad left. Time for a change.
3. Bark Busters…OK, I’m not the strongest guy or the best dirt rider yet so I figured that bark busters would be a good idea in case I drop or crash my bike.
4. Overall tune-up…fluids, air filter, etc., because I’m too lazy to do it.
5. Flywheel weight…I have the RMZ 250, and I’m not the best rider YET! So its really important to not stall my bike through slow-moving trails. Do you know how tiring it is to kick-start your bike every five minutes? The flywheel weight essentially helps the flywheel rotate at low RPM. This is key when trail riding since you are stopping and going, grabbing controls, putting your foot down, etc.
I have to also give a plug to Chelsea at Dreyer. She’s always helpful and knows her stuff. The entire time Bobby was trying to act like he knew what I should do because he is a karting genius. Yo, driver, I have a dirt bike, not a go-kart. When I got out of the shop, I told him that Chelsea was a bad-ass dirt biker and has more hardware in her body then he could ever dream of (broken arms, pelvis, etc.). She’s pretty much a bad ass on two wheels.
Well, that’s the update. March can’t come quick enough! Tomorrow we have a meeting with Red Bull to discuss this year’s Red Bull Indianapolis GP. Of course, I can’t tell you everything, but I will slip a few insider comments for next week’s blog.
Stay tuned, stay warm.
P.S.: I had great customer service at mxsouth.com.
Jarrod
The holiday season is over! The second for the little guy and the first as an official family. The downside, much like the economy, is the frigid cold weather that has kept me off of my motos.
The only “moto-related” news on a personal level is that my wife, Megan, purchased a cabin for me and a few of my buddies for a weekend in Tennessee at a powersports park. Essentially she willingly suggested that me and a few of my friends go attempt to kill ourselves in the mountains of Tennessee … something smells fishy. I’m not going to complain, and I am looking forward to it. From what I recall, it’s quite nice in March in Tennessee.
In other news, the motorcycle world is finally being affected by the global automotive, financial and economic crisis. Kawasaki has withdrawn from MotoGP in 2009. We’ve already seen Honda cancel their factory teams in F1 and U.S. Superbike, Subaru and Suzuki ended their World Rally teams, and NASCAR teams are in a merging frenzy!
It will be interesting to see what happens with Kawasaki riders John Hopkins and Marco Melandri, and I’m also curious to see the direction MotoGP will take. Could MotoGP be headed in an F1 mindset of controlling costs? Who knows?
On a positive note, Ducati is not pulling out, which means that a factory team filled with World Champions Nicky Hayden and Casey Stoner will compete at the Red Bull Indianapolis GP on Aug. 28-30 at IMS. Former Valentino Rossi archrival Sete Gibernau is back in MotoGP in 2009 with a satellite Ducati team. 250cc standout Mika Kallio is climbing to MotoGP this season, on another Ducati satellite team. He was a force to be reckoned with in 250cc. If nothing else, Kallio has the best save EVER, last year at Phillip Island!
Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSCuuTa6y-c
I have to say that was an amazing ride. Mika walked away from this one, but Sete, who is returning after a massive crash with Ducati, is racing for the factory-backed Spanish Team Onde 2000. If you didn’t know, or haven’t heard, Sete took a lick’n a few years ago. Here’s the crash: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P4StMtpa9I
Stay tuned. Regardless of Kawasaki’s departure, there will be plenty of action this season. Cross your fingers for a mild hurricane season!
Jarrod
Last week you saw that I got to take a few solo laps around the track. Besides Nicky, I am the only one that has put solo laps in on the new track, well at least above 30 mph.After chatting with the “PR GOD” who reminds me to write this blog each week, he had mentioned that I need to elaborate a bit more about the experience. After all, I am one of two people that have been on the racetrack on a motorbike by myself. Technically, that puts me in the same category as Nicky Hayden!
So here it is, a turn-by-turn, straight-by-straight analysis by a motorcycle rider that is by no means a motorcycle racing expert.
1. Starting at the Bricks …
As I went through the gears, I was thinking I am going to get some here and at least go full throttle through all gears. Earlier in the day, Nicky was braking at about the third row of the Formula One grid, so I thought that it would be a good place for me to let off the throttle. The difference was that I didn’t rush back to the throttle to power through the “courage” corner of the racetrack.
2. Turn 1 tech …
What I really like about the traditional Turn 1 section of the racecourse is that you have a fast left-hander that will require a tight exit so that you can set yourself up for the double-apex right handers. Again, you have to exit tight so that you can get a clean corner leading on to the “traditional short chute.” This section is going to be quite nice because you will see several different approaches to the turns. In a race situation, there will be quicker ways through this section that may provide passing opportunities but will sacrifice the overall lap time, for sure.
3. Sweeper, decreasing radius, lazy esses, Hulman Boulevard …
It will be important to get a strong run coming out of Turn 4 because the next section is a time section and is one of the least likely places that you will see passing, but it will definitely be a place where riders will set up an outbraking maneuver in Turn 10 at the end of Hulman Boulevard. Turn 5 is a power-down sweeper that leads to a decreasing radius turn that is going to require a semi-tight exit so you can flow through the lazy esses. This area is going to be extremely important because the MotoGP bikes will draft down Hulman Boulevard. By the way, Nicky wasn’t kidding when he said that Turn 5 was deceiving — it really tightens up!
4. Hulman Boulevard, Traditional Turn 4 Infield …
All right, after the curvy technical section of the racetrack where I was scared, let’s get in to the sweeping section of the track. That’s right, I said scared. You would be, too, if you saw how many people were still waiting for Nicky to run a few more laps. They were all probably thinking, “Who in the world is this yo-yo?” Naaa, they probably knew it was Jarrod Krisiloff, “The Ride” blogger …
… Back to the track. Turn 10 is semi-fast and really doesn’t require a tight exit because because 11 is a patience carousel-style hairpin. In this corner, it’s important to get a clean exit for the next three corners, which are all left-handers. I look at these as like tokens in a video game. About as textbook as it gets: You hit the corner apex, drift out to the right side of the track and hit the next, and repeat. This is a fun section that almost feels like the bike takes control as you hang off your seat.
5. 15 and 16 …
After the “PlayStation” section of the track are Turns 15 and 16. A quick right-hander into a tight-tight-tight left-hander back on to the frontstretch. If you have seen my ride video, it doesn’t look that difficult because it appears that there is a lot of track on which to to accelerate. Wait, come race time the exit is going to be much tighter to keep the riders off the wall. After you get through the “PlayStation” portion, the rider is going to be faced with a “S”-like section that leads to the most important part of the track, the front stretch. In the “Traditional Turn 4″ portion of the track, a rider can make huge gains in Turns 15 and 16 down the straightaway through Turn 1.
That’s my lap around the track. Next week I hope to have a few videos from my new bike camera — that is sweet!
Ride safe.
JK
Last Friday, I got an e-mail from the company that said this …
“We would like to invite you to participate in the first track lap on the new MotoGP track. This will be done in association with the Nicky Hayden Historic 1st Lap that is taking place on April 7th.
A select group of people from the community will meet at the base of the Pagoda around 10:30am and the track lap will be at approximately 11am. Please bring your bike and park in the oval track garage area (you will see the other bikes parked there). We will be finished no later than 11:45am. Please let me know if you have any questions or if there is another rider within the company who needs an invitation.
Thank you,
Ellie”
I had been out of the office for quite a few days, so I was extremely excited about this particular e-mail. After arriving late on Sunday night and waking up early, I couldn’t wait to fire up my bike and head to the office. I sat there at my desk, anxiously awaiting 10:30 so that I could head over to the frontstretch for this ride. Then at about 9:45, I got a phone call from IMS Senior VP Mel Harder, and he asked when I was coming over to the track because he wanted me to lead the ride! I said, “I can come over whenever you want me to.”
I was honored and pumped, and jumped on my bike and rode on over to the garage area, dismounted and walked to the pagoda, where there was a large group of riders anxiously awaiting the opportunity to hit the track.
The ride was a lot of fun; I wasn’t the very first rider because even I couldn’t be trusted to keep a safe pace, so they put two of Indianapolis’s finest at the head of the field. When the ride was over, three of us went out to Rick’s Boatyard and enjoyed a nice lunch.
Later that day, I sent Mel another text message thanking him for putting the ride together and asked him when I could come over and do some laps at a decent pace (above 30 mph). He quickly responded, “How about 3:30, when Nicky is done?” I responded, “I’ll be there!”
I searched around the office for some cameras and found a small camera that was perfect to mount on my bike. I got it all fixed up and headed over to the track.
Once I got there, Mel and IMS engineering chief Kevin Forbes asked how many laps I was going to take, and I said “I don’t know, until I get bored.” Kevin quickly responded, “One lap?” I responded back, “No way, at least three!”
I really didn’t realize that Forbes’s crew was set to convert the track back to the traditional oval for the world’s biggest race, but I figured that “The Ride” blog deserved serious content!
The laps were awesome. I was extremely timid for the first lap since I hadn’t been on my bike in a while, and I wanted to be sure not to eat it. To be honest, it was my first time on a motorcycle on an actual racetrack, so I wasn’t exactly confident. Each lap I got a little braver but still kept a conservative pace.
So where’s the video? The video player actually ran out of battery so I didn’t get a thing. Sucka! Click here to watch the video. Enjoy.