Preview - Indy MotoGP 2010
The Moto GP season is heading towards its climax and the leading riders in the world are geared up for another enthralling battle as the races reach the American city of Indianapolis.
There is a heated race for the title of world champion and some of the big names in the sport are lining up for the battle.
The favourite for the event is two-times reigning champion on American soil Jorge Lorenzo of Spain; the leader of the pack is geared up for the event this year to claiming that he was happy to be racing at Indianapolis this weekend.
Lorenzo won the race in the United States held last year at Laguna Seca in July, the rider who rides for the Fiat Yamaha has taken the lead in the championship by all of 77 points from his nearest rival Dani Pedrosa, who is also looking forward to racing on one of his favourite circuits ever.
"We come here to a track that I love, in 2008 we had a lot of rain and very hard conditions, and I made my first podium in rain in my career and last year I won. It's always very positive that MotoGP comes here to America and I'm happy for that," he said.
The local hopes would be pinned on Nicky Hayden who is placed at the sixth spot in the championship standings for this year.
The track is only a few hours from the home of the American player, who is based in Kentucky.
The venue has been a happy hunting ground for the Ducati rider who has revelled here over the years. He finished at the second spot here in Indy in 2008 whilst he was third at the same venue last year. However Hayden is not amongst the favourites for the title this year as he arrives for this year’s race with a wrist injury that he sustained during the qualification round in Brno.
"There's been a lot of history here, a lot of racing periods went on here especially in this whole area Indianapolis. You could race about anything within 30 miles of here so it's special for everybody but for me it's double because it's so close to my house. In my first couple of years in MotoGP there was no American round but things are changing. I definitely enjoy it, happy to be here and looking forward to the weekend."
Hayden added that he thoroughly enjoys racing here as the venue gives him a great deal of confidence due to its close proximity to his hometown, and above all the crowd backs him to the hilt here.
There was some fanfare to for the riders and the crowds alike as the afternoon session saw Ben Spies joined by Dani Pedrosa, Andrea Dovizioso, Marc Marquez and Scott Redding at the Indiana Pacers NBA court.
The riders were given a lesson in how to shoot hoops by former Pacers player Rik Smits.
The riders who enjoyed their time most at the court were the ones who had played basketball previously.
These included Spies and Pedrosa yet all five riders managed to score a few baskets during the little entertaining session.
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