Date September 14, 2008 Time 1:40.776 | Rider Valentino Rossi | |
 | ||
Official name Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix Location Indianapolis Motor Speedway Course Permanent racing facility
4.216 km (2.620 mi) | ||
The 2008 Indianapolis motorcycle Grand Prix was the fourteenth round of the 2008 MotoGP Championship. It took place on the weekend of September 12–14, 2008 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway – the first time the circuit has hosted a major motorcycle racing event since its first year of operation in 1909. As there was a United States Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca earlier in 2008, this marks the championship's second visit to the USA in 2008, the first time this has ever happened. Unlike the Laguna Seca round, the meeting features the supporting 125cc and 250cc classes, marking their first visit to North America since 1994.
The layout of the circuit is similar to the setup used for the United States Grand Prix Formula One events at the circuit between 2000 and 2007, but not identical. It has been reversed to a counterclockwise layout, with a new Snake Pit complex just after the start-finish line, meaning that the bikes do not use any of the banked oval corners. The double-hairpin at the Hulman Straight was replaced with a traditional esses.
The event was heavily affected by the arrival of the remnants of Hurricane Ike on Indiana; the race day the weather was overcast and cold, with a 100% chance of rain during the event. The 125cc class started with dry track however, and went on until rain began to fall, with 7 laps to go. However, since two-thirds of the scheduled distance had been run, the race was declared over and full points were given. The intensity of the rain then led the organizers to postpone the 250cc race after the MotoGP race, hoping the winds and rain would stop.
The MotoGP race was started at the scheduled time, with a very wet track but little rain, and it went on until lap 21, when strong winds began again to blow. Fearing for the safety of the riders, the stewards red-flagged the race, which was declared over, and full World Championship points were given. The winds did not stop after the race, and safety concerns led to the final cancellation of the 250cc race.