The legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the venue for the latest MotoGP round. There are arenas in sports that make events special, and events that make venues special. MotoGP has run at Indianapolis for the last six years, and the first race at Indianapolis, was a motorcycle race. Who will win today? First up, it's the junior category, and Moto 3, followed by Moto 2, and MotoGP.
Only 25 men have won MotoGP championships. Giacomo Agostini and Valentino Rossi, have eight, and sevn titles, respectively. The bikes weight 350 pounds, and have 1000cc, four stroke, four cylinder motors, with 250 horsepower. Theese guys, as you know, are right on the limit. MotoGP is a true world championship. Nine countries are represented. There are three classes. Moto 3 will be first, and Moto 2. Moto 2 are the 600cc bikes. But, Moto 3, with 350cc motors, they are also real competitive.
The pipeline from America to Europe, has closed off a bit. Will there be an American rider in the AMA series, who could step up to MotoGP? Time will tell. Jack Miller has an underpowered bike. But, he'll be up there. The race is five minutes away. Unlike most of the MotoGP races, yours truly, will post highlights, as they happen. So, look for a lot of information about the motorcycle races today, on the pages, of the 2 wheelin' blog.
33 bikes will start. In qualifying, Luis Salom fell, and will start tenth. Salom will be fine. Maverick Vinales starts on the front row. Alex Marquez is at the front, and on pole, Alex Rins. The bikes are on track for their warmup lap. 23 laps scheduled, equaling 60 miles. The track is at 87 degrees. So, it's very cool. Jack Miller and Arthur Sissis, are running the harder rear tires.
At the start, things are already shuffling. Alex Rins overcooks it and there's a rider down already. Not sure who. Rins got shuffled back. Arthur Sissis is the early leader. The bikes are still single file. Jasper Iwema fell down earlier. Maverick Vinales is now fourth. The bikes are bunched up at the moment. The leader will let people pass early. Watch Luis Salom, in sixth place. Alex Marquez tries to get by, but Maverick Vinales is the new leader.
Vinales runs fast lap at 1:48.7. Rins passes Sissis. Luis Salo is clawing his way through this field. Ooh. Jack Miller has crashed. Off turn one and into turn two, he's high sided off the bikes. Ouch! The medical crews are helping him. Randy Mamola, is a guest commentator for this race. He is a MotoGP champion in his own right. Look at the lap times. Well, resume the race. Miguel Oliviera and Jakub Kornfeil are running lower down the order.
These riders are into a rhythm. Alessandro Baldassari and Eirc Granado, and Juanfran Guevara, have all crashed. Rins, Vinales, and Marquez, remain the top three, with sixteen laps left. Brad Binder is slow. So, he's going to be a DNF. Rins continues to lead after his fourth pole of the year. Folger, Sissis, and Salom are running together. Rins is running well. But, some of these guys, they're going to plot strategies to go for the win, with a few laps to go.
Jonas Folger is languishing, as we see a replay of the start. Rins did well into turn one, and then, he started to fall down the order. The super slow motion pictures from the world feed cameras, are astonishing to watch. Thirteen laps to go. So, the race is over half done. Rins, Vinales, and Marquez, continue to scrap for the race lead. Vinales slides through the corner into turn one. Well, actually it started coming down the straight and into the turn.
Rins and Vinales are making their moves. But Rins, he wants to keep pulling out a gap. Salom is now fifth, passing Arthur Sissis. Jack Miller fractures his right collarbone in the wreck from earlier. Because the contact patch on the tires is so small, Moto 3 bikes have the hardest compound tires. Francesco Bagnaia on the #4 bike, slides off the track. He might have a problem. Bagnaia continues. Zulfahmi Khairuddin fights for seventh with Efren Vazquez.
Alex Marquez still needs a podium. He has been in the top five in the last five races. But, time will tell what happens. Salom races Folger, as they glide over the newly painted curbs, going through turn sixteen. Efren Vazquez is having trouble with his bike. Smoke is pouring from the bike. The engine is going sour. Four laps left. Things are now getting serious. Who will get the win? Maverick Vinales runs consistently in the 1:48s. Luis Salom has had a tough time of it. For Efren Vazquez, it's game over.
Alex Marquez goes to the front of the pack. Just two laps to go now. Rins tries to draft his team mate. They're right together. It's Rins in front over Marquez. Who will win? It's the last lap of Moto 3 at Indy. Marquez looks inside, rolling into the throttle early. Rins continues to lead. Will he sweep Moto 3 in the U.S.A.? Remember, he won earlier in the year at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
Rins does it! Alex Marquez gets his first career Moto 3 podium. Luis Salom, (last year's winner), is fourth.
#42 Alex Rins ESP KTM
The next Moto 3 race, is at the Brno Autodrome in the Czech Republic, next weekend. Moto 2 is up next, folks.
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