Fiat Yamaha Team
2010 Indianapolis Grand Prix
Raceday, 29th August 2010

Ambient temperature: 35 degrees
Track temperature: 56 degrees
Humidity: 23%
 
  
Third and fourth for Fiat Yamaha in intense Indianapolis heat

Jorge Lorenzo finished third at Indianapolis today and Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi fourth in a punishingly hot race won by Dani Pedrosa. Tech 3 Yamaha and future Factory Team rider Ben Spies finished second, his best result so far in his rookie MotoGP season.

Lorenzo dropped three places on his grid position at the start and finished the first lap in fifth with his team-mate close behind. On lap three of 28 the championship leader made it past home favourite Nicky Hayden and he set off in pursuit of Andrea Dovizioso, arriving within striking distance by the eighth lap. The Italian did not make it easy for Lorenzo however and it took the Mallorcan several more laps to pass him, which he did on the brakes into turn one on lap 12. By that time Spies was too far ahead for Lorenzo to make much headway on second place so he settled for third and 16 points to add to his already hefty season tally.

Rossi meanwhile had jumped from seventh to fifth at the start and looked more comfortable on the bike than he had all weekend, during which he had struggled for grip and rhythm. On the fourth lap he overtook Nicky Hayden and settled in fifth, a few tenths off the Lorenzo-Dovizioso battle. Once Lorenzo was past Dovizioso, the World Champion too began to close down his compatriot and with eight laps remaining he passed him for fourth place. By then however his lack of fitness following his injury had caught up with him in the searing heat and he was unable to push any more, coming home some six seconds behind his team-mate.

Lorenzo continues to sit comfortably at the top of the standings, with a 68-point lead over Pedrosa. Rossi remains fifth but has moved to within five points of Casey Stoner and fourth. The MotoGP paddock now has just a few days rest before it reconvenes at Misano in Italy for round 12 of the World Championship.

Jorge Lorenzo #99
Position: 3rd   Time: +6.812
"Of course I shouldn't be disappointed with third place but at the same time I'm not happy with my race today, I didn't ride as well as I could have and I didn't get a good start. The conditions were incredibly hard and I simply didn't have the physical strength to push as hard or do the same times I did in practice; it was like a race in Malaysia! The track was so slippery and it was very difficult to use the tyres as you wanted to, I think honestly I'm quite lucky to have finished third today. The good thing is we took some points and now I have to concentrate on recovering before Misano because we don't have much time."

Valentino Rossi #46
Position: 4th   Time: +12.633
"This was a good race for us after the weekend. Fourth is quite good in the circumstances but the important thing is that my rhythm in the race was strong and I felt much happier on the bike. I did some good laps and I wasn't too far from the other Yamahas, but unfortunately I paid a lot for my lack of fitness in this heat and in the end I had to stop pushing because I didn't have any strength left in my body. I'm happy though because we came back to a good setting and with me riding well, and if you consider I had three small crashes in the weekend, fourth isn't so bad. Now we will look forward to Misano, my home race!"

Wilco Zeelenberg, Team Manager
"These were terribly hard conditions for the riders and considering this we have to be very happy with third. It was so hot and so easy to make a mistake so before the race we told Jorge to just try to bring it home on two wheels! Unfortunately he had a bad start which didn't help because he then had a hard task to get past Dovizioso, but considering the conditions and the championship we're just as happy with this as with one of our seven wins."
 

Davide Brivio, Team Manager
"This was a really positive race for us and Valentino showed us that he could keep the pace of the front runners. Unfortunately he's still not in peak condition after his accident and with the heat he wasn't strong enough to keep the same pace for the whole race, but he fought at the top end, stayed close and showed us that he's okay. It gives us confidence for our overall set-up and our package for the next races. We came out well from a difficult weekend so well done to everyone."