2008 Indianapolis motorcycle Grand Prix

  2008 Indianapolis Grand Prix

Race details
Race 14 of 18 races in the 2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
Date	September 14 2008
Location	Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Course	Permanent racing facility 4.216 km (2.620 mi)
MotoGP
Pole position Rider Valentino Rossi Time 1'40.776 Fastest lap Rider Valentino Rossi Time 1'49.668 Podium First Valentino Rossi Second Nicky Hayden Third Jorge Lorenzo
250 cc
Pole position Rider Marco Simoncelli Time 1'45.168 Fastest lap Rider Race Cancelled Podium First Race Cancelled Second Race Cancelled Third Race Cancelled
125 cc
Pole position Rider Pol Espargaro Time 1'50.475 Fastest lap Rider Stefan Bradl Time 1'50.460 Podium First Nicolas Terol Second Pol Espargaro Third Stefan Bradl

The front row for the MotoGP class. From top to bottom: pole sitter Valentino Rossi, 2nd place starter Casey Stoner, and 3rd place starter Jorge Lorenzo.

The 2008 Indianapolis motorcycle Grand Prix was the fourteenth round of the 2008 MotoGP Championship, taking place on the weekend of 12 - 14 September 2008 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway - the first time the circuit has hosted a major motorcycle racing event. As there was a United States motorcycle Grand Prix at 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 is similar to the setup used for the Formula One Grand Prix 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 will be replaced with a traditional esses.

The event was disrupted by the weather; the 125cc and MotoGP races were both shortened due to wind and rain, and the 250 race was cancelled.