2008 Indianapolis motorcycle Grand Prix
Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Race 14 of 18 races in the 2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date | September 14 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Course |
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MotoGP | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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250 cc | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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125 cc | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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.