It was a day when the tail-end of Hurricane Ike and the wind of change blew through the MotoGP World Championship. Valentino Rossi sealed another victory in the first Indianapolis Grand Prix to surpass Giacomo Agostini’s record for wins in the elite class and effectively beat Casey Stoner into submission in the title race.
It has been a remarkable renaissance for Rossi, who has not won the title since 2005, and last night he proved he is a man for all seasons. In atrocious conditions the race was stopped with seven laps to go and the result taken from the positions on the last completed circuit. Nobody argued.
Even Stoner, the world champion, who mathematically can still catch Rossi, said: “The wind made it unrideable. You were getting blown three metres off line and it was dangerous. I wasn’t happy with the race, but I’d rather go home in one piece. It was ridiculous. The last six laps were very hairy.”
America’s Nicky Hayden, on Honda, was second with Spain’s Jorge Lorenzo, the teammate of Rossi, in third place.
It was world championship leader Rossi’s seventh win of the season and fourth in a row.
It was also his 69th victory in the top category and with an 87-point lead over defending champion Casey Stoner of Australia and with just four races left, he can clinch the 2008 title by picking up just a point at Motegi in Japan in two weeks’ time.
“These were the worst conditions of my career,” said Rossi, who completed 84.32km in 37min 20.095sec.
“When the wind and rain came it became very hard,” he said. “I think I could have kept going for another eight laps, but there were things flying through the air - beer cans, plastic glasses - so really I think it was the right decision to stop the race.
“Sincerely I don’t think I’ve ever ridden in conditions like these and I was lucky because I was far in front and didn’t have to take any big risks.”
Reigning titlist Casey Stoner came home in fourth place, albeit now with only the smallest of chances to retain his crown in 2008.
After leading a MotoGP race for the first time in his career, Andrea Dovizioso brought his JiR Team Scot Honda home less than a second behind Stoner, with home rider and AMA Superbike champion Ben Spies rounding off the top six.
Sylvain Guintoli, Dani Pedrosa, Chris Vermeulen and Alex de Angelis were the final riders in the top ten.
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