Nicky Hayden Tests The Newly Resurfaced Indianapolis

As the 2012 MotoGP calendar starts to take shape, it is becoming increasingly clear that Indianapolis Motor Speedway wants to be a part of it. In response to complaints from a number of riders about the varying surfaces around Indy's road course, IMS has taken it upon itself to completely resurface the interior section of the road course, from Turn 5, where the riders leave the historic oval for the second time, all the way through to Turn 16, where the road course rejoins the oval once again to head along the front straight. Resurfacing the entire infield just for 2011 - this being the final year of Indianapolis Motor Speedway's contract with MotoGP - seems a rather expensive thing to do, and is a clear sign that Indy is hoping to be a firm fixture on the calendar for the foreseeable future. Once Austin joins the MotoGP calendar in 2013, this would see three races take place in the US, with the Texan circuit joining Indianapolis and Laguna Seca.

Nicky Hayden was sent out on a Ducati streetbike to test the new surface, and his report on the state of the new track is highly favorable, describing it as "pretty much perfect." After the event, IMS issued a press release and interview with Hayden, as well as a video of Hayden trying out the new surface. Here's the video, the press release follows below.

Below is the official press release put out by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway:



























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Well if you count his 7 premier class titles, a 250cc title in 1999, a 125 title in 1997, a Suzuka 8 hour title he won with Colin Edwards in 2001 and a Italian 125 title way back in 1994 I believe it was that adds up to 11 titles somehow.

he said titles not WCs.

Nicky is a great guy and always deserve more credit than fans give him. It's also a pleasure listening to him (though I do struggle with his accent at times).

Riders have been complaining for years. You could actually see the rough parts of the track on TV. Bumps right in braking areas going into turns. Surprised more people did not speak worse of the track. I have a feeling that track in Texas may have something to do with Indianapolis repave popping up ;)

Well I think the ink is already dry on the contract for there to be a race in Texas until 2017 or 2018 so repaving Indy will have nothing to do with that race being run.

I was more speaking on the quality of the track than the race being run. Circuit of Americas will be a new track, with new even pavement all the way around which will be in contrast to Indy infield track. Indy is known to be the greatest most built up circuit in the US, (on the oval). That is great domestically, but on a world level, the infield was considered below par as far as pavement goes. This new track pops up that will be running Motogp from 2013 to 2023. Not just Motogp, but Formula 1 which Indy lost a contract with. These are the two premier Series in the world. That speaks to the level the Texas track is being built up to be. Still have to see it when finished. But they have two of the Heaviest hitters signed on already. Those two alone signed on guarantees other series and the money to go with them will come through Texas. Making them the track held in the highest regard in the US.

A circuit with a decent level of surface consistency erases a major anomally in terms of bike setup. I hope the weather plays ball.
Rossi's 11 titles, slip of the tongue from Nick, I guess.
The press release is amusing though. ...'Including superstars Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa...'. Its common knowledge that Casey Stoner intends boycotting Motegi. I didn't know that Indy was crossed off his agenda.
Maybe he's just not a 'superstar' worth a mention in such illustrious company.
Anyway, I'm glad to hear that the brickfield surface has uniformity.
Like the resurfaced Mugello,first to try it out was Ducati.
As Mugello was for Rossi/Ducati, Indy is huge for Hayden/Ducati. No doubt Ducati are working around the clock. Their American market wants results.
Problem is they continually profess to be working harder. I would have thought that by now they would be working smarter. In that short video clip, Nicky looked pretty planted on the trellis framed 1198. Why not try the CF and the trellis back to back ? If it works, don't fix it. The trellis handled the the 990's immense HP with the L-4 lump as a load bearer quite handily at a fraction of R&D costs being poured down the gurgler of the monocoque experiment.

On the frame bit. It is mystifing to me why they will not go back to a frame they know how to make work. It will still be different than the Japanese bikes, so there is no risk in being the same. Really scratching my head over Ducati. Want to see them and Rossi win again.

Nicky looked pretty planted on the trellis framed 1198.

I agree with your point, but to be fair Nicky was barely on his knee in the vid. I don't know what tyres it had on it but I think it was just a road bike minus mirrors, so he was probably 10s minimum off MotoGP pace. At that speed he'd look pretty planted on any MotoGP bike...

The misconception that the steel trellis frame will be the answer to Ducati's handling problem needs to die.
Ducati had problems building a frame (steel) that was stiff enough under braking (the steering head used to deflect so much, that the front wheel would rub on the cylinder head). It had reached it's limit, and thus they moved to the CF frame. (From memory, Stoner was 1 sec quicker on the CF frame at it's first test post barcelona 2008)
The CF airbox/frame also allows for a larger airbox volume. It is a better solution in a number of areas, but could perhaps have a longer section to distribute flex over. A greater limitation is perhaps the 90 degree L configuration engine, which severly limits the weight distribution optimisation.

This is something that fascinates me (which is probably a sad commentary on my priorities, but never mind). I'm not voting(*) for a return to the D16 trellis, but trying to find if the 1198 frame philosophy has something to give.

If you look at the 1198 frame, it has no cross-bracing behind the steering head... in fact none in the frame at all! So the steering head depends on the resistance of the main tubes to bending, in order to resist braking loads. So while the truss form of the sides of the trellis should work like a beam frame, the steering head looks to be less well supported than a typical 250GP.

Yet empirically, the 1198 seems quite effective. Moreover, comparing 851/916/999/1198 frames, the evolution is clear: with each generation they have removed bracing to allow more lateral flex... and with the latest generation, apparently more braking deflection.

Empirically, on Pirellis it seems to work. And let's not forget that the actual braking forces are slightly higher on the SBK because of greater mass. The crucial factor may be the longer distance from steering head to engine mounts, as you say.

The lower part of the 1198 trellis is notably narrower than the top, hence the bends in the lower tubes are less pronounced, which should improve the strength. How much wider is the D16 motor? The D16 trellis actually looks like a wider version of the Monster Evo frame, except that has diagonal cross-bracing....

Then again, we the armchair experts were convinced the weight was too far back, then they went faster by moving it further back LOL

(*) and somehow I doubt that my vote has a great influence on Preziosi anyway :-D

"And let's not forget that the actual braking forces are slightly higher on the SBK because of greater mass".

Incorrect. The braking force of a MotoGP machine is significantly greater than a WSBK. Easily enough to outweigh the difference in mass between the 2 bikes. Pretty much every rider who gets on a MotoGP bike for the first time, when asked what they notice the most, say "the braking force". Net force = mass x acceleration. Or in regards to your comment, deceleration.

The braking forces are determined by the product of (bike+rider mass) x deceleration, as you say. The maximum deceleration in g's is given by the cotangent of the angle between the ground and the line from the front contact patch through the centre of mass. That is why a BMW K1600 will outbrake a GSXR600, and why a good road car will massacre any bike on the brakes.

Unless the laws of physics have changed, the idea that MotoGP bikes brake extra-super hard is a myth, sorry.

The fact that it appears more brutal to the riders is partly due to the ergonomics (higher seat, lower bars) and the rapid transition to full braking allowed by stiffer suspension, frame and possibly the carbon-carbon brakes.

that is possible to reach given the geometry and mass of the bike but the point is: how close to this maximum deceleration is a MotoGP under braking compared to a Superbike?
Because this factor depends on the efficiency of the brakes, which is the original point of comparing stainless steel to carbon brakes I believe.
And it would be difficult to answer but I wouldn't be surprised to learn that a MotoGP can reach deceleration values closer to the theoretical maximum than a Superbike.