Team Aspar Indy Race Review
A year in the making, the 250cc class’ long-awaited race debut at Indianapolis provided a fantastic race that made the delay worthwhile. The only chance that the two-stroke bikes will have to race at the Brickyard – as 250cc makes way for Moto2 next season – the one-off Grand Prix was one to remember. Two unexpected flying Frenchmen opened the race in front, as Jules Cluzel and Mike di Meglio stated their claim for victory, but once reigning World Champion Marco Simoncelli took the race by the horns it was all over but the counting. The Italian set a fearsome pace that nobody could match, and won the race ahead of Hiroshi Aoyama and Álvaro Bautista.
The two Mapfre Aspar riders rode well at the track, despite some problems with their setups. Di Meglio was speedy off the line, whilst Bautista had a bad start and lost three places from the off. After battling with some of the tougher riders in the class, the Spaniard finally caught up with Di Meglio with ten laps remaining, but was unable to chase down his title rivals any further on. He took his fourth consecutive podium and kept his name in the hat for the 250cc crown.
Meanwhile, the 125cc class marked their annual visit to Indianapolis with a thrilling race that ranks amongst the best of the year so far on Sunday, with two packs of riders challenging for the upper positions. Nico Trol repeated his early leadership from the Czech Republic for near enough the entirety of the race, but was shocked late on by Pol Espargaró, who overtook him with two laps remaining for his first Grand Prix victory. The breakaway group was full of talent, reducing from ten to six to five as the process of elimination was decided by the speedy pace. Espargaró, Smith, Corsi, Terol and Simón all put in exciting overtaking as the final places were arranged.
Julian Simón started from pole, but did not have a great takeoff when the lights went out. As in Brno he made his comeback quickly, working his way back into contention with a fast pace. He was unable to keep up with the frontrunners, however, and in the end decided to think of the championship picture and take fifth place, maintaining his lead in the title chase with a 52.5 point advantage.
Sergio Gadea had the worst race of the Bancaja trio in Indianapolis. Starting from seventh on the grid, he lost places on the opening lap and had to pick things up. He fought with Bradl and Márquez when looking to move up the field, but suffered a chain problem that left him only able to earn fifteenth place.
