Rossi wins stormy Indy

Hurrican Ike off the south-east cost of the USA caused havoc at the inaugural Indianapolis MotoGP, which sawn both the main race and the 125 shortened and the 250 event abandoned altogether.

The MotoGP event was declared wet from the start, but the conditions deteriorated to the point where debris was being blown across the circuit, forcing officials to declare the result seven laps early.

At that stage Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) had the lead, having slipped past a resurgent Nicky Hayden on his Honda. The latter had set a blistering pace early, hoping to snare victory in front of an enthusiastic home crowd, but it wasn't to be.

It was one of those events where the majority of riders seemed happy to finish at all, rather than worry about points.

Nicky Hayden, Honda, 2nd:
"Man, it felt really good to be in the lead and I felt quite comfortable. It's been a long time. I was thinking 'this only happens in the movies': your home race, missing the last two and coming back to win. I was able to stay focused but Valentino came past and he had a little more speed, especially in section three. Then when he touched the line onto the back straightaway I was able to make up a little more ground and I thought maybe I was okay. But when it started raining heavy I was in trouble because when it had dried I'd used up a lot of the left side of the tyre, so it got pretty gnarly with all the water.

"Sure, you dream about winning your home race, but honestly I shouldn't be too greedy with how things have been. I'll take this second and enjoy it. I'd just like to say a big thanks to my team, all my guys, my friends, my family, everyone who's stuck with me through tough times. Also, thanks to Indy and everyone for making this race happen. It's a great feeling to be able to race so close to home, I enjoyed it.

"I gave the maximum today, I can't say I left much on the table and that's how it's supposed to be. When they stopped the race it was pretty treacherous. It was the right thing to do. Conditions were really tough, especially with the winds because you'd be on a dry line and all of a sudden it'd blow you onto the wet. When they said we were going to do another eight laps, part of me thought 'hey, let's line back up and try again'. But I'm not leading the championship, so I've got nothing to worry about. A big thanks to the fans too, we only had to be out in the wet for an hour, they've been out there since Thursday."

Casey Stoner, Ducati, 4th
"I think it was the right decision to stop the race because the conditions were really dangerous - more for the strong wind than the heavy rain, which made it difficult to keep the bike upright. I'm never going to be satisfied with fourth place but it would have been foolish to push harder in those conditions and I made the right decision not to do so. I got a good start but I quickly lost confidence because the rear tyre was tearing up quickly and by the time they stopped the race I was struggling to hold my lap times."

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