MotoGP
Kenny Noyes’ home race at Indianapolis saw a typically gutsy performance from the Jack&Jones by Antonio Banderas Racing rider, as the American struggled with the heat, the track conditions and an uncooperative bike.
After making steady improvements throughout practice, a difficult qualifying session saw Noyes start back from 30th on the grid.
The usual mayhem of a 40-bike Moto2 start saw Kenny get caught up in one of the two crashes at Turn two, but luck ran his way when the wreckage could not be cleared fast enough and the race was red-flagged.
The American got a much better start in the shortened second race, and Noyes set about his usual job of forging his way forward through the pack.
A few passes on the brakes and a couple of crashes saw almost make his way into the points. But at the end of the race, the heat and lack of grip meant that the American rider was not able to make up in braking what he was losing in acceleration off the corner, and Kenny crossed the line in 19th place.
Noyes and his Jack&Jones by Antonio Banderas team had a long technical meeting after the race to discuss where they can improve the Promoharris machine to fix the problems going into next weekend’s race at Misano.
But the hard work of the weekend was relieved by a visit to the legendary Indy Mile flat track race on Saturday night, where Noyes caught up with some old friends and former rivals he raced against in his dirt track days, and introduced Spanish TV viewers to the sport in a feature for the Spanish national broadcaster TVE.
Kenny Noyes say: “On the one hand, we lucked out with the red flag. I was involved in the crash at the start. Someone clipped me on the right-hand side and pushed me into Roger. I got away better in the second start and could race. I really like this track, it’s flat, it’s bumpy, it’s scrappy, it kinda suits my style.”
“The grip was terrible because of the the heat, but that was the same for everybody. I was doing what I could to hold people off on the brakes, but we were fading towards the end. We were losing out in acceleration, and I just couldn’t make up for it in the braking zone at the end. We’re in a difficult situation. The bike is improving a little bit, but we need a big step forward to be able to compete. The team are working real hard, but we’re not where we want to be.”
“It was great to get out to the Indy Mile, and catch up with some old flat track friends, the guys I used to race against. It was nice to see all the old legends and big names, like Gary Nixon, Chris Carr and Kenny Coolbeth. And it was great to watch Byron Smith win the main, as he was the guy I beat to the Singles championship when I was racing flat track!”
