Indianapolis, USA

The one place that everyone wants to be at a MotoGP race is in the paddock. Simultaneously, it is one of the most difficult places to get into, as, quite simply, Dorna does not sell passes into the paddock. The usual way - other than in a professional capacity, or working as a marshal - is to purchase a VIP package through one of the very few specialist travel companies authorized to issue paddock passes, such as our friends over at Pole Position Travel.

But now, MotoGP's (and MotoMatters.com's) official charity organization Riders For Health are providing an extra route into the paddock. Today, the charity announced that they will be auctioning off pairs of paddock passes for each of MotoGP's 18 races this season, with the money raised going towards Riders' outstanding work providing primary health care in Africa. If you want to get into the paddock and have a chance of meeting your own personal hero (be it Valentino Rossi, Bradley Smith or even Jerry Burgess), then read the press release below carefully, and dig deep for Riders.

Exclusive MotoGP paddock pass auction for Riders

It is a truism that motorcycle racing fans love to collect items connected to their favorite sport. If your budget can't quite stretch to a genuine FTR Moto2 bike, then Indianapolis Motor Speedway can help you out, while helping to do good. The legendary US racetrack is auctioning off a collection of various memorabilia for an excellent cause, the American Red Cross' relief effort in earthquake-stricken Haiti.

Our trip through Scott Jones' MotoGP images comes to an end today, with a look back at the remarkable race at Indianapolis. The facilities are astonishing, the track layout is surprisingly good for what is known locally as a "Roval" (a road course inside an oval), the organization is amazing. Throughout the weekend, only two recurring complaints could be heard: the huge amount of chain link fencing used to protect the public from flying car parts when the four-wheelers race here saw photographers crowding around the few fence openings like seals at an arctic breathing hole; and there wasn't a decent cup of coffee to be had in a thousand miles or more, reducing European journalists (for this is the fuel upon which their work depends) to gibbering wrecks.

Questions were raised about the very Honda-like wings on Jorge Lorenzo's Captain America helmet

JT riding for a contract. It came, but in World Superbikes

A lack of front wheel grip is what eventually scuppered Valentino Rossi's chances in the Mid-West

Tomorrow's hero

Ever since Casey Stoner decided to pull out of three MotoGP races due to ill health, a tsunami of speculation concerning the state of the Ducati squad has washed over the internet and the written press, with millions of fans and journalists venturing opinions on the subject, while only a few actually had any facts to base those opinions on. None of the protagonists have been particularly easy to reach, nor very forthcoming about the situation.

At Indianapolis, that changed, at least a little. Though we have heard virtually nothing from Casey Stoner, and only brief quotes from the Ducati organization so far, at Indy, Dean Adams of Superbikeplanet sat down with Ducati team boss Livio Suppo for an extended interview. The interview covered many subjects, from the obvious - such as the current state of Casey Stoner's health - to the philosophical - such as the question of whether switching to an 800cc formula made MotoGP more expensive, and raised some interesting points.

Two points were of particular interest, though. The first was the question of why the Ducati is perceived to be such a difficult bike to ride. Suppo denied that a problem existed, pointing out that since Barcelona, the gap between Nicky Hayden's pace on the GP9 and Casey Stoner's was broadly comparable to the gap between Valentino Rossi's and Colin Edwards on the dominate Yamaha M1. Suppo believes that the problem - if you can call it that - is just down to the difference between the four top riders (Rossi, Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa) and the rest of the field. "So in the last seasons, if you don't have one of these top four guys, you don't win races," Suppo told Superbikeplanet.

At last weekend's Red Bull Indianapolis GP, along with the usual vendor shows, stands, test rides and other activities, a rather special demonstration was being given in the media center. The oscar-winning special effects director John Bruno - responsible for the effects in some of the best special effects movies of all time, such as Titanic, Terminator 2, The Abyss, X-Men The Last Stand and a host of others - was showing footage from his latest 3D projects, which included a three-minute highlight reel from the previous race in the US, the Red Bull US GP at Laguna Seca.

I was intrigued by the thought of watching motorcycle racing in three dimensions, and decided to go and take a look. I am old enough to remember some of the previous 3D projects, which required the wearing of cheap cardboard classes with different colored lenses (Jaws 3D anyone?) and had failed to impress me even at a fairly tender age. I was lucky enough to walk in on a special presentation being given to the Tech 3 Yamaha team by John Bruno himself, just as the standard (non-motorcycling footage) was finishing.

The MotoGP footage started with an opening shot of the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca, and from the off, I was hooked. Choosing the Corkscrew to open on was a stroke of brilliance, as that most iconic of turns is famed for its incredible drop, and for the first time on a TV screen, the elevation change just leapt off the screen at you. Perhaps even more impressive was the bump at the top of the turn: Though it has been flattened off in recent years, the ridge at the top where the track drops down is suddenly blindingly obvious. It really was just like being there, whereas every other time I have seen the Corkscrew - either on TV or in photos (even the fantastic shots by our very own Scott Jones), the pictures have failed to do justice to the turn.

One of the highlights of the Indianapolis GP weekend off the track was the Indy Mile. At 6pm on Saturday night there was a mass exodus from the paddock, as a lot of giddy Europeans headed down for what was to be there first experience of a flat track mile, and everyone was just completely blown away. There's a story on the mile to follow, but to get you started, here's a selection of Scott Jones' beautiful images from that event.

Flat track: Big when Pink Floyd were

By the time night fell, the grandstands were packed

The weapon of choice for a mile: A Harley-Davidson XR750

But it's not the only choice. Just ask Larry Pegram

Or Kenny Roberts

After his impressive victory at Indianapolis - in a race which he described as "boring" once Rossi had crashed -  Jorge Lorenzo spoke briefly to the English-language press about the race and how it affected the championship. Here's what he had to say:

Q: Now that your future is settled, you've made your choice for Yamaha over Ducati, was it easier to concentrate?

JL: No I don't think so. I think I was riding quite well in Donington, I was leading the race, by one and a half seconds, but I pass the white line and I crash. I couldn't do anything about it. Maybe I was wrong in my line, but nothing more. Maybe in Brno I did a mistake in this corner, because I wanted to open a gap between me and Valentino, and maybe I had to be following him not to pass him. Maybe you are right in Brno, but not in Donington.

Q: Every time you crash you learn very quickly, you never make the same mistake twice. Was your plan to get ahead of Valentino or stay behind him?

JL: You know, now that I win, it is very easy to say I don't make mistakes, that I am the best, but it could happen again to me that I crash. So, today has been good, but you don't know in the future.

Q: Have you started to believe in the championship again, or is 25 points still too much?

Nicky Hayden ran his best-selling Laguna livery on race day

Colin Edwards and his Amazing 3D Camera Rig (tail section)

The Moriwaki Moto2 bike was out on track at Indy ...

As was the Blusens Moto2 bike

The news that the MSMA is moving closer to allowing engines to be leased has been received with enthusiasm both inside the paddock and out. The move is aimed at reducing costs and expanding the grid, and word from inside the paddock is that it might just work. The proposal is due to come into force in 2011, but rumors are rife that it could happen before then. 

It seems that Yamaha could lease one engine to a team in 2010. That team would be Hayate, allowing the plucky little team which has done so outstandingly with so few means to stay in MotoGP, and bring the grid size up to 18. The news was reported by GPOne.com, and discrete enquiries around the paddock have confirmed the report, though no one would speak on the record. 

The idea of the Hayate team running a Yamaha engine in 2010 makes a huge amount of sense. According to the reports, the new bike would use the existing Hayate / Kawasaki frame, and drop the Yamaha engine into it. Given that the man who designed the Yamaha M1 is Ichiro Yoda, who left Yamaha to redesign the Kawasaki, and is still in charge of the Hayate team, the bikes and the configuration are unlikely to be vastly different. The engine should fit without too much work, as both the Yamaha and Kawasaki engines are inline fours.

By running the engine in 2010, the members of the Grand Prix Commission - and especially the manufacturers and the IRTA - can test out in practice just how well such a proposal would work. And with restricted engine numbers, it should be relatively affordable for the cash-strapped team. Unfortunately - if somewhat understandably - Hayate have lost their star rider, Marco Melandri having signed for San Carlo Gresini. But with so many riders likely to be out of a job and offering their services for free to stay in the series, it shouldn't be hard to find a rider capable of surprising the field once again.