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It takes more than a win to put a smile on Casey Stoner’s face as the Australian continued his Brickyard bashing on Sunday despite a dominating victory at the Indianapolis MotoGP.
A weekend that should have sparked a lifelong love affair instead ended with Stoner refusing to back down on his criticism of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) layout he labelled one of the worst on the MotoGP circuit.
After demolishing the track record in Saturday’s qualifying and destroying the field in Sunday’s race, romping to a nearly five-second win over Honda team mate Dani Pedrosa, Stoner offered few compliments and made it clear the Indianapolis date will never be circled in red on his calendar.
“I’m not like some other riders who just enjoy tracks because they win there,” Stoner told reporters. “I’ve won on most of the circuits we have on the calendar and I can’t honestly say this is better than most of them. “We drive on some fantastic circuits; I don’t get a kick out of it just because I win. “I look at what quality the circuit has rather than just the result.”
Stoner was not the only rider to complain about the lack of grip on the resurfaced track but he was the most vocal, adding that the 2.61-mile (4.22 km) layout, which uses part of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s oval, was too tight and twisty.
The Australian may never have to be concerned about racing at the Brickyard again.
With no deal in place for next season, Sunday’s MotoGP may have been the last staged at the Brickyard.
After just four years at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, MotoGP looks ready to follow Formula One and leave the home of American motor sport with the series having agreed to deals with Laguna Seca and the newly named Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.