2009 Indianapolis 250cc Race Result - Championship Candidates Fight It Out

Result and summary of the 250cc race at Indianapolis:

Marco Simoncelli took victory in the 250cc race here at Indianapolis, holding off a race-long challenge from championship leader Hiroshi Aoyama. Simoncelli had his work cut out for him though: First he had to work his way past Jules Cluzel, who had got a lightning start and rocketed to the front, leading the first few laps. Simoncelli got past on lap 4, but Cluzel was not going down without a fight. Once Simoncelli was past, then Hiroshi Aoyama followed, the unfortunate Frenchman then had to watch his compatriate Mike di Meglio get ahead of him. Just how hard Cluzel was overriding his privateer Matteoni Aprilia became apparent on lap 8, after the Frenchman lost the front and slid off the bike.

By halfway, Simoncelli and Aoyama had a comfortable lead, but the Aspar Aprilias of Mike di Meglio and Alvaro Bautista were closing. Bautista was pushing hardest, first running down his team mate and passing him for 3rd, then getting on to chase Aoyama, but try as he might, he just couldn't close the gap, which never dropped below a second. Victory would come down to Simoncelli and Aoyama, but Aoyama, who had crashed his only bike during the morning warm up, did not quite have the pace or the setup to truly challenge the Italian. He got right onto the back of Simoncelli with 5 laps to go, but nearly lost it round the rear section of the track, and decided to settle for 2nd. With Simoncelli ahead of him and Bautista behind him, his lead to 2nd place man Alvaro Bautista in the championship grew to 16 points, while Simoncelli is still over a race away, 27 points back.

Result: