Race day of the third-running of the Indianapolis Red Bull US Grand Prix was primarily highlighted by the demanding Indy track and the a toll it had on man and machine as the ambient temperature soared above 90 degrees, with humidity equally as brutal. Today was all about the survival of the fittest...

In Moto2 things started off with a bang, literally, as the field bunched up in Turn 2 on the first lap and two major pileups followed. Included in those, unfortunately, were Americas Roger Lee Hayden and Kenny Noyes. This quickly brought out the red flag, race direction allowing everyone involved to restart in what would be a shortened 17-lap final.

After the restart Vladimir Ivanov proceeded to out-brake himself and take out Alex Debon in the exact same spot, entering Turn 2, while up front Julian Simon, Toni Elias and Scott Redding immediately broke away from the field, running in that order early on. Front row qualifier Hector Faubel then had a massive high-side, which he luckily escaped from uninjured. Immediately following this Andrea Iannone took out Stefan Bradl as he quickly made his way up the order. Yuki Takahasi then got cleaned out by Robbie Rolfo in Turn 6, both ending up on the ground unhurt, with Jules Cluzel collecting the same gravel samples two laps later, the result of a solo fall.

Behind the break-away lead trio an intense battle raged on for fourth, one which was 10-deep at some points. Iannone came though from the seventh row of the grid, followed all the way by Simone Corsi, who was forced to start at the back after not getting his bike fixed from the Turn 2 pileup damage in time for the warm-up lap of the restart. Both made amazing runs up the field and were at the front of the fourth-place battle by halfway.

Ratthapark Wilairot then had a rather large get-off in the high-speed Turn one, locking up the front wheel in a strange sort of front-wheel high-side. He was lucky to walk away without injury.

At the front Elias took the lead around the outside going into Turn 1 with six laps remaining, as he and Simon slowly started to break away from 17-year-old British youngster Redding. The Marc VDS rider was visibly hampered by a loss of rear grip, no doubt going into conservation mode for the last five laps. Once up front Elias put in an impressive ride to take his third-straight win, his fifth of the season, despite still suffering from a nasty case of the flu that has plagued him all weekend.

On the American front, New Yorker Jason DiSalvo on the GP Tech-backed FTR machine impressed, coming through from 26th on the grid to finish ninth. Roger Lee Hayden and Noyes were both taken out in the first big pile-up and scrambled to get their bikes fixed for the restart, no doubt making things very difficult for both. Hayden would end up 17th, less than a second in front of Noyes in 19th.

Pole-sitter Ben Spies jumped off to a lightning start in the MotoGP final on his Tech 3 Yamaha, no one so much as showing him a wheel into Turn 1 on the opening lap. He was followed off the line by Andrea Dovizioso, Nicky Hayden, Dani Pedrosa, Jorge Lorenzo, Valentino Rossi and the rest of the 17-rider field.

Gresini Honda’s Marco Melandri made his 200th Grand Prix appearance this weekend but it ended in the gravel trap as he fell on the second lap. Ducati’s Hayden then faded backwards with had a strange incident on lap three, his left knee puck falling most of the way off, which he tried to fix as he rode, though to no avail.

“I lost the front and just had to dig my knee in the ground to save it and when I did that it peeled almost totally off,” he said. “And with the Ducati already having front-end issues, not having a knee puck to be able to weight to save it if the front goes definitely hurt us. This was a strange deal though. I’ve never had a problem like this as long as I’ve been with Alpinestars. But at this level that’s still not acceptable.” Unable to remedy the issue, this dropped Hayden back to sixth within a lap and a half.

Pedrosa worked his way up front very quickly; he was into second position by lap four and slowly chipping time away on Spies every lap thereafter. Edwards came into pits with tire issues shortly after, followed by Stoner falling off in Turn 11, losing the front of his factory Ducati at the second apex and sliding off into the gravel unhurt on the fifth lap. This was Stoner’s second front-end crash of the weekend and umpteenth of the season as the Australian struggles to find the feeling he needs from the latest generation Bridgestone tires to run at the front while staying upright.

Pedrosa would then take over the lead from Spies at the 10-lap mark with a move on the front straight that showed just how potent a 120-lb rider and a Honda V-Four engine can be. Further behind them, Fiat Yamaha’s Lorenzo would make his way past Dovizioso for third and try to set off after Spies, but was unable to make up any substantial ground.

Mika Kallio was the next and final victim of the demanding Indy track, losing the front on the brakes when he hit a fairly big bump going into Turn 10 with nine laps to go. This would put an end to the day’s carnage, though there was still a bit of racing left to be had as Rossi was able to get around Dovizioso for fourth with eight laps remaining. And that was exactly where things finished, the 28-lap MotoGP race ending in a bit of a procession.

But a career-best finish for Spies gave the American crowd plenty to cheer about. Said the Texan of his second-place finish: “It was a good race; we got out in front and were comfortable for 10 laps. We weren’t fast enough to stay out front but we made quite a consistent run and when Dani (Pedrosa) came by he had a really good combination of grip with the rear tire and very fast on the straights so we just tried to stay consistent because I knew we had three seconds on Jorge (Lorenzo). I rode my heart out and got on the podium for the homes fans and my friend and family so it was a great weekend. We couldn’t really ask for more.”

In other non-MotoGP action, we made our way over to the Indy Mile GNC Flat Track last night for some bar-bashing action in the dirt, which proved to be some of the best racing all weekend. We were able to get up-close-and-personal inside several of the corners, so close chucks of dirt would hit us each lap they came flying by. When it comes to high-paced, tight-quarters racing, those boys take the cake. Leave an inch and in dirt track there are three guys behind you that will take two; it’s downright amazing what they can do at those speeds in such close vicinity to each other.

Be sure to check out the video feature we put together (see video in upper right). It proved to be a historic night all around as Nicky Hayden did a few demo laps with some serious pace aboard the Joe Kopp's Ducati and was the event's Grand Marshal, while Bryan Smith gave Kawasaki its first-ever AMA Pro Flat Track win, battling with Chris Carr for a hard-fought victory in the 25-lap K&N Filters GNC Twins final.

"I've been dreaming about this all year," said Smith. "And it wasn't a nightmare either. I was sure that as soon as we got to these tracks with long straight-aways, the Kawasaki's power would let us finally win one."

In the Motocycle-Superstore.com Pro Singles class it was road racer J.D. Beach who showed up and waxed the compeition, leading from wire to wire for a commanding victory. Look for Beach to step up to the Twins class for the first at the Springfield Mile this coming weekend.

We also made our way over to Ducati Island today to check out all that was going on with the hoards of Indianapolis Ducatisti this year. Some of the highlights included a look into their new Master Tech program, checking out the Pikes Peak record-setting and class-winning Multistrada 1200S and, as always, another viewing of the fashion show. So be sure to check out the 2010 Red Bull Indy GP Ducati Island video.

In some very sad news, our thoughts and prayers go out to the Lenz family tonight. Today began in a very somber fashion as there was a two-rider incident on the warm-up lap of the USGPRU race this morning. One of those involved was 13-year-old Peter Lenz, who suffered traumatic injuries and succumbed to them. The other rider involved was uninjured.

We had met Peter and his father here in Indy at the Grand Prix this time last year and while the encounter was very brief, one could tell he was extremely passionate about motorcycle road racing and they both truly loved the time they got to spend together at the track. This is a terrible loss for the motorcycle community and we are deeply saddened by the news.

The following statement was released by American Honda: “American Honda extends our heartfelt condolences to the Lenz family at the loss of their son Peter at this event. Peter was an accomplished amateur road racer and former champion. Our hearts go out to Peter’s family and the many friends he made along the way.”