Around The City

The Red Bull Indianapolis GP weekend is jam-packed with activities. For three days, all three classes of the MotoGP World Championship practice, qualify and then race. Motorcycle riders, fans of events at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and hardcore MotoGP fans enjoy the highest level of motorcycle racing on the most impressive race bikes in the world at the track, and check out the many cool scenes and events around town away from the track. 

Here are some of the great events taking place around Indianapolis during the Red Bull Indianapolis GP weekend that make it a race unlike any other at IMS.

AMA Flat Track Racing

Glorious memories of the Indy Mile go back for decades. Top riders always have coveted a win at this race, long considered the "Crown Jewel" of AMA Pro Racing's oldest and most tradition-rich professional racing series, the Flat Track Grand National series. After a hiatus that began in 1999, the race returned to the Indiana State Fairgrounds in 2008 to record-breaking crowds. In 2009, a near-capacity crowd again returned to witness another night of sliding, drafting, handlebar-to-handlebar duels, with 140-mph straightaway speeds and inches-close finishes. As a special treat in 2009, motorcycle racing legend "King" Kenny Roberts electrified the crowd with a no-holds barred, high-revving, three-lap curtain call on the infamous Yamaha TZ-750 he rode to victory in 1975. It was another "Indy Mile Moment" to be savored by fans for years to come. Valentino Rossi and other top MotoGP riders cheered on Roberts while marveling at the guts and skill of today's Flat Track stars.

http://www.indymile.com/
 

                                                                 Motorcycles on Meridian

From 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. Friday, Aug. 17 and Saturday, Aug. 18, Monument Circle and South Meridian Street in downtown Indianapolis will be a flurry of engine roars and leather. Motorcyclists will gather to share interests and celebrate the Red Bull Indianapolis GP at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The inaugural Motorcycles on Meridian took place in 2008. The streets of downtown Indianapolis were an ocean of bikes and people, moving in waves. The event is for people with and without bikes. Interested parties with no steel horse of their own are welcome to walk around at this free event and marvel at the impressive choppers and sport bikes. On these two nights in August, the motorcycle culture of Indianapolis is open for everyone to enjoy.   The entrance for the 2012 Motorcycles on Meridian is through Monument Circle, cyclists should enter the route from Monument Circle and continue onto Meridian.