Indy confirms MotoGP debut in 2008

After months of speculation about the event, IMS president Joie Chitwood said he was overjoyed that MotoGP was stepping in to replace Formula One, which will be absent from the track next season.

The MotoGP event will be the first motorcycle race at the venue since August 14, 1909.

"We welcome the excitement and passion of MotoGP racing and its fans to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP," said Chitwood.

"The very first motorised race at IMS was on two wheels, so it's only fitting that motorcycles are returning as we approach the 100th anniversary of the track.

"Fans of MotoGP know just how thrilling this form of racing is, and our new road-course configuration will create even more side-by-side action and passing opportunities for the skilled riders."

As autosport.com revealed earlier this year, the MotoGP event will take place on a revised road course that runs anti-clockwise - the same direction as the oval.

Carmelo Ezpeleta, the CEO of MotoGP organisers Dorna, said he was delighted that a multi-year agreement had been signed with Indianapolis. It means that there will be two races in the United States from next year.

"The US is obviously a very important market to us, and when we returned to Laguna Seca a couple of years ago for the Red Bull US Grand Prix, it was an instant success," he said.

"The next step was to come to Indianapolis, and now to be able to say we have two MotoGP events in the United States shows just how far our sport has come in recent years.

"We hope that the Red Bull Indianapolis GP will be another success story, and we are already looking forward to next year's first event with anticipation."