Indy's VP of Operations, Mel Harder, is a force behind their MotoGP event. He is a racing enthusiast and has a track day bike. Here he stands with Hayden's MotoGP bike and the ex-Baker Indian Hayden rode last April. image by tito adams, the brother no one talks about

As we sit, poised on the cusp of the historic Indy MotoGP, I thought now was a good time to run the interview that I did this past April with Mel Harder, one of the men who was instrumental in bringing MotoGP to the storied Indianapolis Motor Speedway. While Nick Hayden rode laps on the track just behind us, here's what Harder had to say about the Indy road course and the upcoming race.

A That's a good question. Basically, I'm in charge of the operations at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Q And I assume that there's a large umbrella underneath that.

A For sure. That's why I said "basically." But yes. We have a golf course here. We have a motel. Maintenance staff. Many things that fall just beyond the racetrack operations.

Q My information is that the MotoGP race is your baby, that you originated it, to a degree, and pushed it through. Is that accurate?

A Well, certainly I'm an enthusiast, but it's a big group of people that make it all happen, and certainly the Hulman-George family has carried on the traditions at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. To be able to reach back into our roots and pick up something as we're coming up on our hundred-year anniversary, that was really the driving force behind having a motorcycle race and MotoGP, bringing them back in 2008. The original idea was to bring them in 2009 as a celebration of our history, and it was such a great opportunity that we decided to do it one year earlier. While I'm a big enthusiast and a big part of the operations here at the track, I would really say that it's Tony George and Joey Chitwood leading the charge to be the leaders in motorsports entertainment.

Q Do you ride a motorcycle?

A I do ride, yes.

Q What do you ride?

A I have a track bike, a GSX-R 600; a motocrosser, a RM250Z, and a Ducati 999 street bike.

Q Do you do track days, or do you club race?

A I do track days.

Q Where?

A I've been all over. I've been to Laguna, I've been to VIR, I've been to Barber. But most recently, with my time schedule, it's a lot simpler to go to Putnam Park, which is about 30 minutes from here.

All on my 999. Yeah, it's a great bike. A couple of my buddies had the opportunity to ride my bike today, or both of the bikes. I can't wait to someday soon get out there and ride myself.

Q We have Nicky Hayden still lapping in the background behind us.

A Nicky had a few comments about the track, and we just wanted to do a couple safety checks while we had the opportunity here. We're very fortunate to be able to have Nicky come and ride, and get his feedback. This is something, as we were talking about an hour ago, that when Formula One showed up, we didn't have the opportunity to test a car. They pretty much showed up for the race, and that was it. It's great feedback. This gives us a really good opportunity to prepare for the event.

Q You're incredibly fortunate to get a MotoGP Champion, current MotoGP rider, here to test the track and make sure it's up to snuff, and give feedback.

A Yeah, for sure. It was kind of an anxious day, and his feedback thus far has been very good, so we're excited.

Q What was the curve like, in getting a motorcycle race here? You had Mat Mladin and Vincent Haskovec testing here at one point, and you weren't sure of a course, or what course they were going to use.?

A Well, there were so many options. Mat was here to do a site visit after Jake Zemke and Vincent Haskovec did a test in 2003. At that time, we determined that there was a creek running through Turn One that we needed to cover it up at some point. Then we started working with the FIM and Claude Denis, and we worked so many different angles, running the track both directions, looking at what was the best way to make a course. The goal was to have really no compromise with safety and entertainment. And I think we've found the perfect balance.

Q Did you not know about the creek prior to that? Is it underground?

A No, we knew about the creek. It was exposed. We thought maybe if we ran the bikes in the Formula One track direction, that we could run still with the creek there. It was a huge undertaking, a huge capital investment, to cover up the creek, and when we finally decided to cover up the creek, it left endless possibilities of how to design Turns One through Four.

Q Claude said that there were several different configurations that were under consideration. What were the other ones?

A Well, at one point, we were running the opposite direction than what we are today. Really, it was just how do Turns Two, Three and Four lay out. Turn One became quite evident of what it needed to be, with the buildings on one side and the wall on the other side. So then it was really being creative with the exit of Turn One going into Two, Three and Four.

Q Two things I take away from seeing the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time today is the incredible vastness of the place. It's just incredibly large. If I hadn't been here, my question would be, "What are you going to do so that motorcycles aren't lost in that?" Having seen the track, actually, it's not as wide as I expected it to be, at least the front straight, and I actually thought the sight lines from the infield section, or from the new section, were pretty good for motorcycle racing.

A I think the fans are going to be pleasantly surprised when they come to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Our seating all around the facility offers great views to several corners, and also we have permanent video screens so you can see the action all the way around. It's something - as you spoke last night with Nicky about Jerez, it's more like Jerez and the European tracks, where you can find a seat, have a great view of a lot of the action, yet you can still walk around and see different parts of the racetrack. So I think it's a mix of what we like in the US and the best of what they have in Europe. Fans that come to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway are going to see great motorcycle racing.

Q I don't know anything about baseball, and I know very little about car racing, but wasn't there some issue with the F1 race here, in the seating in the infield? Was that not open, or open?

A We built viewing mounds for people, and it's an opportunity for people to mill around and kind of find the best vantage points. Actually, the Formula One crowd was very complimentary. I think they enjoyed their time in Indianapolis, and we hope that someday soon they come back.

Q The infield sections will be open to spectators for the MotoGP race?

A Yes. The infield sections, all the mounds will be open, and we have a great deal of grandstands that will be general admission. So it's a good mix, and I think Friday and Saturday, people will try to find their best seat, and for Sunday at 3:00, they're going to know where they want to be.

Q Ex-GP rider Andy Leisner, who's a friend of mine whom you've worked with on this, he and I agreed that the motorcycle race industry has never had a partner like Indianapolis Motor Speedway before, in terms of resources. This place is incredible. The resources are as vast as the place looks from an aerial photo. Could you talk a little bit about that, your engineering staff, construction, and how that worked with the MotoGP track and event?

A Well, first off, we're really excited about partnering with Dorna and Red Bull. We think we have two great partners that can really elevate the level of motorcycle racing in America, and show off the sport. It's the perfect platform here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But yes, we have a lot of full-time employees maintaining the facility, as well as the construction and design. Our lead engineer, Kevin Forbes, has been working on the racetrack countless hours. He's out here when everyone - when the contractors leave at night, he's out on the bulldozer. We've had one of our wettest springs in February and March. So it's been really challenging, but it's also quite rewarding to get to this day, April 7, the first day that we've had a motorcycle at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway running. But beyond that, we have a great PR, marketing and sales staff, as well as come event time, event operations. We think that we'll have a really good show, and it'll be entertaining on the track and off the track. We've put together a unique vending opportunity for the manufacturers. Red Bull, they're always about having a good time and a big party, so our goal is just to share that fun and entertainment, not to mention the 125s and 250s on track complementing the MotoGP. It's going to be an exciting weekend.

Q It's not your department, of course, but the local media here, they're showing you, already, incredible support. There must have been five local TV stations here today, and for sure the Indy Star had two people here. Pretty incredible for a motorcycle race.

A Well, I think it's the two. This was a history-making day. But whenever we do things at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, I think people are paying attention. This is just a new level. We're going to set a new baseline for motorcycle racing in America.

Q They've had several history-making days at Laguna Seca, and I'm not sure the San Francisco paper has ever had anyone there. Maybe a stringer. That's it.

A Well, it's a great opportunity for everyone. Nicky alluded to it, that he's here to help and do all he can to show the sport that he's so passionate about. So we're excited to join in. It's a great product on track, with Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden and Colin Edwards. There's the Americans that are doing really well. So it's going to be an exciting year.

Q My sense of it is that IMS are really enamored by MotoGP.

A For sure. It's exciting. We looked long and hard at what was the best opportunity to race here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. When we have events, we have world-class events, and I think MotoGP fit that program very well.

Q Because I was speaking with your public relations guy yesterday. He said, "One of our main goals is to really bring the awareness of MotoGP up in America, not just here, but everywhere in America"

A We have to. We think that we're here to take the lead, and as you mentioned earlier, the TV stations, the media that was here today, is just an indication of why we want to be those leaders, and take MotoGP out and showcase it as a great sport.

Q Have you ridden the new track?

A I have not.

Q When will you?

A Not sure. The engineers said as soon as we're finished today, the barriers are going back up. So I may wait until July.

Q What's the process from today onward, for you guys?

A The next big day that we're looking towards is July 1st. We have a planned MotoGP test July 1st and 2nd. While today we've completed the construction process that's permanent installation for the circuit, the next part will be all the temporary installations. So if you come back during that event, you will see Astro-Turf down, all the lines down, all the tire barriers in place. Today, we have - it's about 90% complete, and will be 100% for July. So a lot of fine tuning. We'll get some more feedback in July. So that's really our next goal. In between there we have the Indy 500 to run, so until May 27, we'll be all about car racing, and then we'll shift gears for motorcycles in July.

Q Nicky's 2006 bike was there today. I was standing on that brick line on the front straight, looking down to Turn Four and then towards Turn One, and I just smiled. I couldn't say anything. MotoGP bikes are going to be flying here. This is going to be the top of sixth gear on a MotoGP bike, for sure.

A It's going to be amazing. I can't wait until September 12th when we finally see 18 bikes roaring down the front stretch. It'll be amazing.