Edwards concerned about Indy rain safety

MotoGP veteran Colin Edwards has expressed his concern that the new Indianapolis lay-out may prove dangerous for the riders if expected thunderstorms hit the circuit during practice.

The Texan, who is enjoying his second home race of the season after Laguna Seca, said: "I did a couple of laps in a car yesterday and I went around in a golf-cart today.

"Part of the problem is if it rains. When you have a leather suit on, if you hit the grass when it's wet you just seem to accelerate. So we need to figure out what is going to happen in certain places.

"I think we might need to work with some air fences in some different locations," he added. "But hopefully, keep our fingers crossed and [Hurricane] Ike will hang a left and get out of here.

But despite his worries, Edwards revealed that he was getting a kick out of racing at Indianapolis - a venue he says played a massive part in his childhood.

"When I was kid the country basically shut down for the Indy 500, this was obviously before Indy and CART and all that split went on," he explained. "Some of the Europeans came over and did it and it was like the Superbowl of car racing at the time. As a kid growing up with that year after year, I remember the town would shut down, everybody would sit in front of the TV, it may as well have been the presidential election going on.

"I have good memories [of that]."