Nicky Hayden’s hard-fought result proved that the 2006 World Champion is really building momentum after a tough weekend at the season-opening Qatar GP. Just a tenth off the front row in qualifying, Hayden got a storming start that gave him the chance to run with the leaders. He did just that and was very much in the hunt for a podium finish, chasing Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, until he had a close call at turn one with five laps to go.

Nicky Hayden - 4th place

“It was fun to be competitive, to come into that stadium section the first lap with 130,000 people coming alive, bombs going off, it was cool, it was nice to be there in the mix. Obviously we’d like to have been having some bubbly afterwards, but the bike worked the best it’s worked all weekend and I was pushing hard.

After I dropped back a bit I made a run on them, I was trying to give those guys a fight. Then I stayed on the brake a bit too long into turn one and pretty much crashed. It was elbow down and I thought it was done, but the front tyre was good, so I picked it up on the knee and saved it. You can ride these bikes so hard now and the front tyres are so good, that’s the first time I’ve done that.

All in all it’s been a good day for Repsol Honda, so thanks to my team and for the support from all the guys. We came in here a lot more competitive, hopefully we can keep rolling from here and keep moving up.”

Kazuhiko Yamano - Team Manager
“That was an excellent race for the Repsol Honda team, we are really happy. The whole team has done a great job here, worked so hard and I want to thank them for that. I also want to thank Michelin, the tyres worked so well here. Dani had a great race, his concentration level is incredible, and it’s also great to see Nicky back up there and enjoying a strong race.”