Nicky Hayden - Chasin' a Dream » GP of Spain

Nicky Hayden picks up a point in Jerez

Sandra — Sun, 03 May 2009 20:21:56 +0000

It was another difficult day for Nicky Hayden, who has struggled all weekend to find a good set-up, hindered by his physical condition after heavy crashes in each of the opening two rounds. The American also battled bravely, however, to pick up a solitary point in 15th place.

NICKY HAYDEN – (Ducati Marlboro Team) 15th

“I was nervous that physically it would be a tough race but it turned out to be a lot worse than we expected. In the beginning I struggled a lot again with a full fuel load and I made a mistake on the first lap – I was trying to make some positions up and I actually lost some. I tried to recover but something was wrong with the set-up of the bike.

I can’t make the harder compound work well with my bike and I have to go with the softer one but today even those didn’t start to work well until I got a lot of heat into them. I did my best time on the seventeenth lap so there is something we have definitely to work on with the team. We need to look at the data and think up something different for the next one.”

MotoGP Race Results – GP of Spain

Sandra — Sun, 03 May 2009 18:17:56 +0000

1. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 45′18.557
2. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team 45′21.257
3. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 45′29.064
4. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 45′50.450
5. Marco Melandri ITA Hayate Racing Team 45′51.685
6. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 45′52.685
7. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 45′52.978
8. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 45′53.182
9. Toni Elias SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini 46′01.246
10. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 46′03.740
11. Sete Gibernau SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando 46′06.749
12. Yuki Takahashi JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP 46′10.432
13. James Toseland GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 46′12.240
14. Alex de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini 46′12.498
15. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 46′19.794
16. Niccolo Canepa ITA Pramac Racing 46′29.453

DNF
Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing +15 laps
Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team +4 laps

Nicky Hayden: We’ve ended up with a difficult grid position

Sandra — Sat, 02 May 2009 20:27:14 +0000

Nicky Hayden is set to start from sixteenth on the grid after being unsettled by a dramatic change in the track conditions this afternoon. After a tentative first day yesterday, Hayden made improvements this morning and was tenth fastest in the final free practice session. However, with a 15ºC increase in track temperature and the arrival of high winds he was unable to maintain his progress in the afternoon, lapping almost half a second slower than he had in the morning.

NICKY HAYDEN – (Ducati Marlboro Team) 16th (1’40.953)

“This morning certainly went a lot better, I thought we’d found a good way forward with the bike but this afternoon I had a very different feeling. The wind certainly didn’t help things but that is the same for everybody. It was very unstable in the fast corners and just not holding the line. We tried our best to fix it but things just didn’t go nearly as smooth as we’d like and we’ve ended up with a difficult grid position.

We’ll see what we can do about it tonight. We’ll make a few small adjustments to the bike, make a few tweaks to the set-up here and there and see how it goes in warm-up. The only thing is that it’s quite cool here in the morning compared to the afternoon and, like today, the feeling with the bike changes a lot without touching a thing. It’s going to be tough but we’ll keep working hard and hopefully be in shape to put on a good show for these incredible fans tomorrow afternoon.”

MotoGP Results Qualifying Session – GP of Spain

Sandra — Sat, 02 May 2009 18:19:59 +0000

1. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 1′38.933
2. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team 1′38.984
3. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 1′39.415
4. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 1′39.642
5. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 1′39.806
6. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1′39.862
7. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1′39.926
8. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 1′39.966
9. Toni Elias SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1′40.113
10. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1′40.185
11. Marco Melandri ITA Hayate Racing Team 1′40.381
12. Sete Gibernau SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando 1′40.440
13. Yuki Takahashi JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP 1′40.599
14. James Toseland GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1′40.670
15. Alex de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini 1′40.796
16. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 1′40.953
17. Mika Kallio FIN Pramac Racing 1′41.238
18. Niccolo Canepa ITA Pramac Racing 1′41.253