Ducati Team duo Nicky Hayden, Valentino Rossi finishes Australian GP far apart – MotoGP news
Ducati Team riders Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi finished the Iveco Australian Grand Prix in contrasting fashion.
Hayden took seventh position in race while Rossi crashed out.
The Kentucky Kid started the race from fifth position on the grid and raced well in the Australian heat. Meanwhile his Italian teammate was 13th on the grid.
Hayden said, “Conditions were really tough today, with wind and rain off-and-on at different parts of the track. My start actually wasn’t amazing, but I think everybody else got away worse than I did. I was in a good position, but I really had no grip at
the rear from the very beginning.”
The American rider was able to hop into second place from the start off. He took the opportunity to fight for the position. Unfortunately, as the race went on, he was passed by Marco Simoncelli and Alvaro Bautista.
Hayden was fighting for grip when unwillingly he had to settle for the lower position in the race. As the riders passed him, his rear tyre had lost a lot of rubber. Adding to his difficulty it started to rain and the tyre felt really slippery.
Apparently Hayden though to have lost the race in worse condition but when Alvaro Bautista crashed due to downpour he decided to change the bike rather end up with a ‘did not finish’ status as his teammate did.
Though it was a seventh place finish for Hayden but he rode very close to the top riders’ pack for a while which is a positive note from the event. He aims to take the positive things from this event.
The Italian veteran collected his second consecutive ‘did not finish’ status after the Japanese GP.
Rossi said, “The crash was really a shame because I could have finished fifth. After a pretty good start, I lost some ground to Nicky and Bautista, but then I found my rhythm and managed to get them both. Unfortunately, I lost the front when I passed Alvaro,
and I’m really disappointed because I didn’t expect it.”
After missing points in last two races, he was disappointed and aims to work on the aspect in next races.
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