Ducati’s Valentino Rossi crashes, Nicky Hayden finishes seventh in Grand Prix of Japan – MotoGP news
Ducati Team rider Valentino Rossi crashed out in the first lap while Nicky Hayden ended up seventh in the dramatic Japanese Grand Prix held on Sunday, October 2, 2011.
The Kentucky Kid practiced well throughout the race weekend. Hayden was tenth on grid but lost several seconds from the start off when he touched teammate Valentino Rossi in the first corner.
However, he tried to get close to the front pack of riders but struggled all the way through.
Hayden said, “Our bike was pretty good this weekend. Even though I was only eighth fastest this morning, I was pretty consistent, and this weekend is really the first time I’ve been kind of competitive here. On the start, everybody flinched, and I almost
got baited into jumping.”
Hayden claimed that it was not a problem to get in contact but a lot of crucial time was lost. After the riders settled for their fighting positions, Hayden was engaged with Alvaro Bautista for the fourth position.
Hayden and Bautista were in the position for podium fight when Stoner went wide and dropped to seventh place. Andrea Dovizioso and Marco Simoncelli were penalised for ‘jump start.’
After running wide, Stoner came back to take the third seat and passed Hayden and Bautista. At that moment, Hayden made an effort to pass Bautista in chase of Stoner, but it did not happen.
In order to make the pass, he went for late braking to cover the overtake line but Hayden ran short of the margin area, running wide into the gravel.
The seven-time MotoGP world champion met with misfortune when his race ended up in the second bend of the first lap. Rossi had improved his setup for Motegi but could not avail its potential.
Rossi said, “It’s really a shame to be out of the race after two corners, especially after the progress that we made this weekend, and with the knowledge that we’d worked on the bike well. I was fourth in the morning warm-up, and it would have been possible
to have a pace in the high 1:46 range.”
Now both team riders aim to cover up for Motegi at the next MotoGP round taking place at Phillip Island, Australia.
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