Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner claims his pass over Nicky Hayden at Motegi was not risky – MotoGP news
Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner has said that his pass over Nicky Hayden of Ducati was not risky which he made during the 2011 Japanese Grand Prix at the Twin Ring Motegi Circuit on Sunday, October 2.
After Stoner ran wide during the fifth lap, the Aussie had to run back to the top for a podium finish.
In an effort of rising from seventh position in the race, Stoner had to push hard aggressively. During the several passes that he made to claim a third position on the podium, he had to overtake Nicky Hayden.
Stoner said, “Nah, I didn't get in there too hot. It's a thing that Nicky does. When you pass him he doesn't want to give up the position. It happened to me with him at Indianapolis, I think, last year.”
The Aussie rider went on to recover his lost positions in the race and overtook former Ducati teammate Nicky Hayden. Following the race, it was speculated that Stoner made an aggressive pass over Hayden.
On this note Stoner stated it is normal for Hayden to ignore a rider that tends to overtake him.
Stoner further added, “You go up the inside and he keeps leaning on you, and leaning on you. That's basically all that happened. I went in there with plenty of room. I could have easily made the corner if he just didn't lean on me.”
The 2012 championship leader, Stoner claimed that as he entered his inside line, Hayden started to lean over to his side and carried on doing so. In that situation, Stoner decided to release his brakes and move ahead realising his presence besides him.
He added that he had to make this advancement as he feared Hayden was going to ignore his presence.
The frustration and chaos filled Japanese race did give Stoner a podium position but his lead has dropped to 40 points from Jorge Lorenzo.
Tags: