Repsol Honda RC212V rider Nicky Hayden rode to a brilliant podium finish at cool and sunny Phillip Island today, the result moving him up two places in the World Championship points standings to sixth overall with two rounds remaining.
The 2006 World Champion’s third-place result at the fastest track of the year was his second podium in three races, following a brave ride to second in last month’s hurricane-hit Indianapolis Grand Prix. After qualifying third fastest yesterday, the American got a great start to go with race winner Casey Stoner, staying in touch with the Australian during the early stages. During the final few laps Hayden struggled with rear grip and came under pressure from newly crowned World Champion Valentino Rossi, the Italian snatching second place at the start of the very last lap. Hayden tried to counter attack at Honda hairpin but ran wide and had to settle for third. Fittingly for the fastest and greatest racetrack on the MotoGP calendar, the last three World Champions climbed the podium: Stoner, Rossi and Hayden.
Nicky Hayden, finished third, sixth in World Championship"We got a really good start and I thought was going to lead. Things felt pretty good early on, I went a lot faster in the race than I went all weekend. The bike and everything was working pretty good, so I was able to stay with Casey for a while, I felt comfortable there. Then once he started to pull away I had some issues, I couldn’t keep the corner speed I had early on. I enjoyed the race, it was a lot of fun – riding this track for 27 laps is quite intense, you don’t realise how fast you’re going around here. It was a good battle at the end, Valentino started coming for me, I started to ride a little harder but I ended up going a little slower. I tried to stay wheels in line as best I could and hold him off. But I didn’t get off the last corner great going into the last lap. Coming down the start-finish I saw him on the big TV screen out of the corner of my eye, so I knew it was going to be tough, there wasn’t much I could do, I didn’t have much tyre left. Nonetheless it’s cool to be on the podium, I enjoyed the race. My Michelin guys wanted me to run a harder tyre. I did the sighting lap on that tyre, put back in my original choice for the race. The warm-up was really good, it was nice to get some heat in there. It got a little loose at the end but it was fun. A big thanks to my team and to all my fans for sticking with me.”
Kazuhiko Yamano - Team Manager“Nicky did a great job today, congratulations to him and the team for the podium result. The race was pretty tough, with a very fast pace, but the rider, his machine and the Michelin tyres worked well at Phillip Island today. I would like to thank Nicky and the team for this result.”
MotoGP RACE: 1. Casey STONER - AUS - Ducati Marlboro Team DUCATI 40'56.643
2. Valentino ROSSI - ITA - Fiat Yamaha Team YAMAHA 41'03.147
3. Nicky HAYDEN - USA - Repsol Honda Team HONDA 41'03.848 4. Jorge LORENZO - SPA - Fiat Yamaha Team YAMAHA 41'08.143
5. Shinya NAKANO - JPN - San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 41'08.557
6. James TOSELAND - GBR - Tech 3 Yamaha YAMAHA 41'08.886 243
7. Andrea DOVIZIOSO - ITA - JiR Team Scot MotoGP HONDA 41'09.423
8. Colin EDWARDS - USA - Tech 3 Yamaha YAMAHA 41'22.563
9. Randy DE PUNIET - FRA - LCR Honda MotoGP HONDA 41'22.680
10. Loris CAPIROSSI - ITA - Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 41'23.442
11. Toni ELIAS - SPA - Alice Team DUCATI 41'23.670
12. Anthony WEST - AUS- Kawasaki Racing Team KAWASAKI 41'44.451
13. John HOPKINS - USA - Kawasaki Racing Team KAWASAKI 41'44.976
14. Sylvain GUINTOLI - FRA- Alice Team DUCATI 41'45.542
15. Chris VERMEULEN- AUS- Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 41'45.578
16. Marco MELANDRI- ITA - Ducati Marlboro Team DUCATI 42'08.410
Not finished first lap:15. Alex DE ANGELIS - RSM - San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA
2. Dani PEDROSA - SPA - Repsol Honda Team HONDA
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP:1. Valentino ROSSI - ITA - Fiat Yamaha Team 332
2. Casey STONER - AUS - Ducati Marlboro Team 245
3. Dani PEDROSA - SPA - Repsol Honda Team 209
4. Jorge LORENZO - SPA - Fiat Yamaha Team 182
5. Andrea DOVIZIOSO - ITA - JiR Team Scot MotoGP 145
6. Nicky HAYDEN - USA - Repsol Honda Team 1317. Colin EDWARDS - USA - Tech 3 Yamaha 126
8. Chris VERMEULEN - AUS - Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 118
9. Shinya NAKANO - JPN - San Carlo Honda Gresini 106
10. Loris CAPIROSSI - ITA - Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 102
11. James TOSELAND - GBR - Tech 3 Yamaha 100
12. Toni ELIAS - SPA - Alice Team 91
13. Sylvain GUINTOLI - FRA - Alice Team 60
14. Alex DE ANGELIS - RSM - San Carlo Honda Gresini 55
15. Randy DE PUNIET - FRA - LCR Honda MotoGP 54
16. Marco MELANDRI - ITA - Ducati Marlboro Team 51
17. John HOPKINS - USA - Kawasaki Racing Team 50
18. Anthony WEST - AUS - Kawasaki Racing Team 46
19. Ben SPIES - USA - Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 20
20. Jamie HACKING -USA - Kawasaki Racing Team 5
21. Tadayuki OKADA - JPN - Repsol Honda Team 2
Constructor Points:1. YAMAHA 361
2. DUCATI 286
3. HONDA 275
4. SUZUKI 165
5. KAWASAKI 81
Team Points:1. FIAT YAMAHA TEAM 514
2. REPSOL HONDA TEAM 3403. DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM 296
4. TECH 3 YAMAHA 226
5. RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP 222
6. SAN CARLO HONDA GRESINI 161
7. ALICE TEAM 151
8. JIR TEAM SCOT MOTOGP 145
9. KAWASAKI RACING TEAM 101
10. LCR HONDA MOTOGP 54
