The Repsol Honda Team conquers North America with a succesful race
Victory of local rider Nicky Hayden. Dani Pedrosa, second, completes a successful weekend for the Repsol riders at the US Grand Prix.
Not even the best Hollywood writer could have imagined a story like the one staged today at the Californian track of Laguna Seca. Under extremely strong sun and the thermometers showing almost 40º C, the US Grand Prix had all necessary ingredients for an epic film: uncertainty, tension, recovery of the heroes and Excitement, big dose of excitement, until the chequered flag.
The race did not really start the way Hayden had expected when he arrived in Laguna Seca last Thursday. The practices did not work as well as in 2005; even some non-local riders had shown a high level at ‘his home’, in addition to his fellow countrymen Edwards, Roberts Junior and Hopkins. Starting from the second row with the sixth fastest time was not exactly the best way to face the race with a guarantee for success, but fortunately everything changed in Laguna Seca from the moment the red lights went off.
Hayden was very skilful at the end of the straight taking the outside and passing several riders and he had made it already up to third after the first lap, behind Vermeulen, who had quickly opened a gap, and Roberts Junior. Behind Hayden, team mate Pedrosa had made a little mistake while braking at the end of the straight and was sixth after the first lap and passed by Melandri in lap two. It was then when Hayden started his attack first overtaking Roberts Junior in lap nine and then escaping in order to catch the Australian leader.
On lap 17 Hayden caught Vermeulen and passed him, keeping a very fast pace to clinch his second consecutive victory in Laguna Seca. From then on, his race was an addition of laps, highly concentrated until crossing the finish line as the winner, for the joy of the thousands of fans at the circuit.And while Hayden was riding to clinch his second victory of the 2006 season, a result that allows him to secure his leadership in the overall standings, his team mate, made the success of the Repsol Honda Team complete clinching a hard-fought second place.
Dani Pedrosa was sixth after the first lap and in the next lap he was passed by Melandro, but the young Repsol rider recovered shortly after, first passing the Italian rider and then local rider Edwards, putting himself fifth. Then came Roberts, on lap eleven and on la 15 Stoner crashed out in front of Dani, after loosing grip in the front tyre of his bike. With a free way and already on podium position, Pedrosa went for Vermeulen who has second, riding in solitary.
Lap by lap he got closer to the Australian rider until he managed to overtake him on lap 25. From that moment on, he went all by himself until taking the chequered flag, completing with his second position a perfect weekend for the Repsol Honda Team.With Nicky Hayden’s victory and Valentino Rossi’s retirement due to mechanical problems, the North American rider has increased his advantage in the lead up to 34 points over the second classified rider, who is no other than his team mate Dani Pedrosa.
The third position is now held by Marco Melandri, 44 points behind Hayden, while Valentino Rossi is fourth at 51 points.This result has also allowed the Repsol Honda Team to consolidate the lead in the teams’ overall standings with an advantage of 127 points over the second classified, the Camel Yamaha Team.After this intense weekend, the riders will enjoy a summer break and the World Championship will be back on August 20th on the occasion of the Czech Grand Prix.
Rider´s comments :
Nicky Hayden:
‘I think this feels better than last year, if that’s possible! Last year was perfect and it all came pretty easy but this year I really had to work for it. I want to thank the Repsol Honda team for working so hard, and Michelin because my tyres worked well today. And also thanks to my trainer Eldon Baker because today was really physical. At some tracks it doesn’t pay off to be fit but today was so hot and really physical. My life evolves around being in shape and getting up with the sun to train and days like this make it worth it. I got a really good start from the inside – I did exactly what my big brother told me and got to the outside – and it worked perfectly into turn one allowing me to pick up a few places. I tried not to go too fast too quickly to preserve the tyre because the pace was quick. And then just I tried to relax and chip away. It was really big for the championship today but there’s a long way still to go and I’ve just got to stay healthy and go for some more wins.’
Dani Pedrosa:
‘I’m so happy because this was a great result. The race was really tough, very hot and it was very demanding for the rider. In terms of conditions, this was the hardest race I’ve competed in. It was so difficult to ride in a consistent rhythm. Thanks to my team because they worked really hard, and also to the legends and celebrities who came here because it’s great that they care about motorcycles. The fans were awesome too. At the start I braked a little early and lost a couple of places. And then when I was recovering and moving up I made a mistake and lost the places again so this was tough at the beginning. Finally I was able to get in front and finish second which is a fantastic result for me. Finishing one and two is amazing for our team.’
Standings:
MotoGP
- N.Hayden (Honda) 45’04.867
- D.Pedrosa (Honda) 45’08.053
- M.Melandri (Honda) 45’15.796
- K.Roberts (KR) 45’16.808
- C.Vermeulen (Suzuki) 45’32.30
World MotoGP
- N.Hayden, 194 puntos
- D.Pedrosa, 160
- M.Melandri, 150
- V.Rossi, 143
- L.Capirossi, 126
