Nicky's new ride

[JerryMather]

Sweet

 

"It's 2pm in Valencia, and Nicky has already equaled Marco Melandri's best lap time from yesterday's GP. The bike has a stars & stripes paint job and 'Chapter 2' stickers.

 

Release that breath you've been holding, Hayden fans, he can ride it."

[Firefight911]

Love the paint scheme.

 

Looking good for a first ride -

 

It's 2pm in Valencia, and Nicky has already equaled Marco Melandri's best lap time from yesterday's GP. The bike has a stars & stripes paint job and 'Chapter 2' stickers.

 

Release that breath you've been holding, Hayden fans, he can ride it.

[bakerzdosen]

Probably best to link here and then say to click on the picture to enlarge it.

 

Edit: Oops, you already did that while I was checking out the source etc.

[motoguy128]

Sweet paint job! Very nice that there's less red tape to get through.

 

I can't wait to hear and interview on what Nicky's first impressions are. Is it a handful to ride, or does it fit his style?

 

Poor Melandri. What happened to him? He seemed to have so much potential his first couple seasons and just faded away. Did he just never adapt to the 800cc machine?

[Gary in Aus]

The Stoner kiddy did well , a dominant performance .

[Semper_Fi]

That is an awesome paint job - can't miss that going around the track!

[russell_bynum]

Sweet paint job! Very nice that there's less red tape to get through.

 

I can't wait to hear and interview on what Nicky's first impressions are. Is it a handful to ride, or does it fit his style?

 

Poor Melandri. What happened to him? He seemed to have so much potential his first couple seasons and just faded away. Did he just never adapt to the 800cc machine?

 

Melandri has apparently always been all over the map. When he's on, he's at the front giving Valentino and the guys fits. When he's not, he's REALLY not.

 

I hope he does better with the Kawi. He's fun to watch when he's on, and from what I've seen, he seems like a genuinely nice guy.

 

I am so going to love watching what happens when Nicky and Casey are able to ride together as teammates. I think they'll make an excellent team. If the tire situation next year isn't totally screwy, I think they will be a real force.

 

Here's the breakdown of how things ended up today (from motogp.com):

1. Casey Stoner, Ducati Marlboro Team - 1´32.464

2. Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda - 1´32.672

3. Valentino Rossi, Fiat Yamaha Team - 1´32.921

4. Chris Vermeulen, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP - 1´33.142

5. Loris Capirossi, Rizla Suzuki MotoGP - 1´33.325

6. Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Honda Gresini - 1´33.375

7. Jorge Lorenzo, Fiat Yamaha Team - 1´33.550

8. Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda - 1´33.676

9. John Hopkins, Kawasaki Racing Team - 1´33.760

10. Marco Melandri, Kawasaki Racing Team - 1´33.782

11. Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda MotoGP - 1´33.832

12. Nicky Hayden, Ducati Marlboro Team - 1´33.960

13. Toni Elias, San Carlo Honda Gresini - 1´34.129

14. Sete Gibernau, Onde 2000 Ducati - 1´34.451

15. Mika Kallio, Alice Team - 1´34.793

16. Olivier Jacque, Kawasaki Racing Team - 1´34.925

17. Niccolo Canepa, Alice Team - 1´34.995

18. Yuki Takahashi, JiR Team Scot Honda - 1´35.203

[motoguy128]

I would be cool seeing a team where both riders are consistently 2 of the fastest riders and actually work together somewhat.

[JerryMather]

Here's what he's saying about it:

 

"Like I told my brother, I don't know what they pay Casey but it's not enough. They need to double it," Hayden said, "because this thing can be a monster."

 

Today's interview afterwards

[Dave in Doodah]

Nice number, too...

 

I have not followed super bikes in many years (since I lived in Fla in the 90's and could be in Daytona in an hour), but need to get back into it. I hope the media coverage is better these days...

[russell_bynum]

Nice number, too...

 

I have not followed super bikes in many years (since I lived in Fla in the 90's and could be in Daytona in an hour), but need to get back into it. I hope the media coverage is better these days...

 

This isn't Superbike, it is MotoGP.

[Dave in Doodah]

Doh... thanks.

[motoguy128]

Hayden Quote:

 

"Like I've said, the way that Rossi is riding now it's going to take a big effort on the part of a team and a manufacturer. These guys have the right idea: two guys working together, pushing each other, making it better."

 

"If I don't learn it by the time we get to Qatar then I'm probably not going to have learned it by the time we get back here next year this time."

 

 

Sounds like the goals and objective along with he basic strategy AND a timeline have been determined for Team Ducati. Beat Rossi! Do it by working together to achieve the best set-up. Let the best rider take the championship with equal equipment and equal support.

 

 

2 riders fighting for the championship can be good and bad. IF they are both fast, they can "steal" points away from the competitors. Although similarly, they can steal points from their teamate, but it also hedges the team if both ride strong, but one gets injured.

[VinnyR11]

A lot of pressure for Nicky, because if he doesn't do it next season, it ain't the bike nor the team. Good guy and I hope and think he'll do very well.

 

Can't fault the new paint, especially after the Repsol bike. I always hated the semi-Halloween color scheme.

[Semper_Fi]

 

2 riders fighting for the championship can be good and bad. IF they are both fast, they can "steal" points away from the competitors. Although similarly, they can steal points from their teamate, but it also hedges the team if both ride strong, but one gets injured.

 

As long as it doesn't turn into a Senna vs. Prost team it will be awesome to watch.

[VinnyR11]

 

2 riders fighting for the championship can be good and bad. IF they are both fast, they can "steal" points away from the competitors. Although similarly, they can steal points from their teamate, but it also hedges the team if both ride strong, but one gets injured.

 

As long as it doesn't turn into a Senna vs. Prost team it will be awesome to watch.

 

I loved the Senna-Prost days. Incredible racing, but then again, their overly aggressive styles when facing each other wouldn't suit bikes that well.

[russell_bynum]

Nicky finished off the test on top of the charts in the wet...but the other key players (Rossi, Stoner, Lorenzo, and Pedrosa didn't ride).

 

 

[motoguy128]

Nicky finished off the test on top of the charts in the wet...but the other key players (Rossi, Stoner, Lorenzo, and Pedrosa didn't ride).

 

 

True, but Nicky has been pretty strong in wet races in the past. He must really like the feel of the bike and the tires to post a good wet time. You would think the more tame Honda would be better.

 

Maybe Nicky really is on top of his game and the Michelin tires were really holding him back. I hope so for his sake. This is clearly his last shot. I figure he has 2 seasons, 3 max to show results or he off to a satellite team, Kawasaki or Suzuki or maybe WSB.

 

The one ace in his sleeve is that he's a very well liked, hard working rider that's popular with the fans and good for the PR department. If he fail, it's not for lack of giving 110% or having a bad attitude or being unsportsmanly.

[russell_bynum]

The one ace in his sleeve is that he's a very well liked, hard working rider that's popular with the fans and good for the PR department. If he fail, it's not for lack of giving 110% or having a bad attitude or being unsportsmanly.

 

Absolutely.

[BMW_Ken]

A quote from Ducati's MotoGP technical director, Filippo Preziosi, talking about Hayden after the test:

 

"He certainly is very brave," Preziosi told Italian newspaper Gazetta dello Sport. "With the telemetry you can see that in certain situations the bike wobbles in a scary way, even more than with [Casey] Stoner, but he doesn't get off the gas.

 

"I think we've made a good choice."

 

Hopefully he is correct.