MotoGP
US GP: Repsol Honda Friday notes
Hayden Second Quick Repsol Honda riders Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa completed today's first two US GP practice sessions second and 15th fastest aboard their RC212Vs. Double Laguna GP winner Hayden stormed into second place on his final lap ...
Published: Jul 19, 2008, 8:43 AM
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Hayden Second Quick
Repsol Honda riders Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa completed today's first two US GP practice sessions second and 15th fastest aboard their RC212Vs. Double Laguna GP winner Hayden stormed into second place on his final lap of the day, while Pedrosa battled bravely with the injuries he sustained when he crashed while leading last Sunday's German GP.
Hayden, wearing a special Olympics-themed helmet and leathers design for his home race, is working hard to close the gap on current pace-setter Casey Stoner. The American made set-up changes this afternoon to give him more grip round this rollercoaster of a Californian racetrack.
Pedrosa fractured his left index finger and the big bone of his left wrist and sprained his right ankle last weekend. The tough Spaniard, who is wearing a modified Alpinestars glove on his heavily strapped, injured hand, is obviously in severe discomfort despite using painkilling therapy.
Laguna is a hugely physically challenging anti-clockwise racetrack that places exceptional strain on the left hand, wrist and arm. Pedrosa rode 21 laps this morning and 28 laps this afternoon.
This morning's session started ten minutes late due to fog. Conditions this afternoon were warm and sunny, though the session was briefly red-flagged with 20 minutes to go after Anthony West crashed. His machine took out a section of safety air fence which had to be replaced before practice could continue.
Nicky Hayden, 2nd fastest, 1m 22.634s
"It's been quite a tough day, to be honest. We've been trying to work around a few problems the best we can. We're not completely happy with our tyre options this week, it's tough saving some for the race, which makes it a tough weekend. This is a track I've gone well at in the past, but none of that counts now, I need to do it again. This afternoon the team's done a good job, made a few changes to try and make the tyres work better. At the end I got going a little bit better but still the gap to Stoner is so far. We'll keep working hard and use all the time we've got. The support I've got here is unbelievable, man. I just can't believe how these fans treat me. We'll keep working hard and try and give the fans something so they're not headed to the gate with five laps to go!"
Dani Pedrosa, 15th fastest, 1m 23.707s
"I'm feeling a lot of pain and this race is really long and tough, so we still need to evaluate if it's worth racing. This morning I went out just to see how I felt on the bike and to see if I could ride. I felt incredible pain, so we decided to use a anti-pain infiltration for the second session. In the afternoon I was two seconds faster, even though I still felt a lot of pain after doing a short run of laps. This track is extremely demanding, with many left-handers and a lot of ups and downs. The downhill sections are particularly difficult as there's more pressure on the hands which makes it even more of a struggle. I can stand the pain from my right ankle when I'm on the bike, but I have to use a crutch to walk."
Kazuhiko Yamano - Team Manager
"Nicky was second quickest today, which isn't bad but we still need to improve so we will have a meeting and discuss what we can do to improve his set-up and choose the best tyres for this track. Today Dani showed he has a big heart and a strong will because he's riding with a lot of pain. He rode today and this was his first target. Tomorrow he will try again and we all hope that he will be able to race on Sunday. The team is doing a great job supporting him."
-credit: repsol
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