US MotoGP: Hayden leads American 1-2
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Image Gallery ( 21 images )Makoto Tanaka, Repsol Honda Team Manager: “A very special day and one we will all remember for ever. Nicky has been the man to beat all weekend and in the end no one could touch him. His team did a great job and got the bike set-up well right from the start. They hardly changed a thing. We at Honda have always had faith in Nicky and today it all paid off. Mr Takeo Fukui, the President and CEO of Honda Motor Company was here to witness the first Honda win in the top class of GP racing at Laguna Seca ever. I am positive that now Nicky has tasted success we will be seeing more. Max had a quiet race in compassion but with Melandri crashing out, managed to close the gap to second place to only seven points.”
Colin Edwards (Gauloises Yamaha Team) 2nd: "I made another bad start and ended up with two riders making a sandwich of me into turn one. They had my handlebars on each side and just carried me into the corner so I thought it was going to end in a big mess. Once I got clear of the group I got my head down and pushed as hard as I could to pass Valentino. At that point I still had something left to try and catch Nicky but every time I closed the gap he responded, so hats off to him. When the tyres went off I was just hanging on to finish the race. I knew I had an advantage of around two seconds over Valentino but on the last lap I looked at my board and it said 0.6. I guessed it must be a mistake but I then looked over my shoulder in turn two and he was right there! I thought "oh no, not on the last lap!" I gave everything I had left to hold him off and came close to crashing a few times so second place is really pleasing."
Davide Brivio, Gauloises Yamaha Team Director: "It has been a very good weekend for us and to have both riders together on the podium for the third time this year is a nice way to celebrate Yamaha's 50th Anniversary. It is great to see the yellow, white and black colours on the podium after so many years, but most importantly we have seen Valentino extend his advantage at the top of the championship and Colin get much closer to the top. It has been a positive Grand Prix in every aspect for us. We have also enjoyed the experience of being in California, and we look forward to coming back next year."
Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Yamaha Team) 3rd: "I lost some time during practice trying to learn the circuit so the bike was not at 100% today, and also our tyre choice was not perfect. Anyway, Nicky rode very hard and it was impossible to catch him today. I knew Colin was coming but I didn't realise how close he was and he caught me by surprise in the Corkscrew. I lost some time there but at the end he lost some of his rhythm and I tried to catch him. He turned around to look at me and I said: "Hello, I am here!" I thought maybe to attack on the last lap but then I had a vision of both Yamahas in the dirt so decided third place was okay, especially for the championship! Anyway, I am very happy because I expected this to be the hardest race of the season but I am the fastest European rider here and I fought with the Americans. I have learnt a lot to try and beat them next year! "
Max Biaggi, Repsol Honda, 4th: “It was a good race. Surely, we could have stepped on the podium this time, but it took me too long to pass Bayliss, who was slowing me down. So I lost the touch with the head of the race. I’m sorry, because I did a good start, from seventh to fourth place. I also liked the duel with Gibernau, tough but always fair. Well, I had fun. Today I really want to congratulate with my team mate Nicky and with his guys. He was simply perfect all over the week-end. Bravo Nicky!"
Sete Gibernau, Movistar Honda MotoGP, 5th: “I think that was one of my best races of the season, if not the best, even though the result might not reflect that. We found a better set-up than we had all weekend in the morning warm-up and I went out to give everything, even though I knew it would be tough starting so far back. We were able to maintain a high rhythm, the same as the guys at the front, and stayed consistent throughout the race. It hasn’t been an ideal weekend. When we go well in qualifying we don’t seem able to finish it off in the race and vice versa. I’m confident that when we manage to put three good days together again we’ll be back to winning races.”
Troy Bayliss, Camel Honda, 6th: “Sixth isn’t what I want, or what I expected here at Laguna. In the race I was just unable to find the kind of feeling I had in practice, I didn’t have the confidence on the front and hardly any grip at the back. I picked up some good points and I gained a place a position in the championship standings, but today I wanted more.”
Sito Pons, Camel Honda: “We have been incredibly unlucky in this race, because Alex was caught up in an incident he had nothing to do with, and he didn’t even get the chance to make the most of the competitive edge and pacy rhythm he demonstrated in practice and above all during this morning’s warm-up. Having seen his pace in the race he would almost certainly have been able to fight for victory. Troy got away well, but obviously he had a few difficulties because he was never able to ride as hard as in practice.”
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