MotoGP – Estoril – Nicky Hayden was hoping to fight for the podium

After the pole position achieved yesterday afternoon, Nicky Hayden certainly expected more than the final fourth place obtained, but the initial difficulty in getting into the rhythm and some mistakes made caused him to lose precious time, not to mention that Nicky himself admits that the top three were faster than him today, just as he admits that he has no excuses for the result, given that today everything from the bike to the tires worked perfectly. Now things have improved and Kentucky Kid wants to give his all on the four remaining tracks.

“There were many positive things this weekend, and pole position was one of them, even if fourth is certainly not the result we were hoping for. We knew it would be tough today, and the first lap wasn't so kind to me, but, to be honest, I was just happy to get through the first lap after what happened last race. At the beginning I couldn't get into the rhythm, I was really in trouble outside turn six and some riders managed to pass me on the inside of turn seven. The fight with Melandri made me lose some time, then I picked up the pace and dropped below 1'37” and caught Stoner. I was riding at the limit and used a lot of my tires to catch the leaders, and then I made a big mistake that cost me a lot of time. My bike was very good today. The engine was good and the Michelin tires were ok, so I really have no excuses, those guys were just a little bit faster and I recognize that. This was my first pole position of the year and I set the fastest lap of the race, which is ultimately a positive. We're on a better path than we were a few months ago, it seems like things are starting to go in the right direction again and I'm enjoying riding the bike again. We'll go to Motegi and try to get it rolling. There are still four circuits!”

Marika Farinazzo