Mixed feelings for Hayden after qualifying
Nicky Hayden was happy to qualify on the front row for his home race at Laguna Seca this weekend, but remains frustrated at the advantage held by Casey Stoner at the head of the field
Hayden qualified third, on the sole Repsol Honda this weekend following the withdrawal of Dani Pedrosa through injury, but was three quarters of a second slower than Stoner's pole time on the Ducati.
"I'm happy to be on the front row for my home GP, it's nice," said Hayden. "But it's frustrating, the gap to Casey right now is so big. He's riding so well, I've never seen anybody in this kind of form and right now he's making it hard on us.
"Things have been a little bit rough this weekend but the team have done a good job and the warmer weather this afternoon certainly helped us, so I'm happy.
"I know tomorrow's not going to be easy, the race will be tough, we know that. But anything can happen in the races. We're on the front row so we've just got to line up and give it all we've got and try to have a bit of fun."
Share Or Save This Story
Nicky Hayden: Remembering motorsport's much-loved "one-off" five years on
MotoGP to retire Nicky Hayden's #69 as tribute to late 2006 champion
Driver involved in Nicky Hayden's fatal crash sentenced
Trackhouse Aprilia set to finalise Raul Fernandez 2027 MotoGP deal
Acosta points out the major flaw in MotoGP's plan to ban front holeshot device mid-season
The bold Ferrari turnaround that enabled Hamilton's Barcelona win
Vital step made towards USA's WRC return
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments