Hayden on Laguna: We’ll go full gas”

Nicky Hayden is looking forward to another special weekend at Laguna Seca, the scene of his superb wins in 2005 and 2006

MotoGP Press Release

Although Indianapolis has now become Nicky Hayden’s true home event, the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca is always a special weekend on the calendar for the Kentuckian rider.

Hayden made history when he won the first race at the Californian track after it’s re-emergence on the MotoGP schedule in 2005 - after a ten year absence - and then repeated the victory in 2006 en route to the World title, writing his name into Laguna folklore.

This year, after a DNF in 2007 and fifth place last year, Hayden is appearing on American soil for the first time as a Ducati rider and is determined to put on a good show for the fans, despite his modest start to the season.

“This year we’re racing in America on the 4th of July weekend and it’s perfect,” he enthused. “I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the holiday than at the US GP! Also the fact my brothers will be racing on the same weekend in the AMA championship helps make it special for me. This will be the first time my American fans get to see me on a Ducati so that will be cool because there are a lot of Ducati fans in the states. No predictions or anything but we’ll go full gas and see what happens.”

Looking to make progress from 15th in the championship, with just 26 points gained thus far in 2009, Hayden has his a good opportunity this weekend at his best track. “We still have a lot of work to do but it has been nice to see a little progress over the last few weeks and at Laguna I really need to take another big step,” the former Honda man continued.

“I don’t have any big plan or anything, it’s not that easy! All I know to do is keep trying and working at it and hope it will come. Laguna is a great track and very challenging. There are a few points that stick out but in general it is different to most tracks, which usually have a few different sections, whereas Laguna is basically just one section and you have to put it all together to make a good lap.”

KTM 990 ready for AMA Daytona Sportbike

KTM 990 Super Duke Homologated For AMA Pro Daytona SportBike, Will Debut At Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

AMA Pro Racing Press Release

The AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL class is already one of the most diverse divisions in major league motorcycle road racing, but the competition is going to get even more interesting beginning with this weekend's Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

The KTM 990 Super Duke is the 11th different motorcycle approved and homologated for AMA Pro Daytona SportBike competition, and one of the unique twin cylinder bikes will be debuted this weekend at Mazda Raceway. The California-based Tri-Valley Moto team and rider Eric Gulbransen will field the No. 394 KTM 990 Super Duke in Sunday's AMA Pro Daytona SportBike final.

"We have seen outstanding racing this year in AMA Pro Daytona SportBike presented by AMSOIL and that is due to the incredible talent of the teams and riders and the performance of a diverse line-up of motorcycles," said AMA Pro Racing President Roger Edmondson. "AMA Pro Daytona SportBike is now home to 11 different motorcycles from nine different manufacturers and the parity we have seen in the on-track performance has been unmatched at this level. We welcome KTM and Tri-Valley Moto to the series and know they will be a competitive addition to an already outstanding class."

The Austrian-made KTM brand has been ridden to more than 90 motorcycle championships around the world but the AMA Pro Daytona SportBike debut will be the manufacturer's first experience in North America at this level.

Tri-Valley Moto is based in Livermore, California and Gulbransen is a veteran California rider from Menlo Park, who also has extensive experience racing Ducatis.

Dual 23-lap/50-mile sprints for AMA Pro Daytona SportBike and AMA Pro National Guard American Superbike presented by Parts Unlimited will bring the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix weekend to a close on Sunday, July 5. The Daytona SportBike race begins at 3:30 p.m. local time and will be followed directly by the American Superbike race at 4:15 p.m.

MotoGP heads west to Laguna Seca

The riders in the premier class this week make a dash across the Atlantic to the West Coast of the US, to the superb Californian track of Laguna Seca.

Press Release

This weekend’s Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca is the first of two World Championship visits to America this year and is the second of four GPs in a five week period as the 2009 season really begins to gather pace.

With Indianapolis to come in August the MotoGP riders will this weekend enjoy their first Stateside trip of the campaign as they head to California, with visits to Sachsenring and Donington Park still to come on the busy schedule before the summer break.

After seven rounds so far this year things are tight at the top, with three main protagonists emerging as the title candidates. Heading to Assen in the Netherlands last weekend, Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner were all square on points at the head of the standings and even though Rossi has pushed ahead with the superb 100th GP victory of his career at the Dutch track his young rivals are still snapping at his heels.

Last year at Laguna Rossi took a hugely important win over Stoner, passing him brilliantly on infamous Corkscrew corner and scoring a significant psychological blow against the Australian. This year, however, he has two key rivals to contend with.

World Champion Rossi goes into round eight in great from, with a five point lead over Lorenzo in the general classification, having relegated his Fiat Yamaha team-mate to second place in the last two races at Catalunya and Assen. The Italian looks as strong as ever, with his Yamaha M1 machine working brilliantly as he looks to turn up the heat on his rivals.

Lorenzo, meanwhile, has never completed a race at Laguna having crashed out on the first lap on his debut at the Californian track last year. He insists however that this year he is finding things more comfortable at tracks which did not favour him in the past and can be expected to be pushing Rossi hard at the front again this weekend.

Fitness doubts for Stoner could be the major factor hindering the Ducati star following another grueling race in The Netherlands, where for the second round in succession he finished third, but was totally exhausted on the podium. If he can recover full strength he will be confident of another good performance on Sunday, at a track where he won in 2007 and finished second in 2008.

Behind the leading three in the championship, the Repsol Honda duo of Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa will be desperate to bounce straight back from their Assen disappointments having both crashed out of the Dutch contest, in separate incidents at the same corner, when well positioned to earn some decent points. Dovizioso is currently fourth in the standings, some distance behind the top three, but with just a two point advantage over Pedrosa and Colin Edwards.

Texan rider Edwards arrives for his home race in good form following his fourth place at Assen and is hoping for another good result as he seeks to extend his MotoGP career. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider was on the podium at Laguna Seca in 2005 but since then has struggled for good results there and will aim to correct that pattern on Sunday.

His compatriot Nicky Hayden, the only other American rider in the premier class at present, boasts two of his three MotoGP career wins at Laguna and would love nothing more than to get his first top five result of 2009 on his Stateside debut for Ducati this weekend.

The Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix promises to be a memorable event, coinciding with the American 4th July celebrations and commencing this Friday, 3rd July, with Free Practice 1 at 1.55pm local time, (9.55pm GMT, 10.55pm CET). The 250cc and 125cc classes do not compete at Laguna and will be back in action at Sachsenring on the 17th-19th July weekend.

June 30, 2009

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