FCLinder
10-30-2006, 08:05 AM
Well yesterday was a great race. If anyone has been watching the series this year it’s been a good one for Nicky Hayden. Valentino didn't have such a great race and finish 12th or 13th which gave Nicky enough points to walk away with the title. Glad to see the US on top. More below:
Hayden rewarded as Doctor’s powers falter
The Doctor’s magical healing powers finally deserted him as Valentino Rossi made a rare error in the season-ending Valencia Grand Prix and handed the consistent Nicky Hayden his first MotoGP world title.
The Kentucky Kid became the first rider since fellow American Wayne Rainey in 1992 to win the world title after going into the final race in second place in the standings.
The championship appeared to have been snatched from Hayden’s grasp after he crashed out of the penultimate grand prix in Portugal when team mate Dani Pedrosa ploughed into him from behind as the two riders entered a bend.
But Hayden, who finished third in Sunday’s race and was on the podium in 10 of the 17 rounds of the championship, never gave up hope and managed to break Rossi’s stranglehold on the blue riband class.
“When you dedicate your life to something and the dream comes true is just feels really good,” said the 25-year-old.
“If you don’t give up anything can happen…I feel so blessed and so fortunate that I feel really humbled. This is a great day for me and my family.”
Just three months ago, Hayden had looked to be on course for a comfortable victory in the world championship after opening up a 34-point lead over Pedrosa and enjoying a 51-point advantage over Rossi following his victory in his home grand prix in Laguna Seca.
ACCIDENT-PLAGUED SEASON
Rossi, nicknamed ‘the Doctor’ had had to contend with accident, injury, mechanical gremlins and tyre problems as he negotiated his way through his most difficult season since arriving in the blue riband category.
But it says much for the Italian’s fierce competitive spirit that he still managed to take the title race to the wire.
Just when he was being written off, Rossi’s luck changed and he mounted the sort of comeback that had Hayden looking anxiously over his shoulder.
He won a thrilling duel with Loris Capirossi in Malaysia in one of the most exciting races in recent memory, nipped past old foe Sete Gibernau on the final corner to take third in Australia and snapped up second place in Japan.
But the odds were still in Hayden’s favour until the last outing in Estoril when the American found himself the victim of his own team mate’s impetuosity.
After he was downed by Pedrosa, Hayden was left distraught, punching the gravel in frustration as he watched Rossi, and his title chances, apparently disappear over the horizon.
But the American refused to get involved in a slanging match with his team mate in the media and knuckled down in the hope that his luck might change in the final race of the season.
Few would have predicted that a rare error by Rossi would hand him the title, but no one would begrudge the modest laid-back southerner his first MotoGP title.
http://roadsnw.com/images/1nicky-vi.jpg
http://www.laguna-seca.com/UserFiles/Image/Nicky-Hayden.jpg
Hayden rewarded as Doctor’s powers falter
The Doctor’s magical healing powers finally deserted him as Valentino Rossi made a rare error in the season-ending Valencia Grand Prix and handed the consistent Nicky Hayden his first MotoGP world title.
The Kentucky Kid became the first rider since fellow American Wayne Rainey in 1992 to win the world title after going into the final race in second place in the standings.
The championship appeared to have been snatched from Hayden’s grasp after he crashed out of the penultimate grand prix in Portugal when team mate Dani Pedrosa ploughed into him from behind as the two riders entered a bend.
But Hayden, who finished third in Sunday’s race and was on the podium in 10 of the 17 rounds of the championship, never gave up hope and managed to break Rossi’s stranglehold on the blue riband class.
“When you dedicate your life to something and the dream comes true is just feels really good,” said the 25-year-old.
“If you don’t give up anything can happen…I feel so blessed and so fortunate that I feel really humbled. This is a great day for me and my family.”
Just three months ago, Hayden had looked to be on course for a comfortable victory in the world championship after opening up a 34-point lead over Pedrosa and enjoying a 51-point advantage over Rossi following his victory in his home grand prix in Laguna Seca.
ACCIDENT-PLAGUED SEASON
Rossi, nicknamed ‘the Doctor’ had had to contend with accident, injury, mechanical gremlins and tyre problems as he negotiated his way through his most difficult season since arriving in the blue riband category.
But it says much for the Italian’s fierce competitive spirit that he still managed to take the title race to the wire.
Just when he was being written off, Rossi’s luck changed and he mounted the sort of comeback that had Hayden looking anxiously over his shoulder.
He won a thrilling duel with Loris Capirossi in Malaysia in one of the most exciting races in recent memory, nipped past old foe Sete Gibernau on the final corner to take third in Australia and snapped up second place in Japan.
But the odds were still in Hayden’s favour until the last outing in Estoril when the American found himself the victim of his own team mate’s impetuosity.
After he was downed by Pedrosa, Hayden was left distraught, punching the gravel in frustration as he watched Rossi, and his title chances, apparently disappear over the horizon.
But the American refused to get involved in a slanging match with his team mate in the media and knuckled down in the hope that his luck might change in the final race of the season.
Few would have predicted that a rare error by Rossi would hand him the title, but no one would begrudge the modest laid-back southerner his first MotoGP title.
http://roadsnw.com/images/1nicky-vi.jpg
http://www.laguna-seca.com/UserFiles/Image/Nicky-Hayden.jpg