Rossi encouraged by steps forward as Hayden finds late surge

Some changes to riding position paid dividends for Valentino Rossi on Saturday at Brno as the Italian qualified on the second row for Sunday’s race, setting the sixth fastest time in qualifying for his best grid start of the season so far.

“Sixth position is nothing fantastic but I am satisfied because we worked better during the practice and we reduced the gap to the top guys step by step,” said the Ducati rider, who ended the hour-long QP 0.776s off pole man Dani Pedrosa. “To be on the second row is a good start because it’s our best qualification of the season and also we are not so far from some Hondas and Yamahas.”

He continued: “We made some modifications to the bike today with the front and my position on the bike, and I feel better with the front and can push more on (corner) entry. So I enjoyed today. We still have some problems with acceleration and sliding, so if we can fix this tomorrow then maybe we can have a good race.”

After a wet morning practice the premier class enjoyed dry condition for qualifying, and Rossi added: “I hope it’s dry tomorrow because it looks like the weather is not fantastic. Tyre choice I think we’ll go with the soft for the rear, and we have some modifications to increase the rear grip and the speed in the change of direction, so we have to try tomorrow morning.”

On the other side of the Ducati Team garage Nicky Hayden will start from the third row after timing in ninth fastest, and the American made a breakthrough in the final quarter of the session.

“In the end it was much better than how this morning had been going, the rain hurt us because we needed some time to figure out some stuff in the dry, because yesterday we found nothing in the dry and weren’t going forward,” said Hayden. “In the rain the bike was really good out of the box, and normally I need a little time in the rain but the whole session I was in the top five. But then qualifying was quite the opposite, I was down the whole way, but with 15 minutes we found something and I could push a bit and was able to pull out one or two laps. I know tomorrow will be a long, hard day. We’ll see if we can sweeten it up in the morning and try and go in the same direction.”

Discussing tyre choice, Hayden continued: “It looks like we’ll go with a hard front and soft rear. I tried the hard rear yesterday afternoon but it just didn’t give enough grip, especially on the left side. The hard just hasn’t been an option for us the last few races, but the soft’s working pretty well and we did a lot of laps on them so we don’t expect any problems. Some of the long corners I’m losing a lot of time and some of the chicanes I lose a bit in the first which knocks on, so hopefully we can do a better job tomorrow.”

source: MotoGP Official Website

Rossi and Hayden begin Brno set up work

At the end of the second session, the Italian rider had posted a promising seventh-best time, steadily improving his feeling with the bike. Tomorrow he’ll try to continue in this direction.The American rider, on the other hand, was slowed by a lack of rear grip in corners, and he finished with the fourteenth-best time.

Valentino Rossi:

“Today we started better than we had at recent races. Although I’m seventh, our time isn’t bad, and Spies and Dovizioso are ahead but close. This is positive, but the really important thing will be whether we can continue improving like this tomorrow as well, cutting more tenths from my time, session by session. Today I went pretty well on the second part of the track, while I lost time in T1 and T2, so we have to try to work on those sections. We had a hard time at the start of this afternoon’s session, because the hard tyre, which we thought we could work well for the race, was really sliding a lot. When we put on the soft, the situation improved, also because we made some additional changes with the front that helped us improve the feeling. We hope to be able to do the race with the soft, and tomorrow we’ll try to do enough laps to verify that as well.”

Nicky Hayden:

“It was a frustrating day, really. You have two weeks off, and you work hard and do all the little things that will help you when you come back. Then to have your first day back be probably your worst day of the year is pretty frustrating. The main thing is I don’t have much grip from the rear, even on corner entry, and I’m spinning a lot on exit. There are a lot of long, fast corners here, and if you’re slow there, you lose time. We tried a couple things to improve certain areas, but really we didn’t find a big step forward. It was a pretty difficult day for me. I’m not happy with my performance, or with anything, so hopefully we can put this behind us tomorrow.”

Ducati Team press release

Ducati: No 1000cc test at Brno

Ducati's 2012 MotoGP prototype will avoid a head-to-head comparison with rival 1000cc machines from Honda and Yamaha, after the factory announced that this year's 800cc bike will be used at Monday's official post-race test at Brno.

Ducati has already used five of the eight days of 1000cc testing allowed with MotoGP riders this year - compared with two days for Honda and none for Yamaha. 

All the previous factory 1000cc tests have been held in private, but that will change on Monday in the Czech Republic with Honda and Yamaha both confirming that their factory MotoGP riders will try 2012 bikes.

However Ducati has decided that both Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden will 'dedicate that day to working on the 800'.

“The Test Team tried some electronics updates at Mugello, and we'll use them in the post-race test at Brno to continue improving the setup and reduce the gap to the lead group," said team manager Vittoriano Guareschi.

"Filippo [Preziosi] will be on hand Monday, and we'll continue the development work on the GP11.1 with both Valentino and Nicky.” 

While Rossi will continue to ride the GP11.1 throughout the grand prix weekend, team-mate Hayden - who completed his first laps on the modified bike during Friday practice at the previous US GP - revealed that he is likely to use the original GP11.

"Obviously the test on Monday will be really important for us. I'll probably just ride the GP11 on the race weekend and then test the new bike on Monday," said the American.

Rossi and Hayden will start round eleven (of 18) holding fifth and seventh in the world championship, with one podium apiece so far this season.

crash.net

Rossi and Hayden poised for return to business

The two-week break that followed the Laguna Seca Grand Prix gave Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden time for a short vacation that both riders spent close to home, though the American rider took a brief excursion to Indianapolis. Hayden spent August 5th at Indianapolis, splitting his time between promotional activities for the upcoming Grand Prix there and riding the track aboard a Ducati 1198 SP, using the opportunity to try out the new surface that was recently applied to part of the track.

This week the championship returns to action at Brno, the Czech Republic circuit that traditionally opens the second half of the season. It’s a popular round with all the riders because the track, which was constructed in the mid-’80s, offers a great mixture of turns and elevation changes, and is fast, flowing and very wide. Valentino Rossi has claimed four podiums and seven wins across all the classes, while Hayden has one podium.

A test will take place on the Monday after the Grand Prix, and the Ducati Team will dedicate that day to working on the 800cc machine.

Valentino Rossi:

“After Laguna I took a few days of vacation, at the beach close to home. It was a short break but enough to recharge the batteries following an intense period. Now we’ll spend a nice mid-August at Brno—classic! Seriously, I’m always happy to go there. I like the track not only because it’s very nice, wide and fast, and I’ve always gone well there, but also because it’s a special place for me since it’s where I earned my first pole, my first win and my first world championship. During both the race weekend and the Monday test, we’ll continue concentrating on the bike’s setup, with the goal of reducing the gap to the lead group.”

Nicky Hayden:

“It’s been a bit of a break, but fortunately not all of it was away from bikes! On August 5 I had an opportunity to ride a Ducati 1198 SP at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the entire infield section has been resurfaced, from Turn 5 to 16, in order to eliminate the bumps that used to limit our line options. Indy was already a great track, but now it’s safer and even more fun. A big thanks to Ducati North America and IMS for all the hard work to make the test possible. I’m ready to get to Brno now. It’s a very different circuit to what we’ve been to for the last two races at the Sachsenring and Laguna Seca. Those are tight with short lap times, and Brno is definitely a big, open track. We know it won’t be easy, but we’ve just got to keep chipping away. It’s clear that everybody at Ducati is doing the maximum, so we’ll go there and try to get a good result. Obviously the test on Monday will be really important for us. I’ll probably just ride the GP11 on the race weekend and then test the new bike on Monday.”

Vittoriano Guareschi, Team Manager:

“After Laguna Seca the team had the chance to rest for a few days, even though the work at Ducati never stopped. The Test Team tried some electronics updates at Mugello, and we’ll use them in the post-race test at Brno to continue improving the setup and reduce the gap to the lead group. Filippo [Preziosi] will be on hand Monday, and we’ll continue the development work on the GP11.1 with both Valentino and Nicky.”

Ducati Team press release

Hayden: Big honour if I can beat

Nicky Hayden, who ended a five-year run of successive MotoGP titles for Valentino Rossi in 2006, admits it would be a big honour to beat the Italian as a team-mate this season.

Ducati's 2011 struggles are well publicised, with only one podium for each rider, although in terms of points the situation is more comparable with last year, when Casey Stoner was riding alongside Hayden.

Rossi is presently fifth in the world championship on 108 points, with Hayden seventh on 94 points. At the same time last year, Stoner (third) had scored 119 points and Hayden (sixth) 99 points.

The only time a team-mate has finished higher than Rossi in the championship was last year, when Jorge Lorenzo won the championship for Yamaha and Rossi was sidelined for four races with a broken leg.

"We're the only team with two (MotoGP) world champions in it at the moment, so that's pretty unique in its own way and we still get along good," said Hayden.

"Me and him, obviously we want to beat each other, he's 14 points in front of me and it would be a big honour for me if I could beat him. He's won nine titles and has pretty much set the standard for the last decade.

"I've learned a lot from him, and also that goes both ways. This bike has been new to him and he's not above asking questions and wanting to know why, and I think right now the results haven't shown, but I think next year it's going to pay off when we come with the new rules and they go back to the 1000ccs. 

"I think having two strong team-mates who are pushing in the same direction is going to be better instead of two guys wanting to go in different ways."

Round eleven of the 2011 MotoGP World Championship takes place at Brno this weekend, which could see Hayden's first race on the GP11.1 motorcycle.

Rossi has had the modified bike since round seven at Assen, while Hayden completed his first laps on the GP11.1 during practice for his home US round, before electing to race the normal GP11.

source: crash.net

Nicky Hayden testing the new asphalt Indianapolis

MotoGP rider and world champion in 2006, Nicky Hayden was the first to try the newly paved runway at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday. Indianapolis will host the Grand Prix Red Bull Indianapolis from 26 to 28 this month. In this circuit, Hayden finished second in 2008, third in 2009 and sixth in 2010. 

Hayden rode a Ducati 1198 Friday morning at the newly renovated track. From June 9 have paved 1.5 miles of track from turn 5 to the curve 16. The works were approved and verified on 7 July. These were the statements of Nicky at the end of his trial in Indianapolis.

What do you think the new asphalt?

"The new surface is just what I expected, is almost perfect. There are a couple of corners that drivers ask that you do again and IMS went further, all the interior from Turn 5 to the goal is resurfaced, so I'm looking forward to being here on the race bike and leave some rubber to clean the racing line.

Does this improve the competition will be better for the drivers, or both?

I think it's safer. There was a lot of falls in the area of ​​the curve 6 for the bumps and I think will make the race better. It will open up some areas where previously there was only a trace because of the bumps, this will make the race better, because there will be more places to pass. This has made the track more enjoyable and fun, so I know that they will like more.

Is there something unique at this track compared to the others?

A lot. Look at the place, look at the size of it. It is almost the only track in an oval like this. Motegi, which is partly within and outside an oval. Indy has a heritage and a past, this place has a lot of time and a lot of runs behind. For me, being from Kentucky, is the highlight of the season. This is a special race.

Being from Kentucky, How important is this race for you?

They are all important. Careers in Italy are the team's home race, and Laguna Seca, California, is fine, but a race to three hours of my house is something I never expected when I came to MotoGP. At that time there was a race in America. The closest I came home was Brazil, so I really appreciate it. Each year I like more and more, have more and more home fans who have never seen a race, or who have never seen me in MotoGP. I have a lot of support. Owensboro is a city that truly supports its people, no matter what you're doing, and there will be plenty of people in Owensboro in the race.

Ducati is like the Ferrari of motorcycles. How to compete in a team like Ducati?

As you say, Ferrari and Ducati are legends in Italy and is a very special bike, with lots of history. They produce thousands of motorcycles. It is a small company that puts everything on their bikes and road bikes only produce, I learned a lot. The team is awesome. They love their bikes and love your team when you're in Italy, sorry. Everyone, from people in the grocery store to the guys at the station, are all awaiting you. This year not being an easy year for us, but we know our bike is good sometimes, if you move outside that area which is the optimum set-up, makes the day is long, but when you get to that point is a absolute weapon. Hopefully when we come back here in three weeks we have this setup. We run in the Czech Republic before and after the race we have a test that will be very important for us to find what we expect and we serve to have a great weekend in Indy.

You have a great teammate. How important is a good teammate in the championship?

I think we have a good team. We are the only team with two world champions so it's pretty unique. He and I obviously want to beat us each is 16 points ahead of me and would be an honor if I could beat him. He has won 9 titles and has been mentioned in the last decade. It was a different challenge for us, because having a world champion Italian team has created a lot of expectations and a lot of pressure, but people are still supporting us, and of course, they want results and we want to win, which does not we are doing now and this makes it difficult. I learned a lot from him, and that goes both ways. This bike is new to him and do not mind asking questions, wanting to know how it works, at this time the results have not shown, but I think next year we get when we meet the new rules and get back to the thousand . I think having two strong teammates, who are pushing in the same direction is better than two guys who want to go in different ways.

Tell us how the pilot can change the bike you lead?

The pilot is the biggest difference on a motorcycle in a car when you're tied with a belt is not much you can do. On a motorcycle has much more freedom to move, use your body and other things to help compensate for what the bike is doing. You can not ride a sled here and believe that you are on the podium no matter how good you are, but a good bike, good team and good driver you are close. Not that you have to have all three, but a pilot can make a difference.

source: motocuatro

video: Nicky Hayden samples the DTM

File name: 7tGC4zAK-38683.mp4
File size:18.25 MB

Hayden: People who think Rossi's not trying are crazy

Nicky Hayden doesn't like to disappoint his fans, especially on home soil.

But the proud American, a former double winner at Laguna Seca, knew the 2011 event would be a tough one - given Ducati's tough start to the season. 

The maximum he could realistically achieve was to try and be the top Ducati, which he managed in three of the five track sessions prior to the race.

A crash in qualifying left Hayden ninth on the grid, and he quickly moved ahead of Aspar's Hector Barbera and spent the rest of the 32 laps in close contact with team-mate Valentino Rossi's GP11.1.

“I got a decent start, but I didn't get to go with that second group like I had hoped. It was kind of like the Sachsenring: a good battle with Valentino, but 30 seconds behind the front," said Hayden. 

Beating seven time MotoGP champion Rossi would have been some consolation for Hayden, but the #69 claimed it was simply too risky given the positions they were in.

"Vale was no faster than me, but he's a racer: he doesn't make mistakes and give you anything," said Hayden. 

"A couple of times I thought I might be able to go up the inside, but I'm not just going to close my eyes and knock us both down trying for sixth place. 

"People who think he's not trying are crazy. I saw his right foot come off the peg a couple of times when he almost went down."

Hayden crossed the finish line in seventh, less than one-second behind the Italian.

"We'll take two weeks off, regroup and go to Brno. Now is no time to be negative. I believe in my team and Ducati, and I really think we're still going to have a good season," Hayden declared.

Hayden chose to race the older GP11 Ducati, having made his debut on the GP11.1 in Friday practice.

source: crash

Rossi and Hayden sixth and seventh at Laguna

The team worked very hard on both the GP11 and the GP11.1, and they’ll continue the development of the 800cc bikes during the next round at Brno, in the Czech Republic, which will follow a short two-week break. On the Monday after that race, the season’s second official test for the team riders will take place.

Valentino Rossi:

“We worked well this weekend. We started from a better position than we have in recent races, and I got a good launch on the start and tried to stay with the leaders. I did a lap in the mid-’22s, but then I closed the front twice in a row on the bumps in Turn 5 and nearly crashed. I still had a tough race after that, because Nicky stayed glued to me and didn’t give me a chance to breathe. We obviously don’t want to be fighting for sixth place, but we’re having some problems at the moment and we have to try and do our best with what we have. We’re losing too much on corner entry, where I’m very slow because I don’t have enough feeling, but Ducati is working and we must stay focused and positive, making progress step by step. In the short term, we have to make up those missing tenths in order to stay with the group with Spies, Sic and Dovizioso. Then we’ll think about the others.”

Nicky Hayden:

“I’ve won this race before, so I’m not going to jump up and down celebrating seventh place. We knew it was going to be tough, and crashing in qualifying didn’t help. I got a decent start, but I didn’t get to go with that second group like I had hoped. It was kind of like the Sachsenring: a good battle with Valentino, but thirty seconds behind the front. Vale was no faster than me, but he’s a racer: he doesn’t make mistakes and give you anything. A couple of times I thought I might be able to go up the inside, but I’m not just going to close my eyes and knock us both down trying for sixth place. People who think he’s not trying are crazy. I saw his right foot come off the peg a couple of times when he almost went down. We’ll take two weeks off, regroup and go to Brno. Now is no time to be negative. I believe in my team and Ducati, and I really think we’re still going to have a good season.”

Ducati Team press release

Third row for Hayden and Rossi at USGP

Today the Italian posted the seventh-best time aboard the Desmosedici GP11.1, equaling his best qualifying position of the season from Catalunya, while Hayden took the ninth spot with the GP11. Despite being slightly quicker aboard the new Desmosedici version yesterday, the American decided to use the standard iteration today, as he is more familiar with it. He will also campaign his home race with that bike tomorrow.

Valentino Rossi:

“This morning we made a change to the balance that helped me to find more grip with the soft tyre, as well as a feeling that was generally better. In the afternoon though, with the warmer temperature and the hard tyre, I didn’t have the same performance and feeling. During the session we were able to change the settings again and make a small step, and when we put on the soft, we did a time that was good enough for the third row. Seventh place actually equals my best qualifying spot of the season. That was our goal, to be able to start further forward than we have lately, but for the race we must improve our pace again with the hard tyres because it’s a little too difficult now and the rear is sliding a lot. We’re focused and we’re working very hard so we’ll see tomorrow if we can take another step forward.”

Nicky Hayden:

“We went back to the standard bike today. I was a little faster on the new one yesterday, but even though it has more potential and I like the gearbox, I don’t yet have a great feel for where its limit is. For now, we prefer to go with what we know. This morning I was pretty strong and this afternoon I was consistently in the low-’22 range. I did two longer runs and came in to put in a new soft tyre and was ready to go for it. I felt good and was looking forward to going into qualifying mode. I wasn’t pushing really hard on the out-lap, but you have to push this bike to load the front, and in Rainey Curve I skipped across the bumps and went down. It’s a shame, because we had a chance to do our best qualifying of the year. I went out on the other bike, but the front tyre was 30 laps old. The team have worked like dogs switching back and forth between bikes. Now they’ll have another long night, but I’ll try to make up for it tomorrow.”

Ducati Team press release

Video Download: MotoGP Laguna Seca Day 1 Highlight

MotoGP Laguna Seca Day 1
includes:

• Highlight FP 1 MotoGP Laguna Seca
• Highlight FP 2 MotoGP Laguna Seca
• FP 2 Interview Nicky Hayden
• FP 2 Interview Jorge Lorenzo
• FP 2 Interview Dani Pedrosa
• FP 2 Interview Valentino Rossi
• FP 2 Interview Ben Spies
• Action Clip Pedrosa Crash FP1

File name: Laguna-Day1.zip
File size:65.64 MB

Rossi and Hayden work on set up for Laguna

The Italian rider continued using the GP11.1 bike this weekend, while Hayden did an initial run with the GP11 before doing a comparison between the two versions and then using only the GP11.1 in the afternoon.

Nicky Hayden:

“It’s nice to be back at Laguna, a track I love, and things started off okay with the new bike. It was my first time with it, but it wasn’t something I needed a lot of time to get familiar with since I’ve ridden the GP12, which is similar. We’re just trying to evaluate it, and it definitely has some pluses. The gearbox is really nice, so Ducati has done a great job with that. We’re always trying different things like shock springs and new settings, but it’s not every day that you get to ride with a new gearbox that probably everybody will have in the future. We’re just trying to decide which bike will give us the best chance for a good result on Sunday.”

Valentino Rossi:

“After yesterday’s technical briefing with Jerry and the team, we decided to continue with the new bike, so I only used the GP11.1. We started with one bike that had the Sachsenring setup, which has a significant change to the weight distribution, while the second bike had a standard setup. I actually prefer the one from Germany. We need to keep working to balance the bike and to improve the rear grip, and then we hope to get a little closer to the pace of the others. We have to try to do better than we have at the last couple of races, and especially to start closer to the front. I’m pleased that Bridgestone brought some soft tyres, which worked well in the cool temperatures this morning, although I felt better with the hard when the conditions were warmer in the afternoon. If race conditions are like this, that’s what I’ll use.”

Ducati Team press release

Laguna Seca press conference lines up MotoGP stars

Round 10 of the 2011 MotoGP World Championship takes place at Laguna Seca this weekend, and ahead of the Red Bull US Grand Prix the pre-event press conference on Thursday gave a preview of the action to come.

Championship leader Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda), who has won here in 2007 and finished second in last year’s race, has seen his Championship lead cut to 15 points by Jorge Lorenzo over the previous two rounds.

“I thought I would have pulled out a few more points last weekend but Jorge nicked them back off me in the last corner (at Sachsenring), so hopefully this weekend we can take the Championship advantage back out again,” said the Australian. “The last few weekends we’ve definitely had a good chance of winning, we’ve struggled a little bit in the practices and struggled to get our pace, but we’re pretty happy with the way we came back (for the race) in Sachsenring. By race day we were competitive enough to win.”

Discussing the atmosphere at Laguna Seca and the track’s layout, Stoner stated: “Coming to this GP is unique, it’s quite different to the others. I love the atmosphere here and it’s just got something about it, the way the track flows. It’s tricky, it’s got some great points and some very difficult ones, it’s a little bit slippery and very undulating but in general I’ve always had success and been fast. The last couple of years haven’t been the best for us, but we’ve always been there or there about. It will be a tough weekend and after the last few we need to step it up a bit more, but I’m really looking forward to getting out there.”

Defending World Champion and race winner at Laguna last year Lorenzo is eager to keep closing the gap to Stoner at the top of the standings, and the Factory Yamaha Racing rider has been highly satisfied with recent results and improvements.

“In the past few races we have recovered some points on Stoner, but we have pushed a lot to do that,” said the Spaniard. “We had some difficult situations in the middle of the race, we had been quite far from the top guys, but in the end at the last moments we gained some points on Casey. We must push in every session, in the race, to gain these points but at least we are there and fighting for the victory, not like at the beginning of the Championship when we always struggled so much to fight for the win.”

Lorenzo also outlined the special demands of the circuit, and added: “It’s always great to come here to the US. The track is very different, very narrow in parts, it has very difficult points like the ‘corkscrew’ and some fast corners. I have some strong memories over the last few years, and it was only last year I took a (first) victory here.”

Race winner last time out in Germany and continuing his climb back to full fitness, Dani Pedrosa will aim to maintain what has been a highly impressive return to action.

“The time to recover from the last race has been quite short,” said the Repsol Honda rider, who won here in 2009. “It was all on the left so my left side is quite sore but I will try to do my best here once again and to rest between sessions. I want to try and just have fun out there. Right now I am recovering and when you race in this kind of situation you also suffer because of pain. At the same time if we can get a good result I will enjoy it.”

One rider hoping for home inspiration at a track he has twice tasted victory on is Nicky Hayden, and the Ducati Team rider will try out the Desmosedici GP11.1 for the first time this weekend.

“I have one of the new bikes so thanks to Ducati for making it available to me,” said Hayden. “At some stage we will definitely do some laps on it and see what I think. There are a few things about it, it has some potential and does some things better, but on the other hand we’re not here to test – this is a race so we don’t want to confuse things. We want to give ourselves the best shot on Sunday to get the best result. It’s worth risking it to try and find something a little bit better and hopefully on Sunday I can put up a lot better fight than I have been able to do all year.”

Hayden added: “Your home GP is something special, but it doesn’t really make you go any faster! It’s not an easy moment for us right now but everybody at Ducati is really working hard and I have my team right behind me. I still think we can have some good results this year.”

Adding to the home interest this weekend will be Ben Bostrom, riding as a wild card for the LCR Honda team. The American will also fulfil his AMA superbike duties – a series in which he has won at Laguna before – making for a busy schedule.

“It’s really an honour to be here, I have to thank LCR Honda and Michael Jordan Motorsports for their collaboration and even American Suzuki for allowing the opportunity and I just want to get out there!” said Bostrom, who at 37 is making his Grand Prix debut.

“We’ve won and lost here, it’s a strange track. When you’re going fast it really comes easy, but when you fight the bike it feels like 100 laps. I watch these (MotoGP) guys in every race and it’s a dream come true ride an 800cc in MotoGP. I know they’re going to 1000cc next year so this could be one of the last, maybe the only, opportunities I have to ride this one.”

source: MotoGP Official website

Pictures : MotoGP Laguna Seca 2011 Press Conference

Nicky Hayden keen to sample GP11.1

Nicky Hayden has signalled his intention to get some miles on the Ducati GP11.1, despite the rather negative feedback from team-mate Valentino Rossi.

The American has persevered with the standard GP11 in recent races, unlike Rossi, who was given the updated GP11.1 from the Assen round of the season. However, on the weekend Hayden was due to get his hands on his own GP11.1, his team-mate is considering reverting back to the original machine after a run of disappointing form.

Nonetheless, Hayden – who beat Rossi last time out at the Sachsenring - is keen to at least sample the GP11.1 and, like Rossi, may get the chance to try both during Friday free practice.

Whichever bike he rides, Hayden is looking forward to his home round, not least because his family will have a significant involvement across the weekend.

“Obviously, I'm looking forward to Laguna, because it's a track I love that's very challenging and fun, with a great atmosphere and my home crowd,” the former champion said. “Turn 1 and the Corkscrew are very technical, and pretty much the whole track links together. On a MotoGP bike, there really aren't any straightaways, because you're always shifting, turning or braking. It's important to have a bike that you feel confident on and can be aggressive with. 

“I'm going to my home GP not in our best moment, but we'll give our best effort like always. It's nice that my brothers are both in the AMA race, and my sisters are both doing a lap on the two-seater Ducati. I think we'll make the final decision on Thursday as to which bike I'll ride, but we'll probably try the GP11.1 at some stage, and I'll see what I can do to try and come up with a good result.”

source: Crash

Hayden charged for Laguna, Rossi gets Burgess back

It’s a very special event for Nicky Hayden, being his first of two home-country races and a track where he has won twice, and for Valentino Rossi, who has one win and three podiums. Valentino will also be reunited with his crew chief Jeremy Burgess, who has missed the last two races. Both riders are very popular with the American fans, and the riders themselves love both the relaxed atmosphere and the California track itself, which is famous for its signature Corkscrew section.

From a technical point of view, the Ducati Team’s development work will continue at the American track and both riders will have both the GP11 and the GP11.1 at their disposition. Rossi and Hayden, along with the Ducati technicians, are determined to do everything they can to speed up the development of the Desmosedici, and they are considering a possible back-to-back comparison of the bike’s two versions on the first day of free practice.

Nicky Hayden:

“Obviously, I’m looking forward to Laguna, because it’s a track I love that’s very challenging and fun, with a great atmosphere and my home crowd. Turn 1 and the Corkscrew are very technical, and pretty much the whole track links together. On a MotoGP bike, there really aren’t any straightaways, because you’re always shifting, turning or braking. It’s important to have a bike that you feel confident on and can be aggressive with. I’m going to my home GP not in our best moment, but we’ll give our best effort like always. It’s nice that my brothers are both in the AMA race, and my sisters are both doing a lap on the two-seater Ducati. I think we’ll make the final decision on Thursday as to which bike I’ll ride, but we’ll probably try the GP11.1 at some stage, and I’ll see what I can do to try and come up with a good result.”

Valentino Rossi:

“I think that we’ll try to use both versions of the Desmosedici on Friday so that we can compare them and do some work for both the near term and the future, because we want to learn as much as possible. We’re aware that it could be difficult because we’ll also have to be preparing for the race, but we think that in order to improve our bike, it’s important to try everything possible. For me, Laguna represents a great corner, the Corkscrew, and many nice memories, including one of the best races of my career, in 2008. In any case, it’s always a pleasure to race in the United States because the motorcycle world here is really nice. Of course I’m even happier that Jerry has returned and I look forward to seeing him in the garage again with all the guys.”

Ducati Team press release

Nicky Hayden Helmet Laguna Seca 2011

Nicky Hayden Helmet special design for Laguna Seca MotoGP Race 2011

Bautista passes Hayden and Rossi on final lap

Rizla Suzuki's Alvaro Bautista spent the majority of Sunday's German MotoGP locked in combat with factory Ducati riders - and world champions - Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi for seventh place.

The Spaniard overtook both Desmosedici riders on the final lap to finish just 0.059sec in front of Hayden, with seven-time MotoGP champion Rossi a mere 0.066sec further back.

“I got involved with the two Ducati guys and really enjoyed the race with them," said Bautista. "At the end it was very difficult to overtake Valentino and Nicky because they brake very hard and very late, making it tough to get past. 

"On the last lap I overtook Valentino at the end of the main straight. I then followed Nicky and waited for the last two corners because I knew I had an opportunity there to get him. 

"I had to brake with everything I had to get past him on corner 12, but I ran a bit wide and lost some speed, Nicky overtook me on the last corner, but he entered too quickly and he went out, so I got past him on the exit of the corner. 

"I am very happy that we are the first finisher after the top six because they are on a different level at the moment. For the next race I hope to continue with this way of working and get closer to the top.”

Seventh was Bautista's best dry result of the season, which began badly when he broke his leg in practice for round one in Qatar. 

Bautista was one of three riders to use the softer rear tyre, the others being Sylvain Guintoli and Hector Barbera.

source: crash.net

Hayden and Rossi eighth and ninth in Germany

The results aren't what the two Ducati Team riders had hoped for, but the work carried out over the weekend helped them to gather important information.

After Saturday’s very difficult qualifying session, Valentino and his team found a setting for the GP11.1 that enabled him to improve his pace by approximately five tenths.Nicky won the duel with his teammate for eighth place, although he had hoped to be closer to the front after a good showing in practice.

Nicky Hayden:

“I tried to go with that group in front of me off the start, but about the second or third lap I had a pretty big moment over the bumps in Turn 1 and they took off. From there I had a big battle with Bautista and Vale. It was fun, with a lot of overtaking, but battling for seventh place, 27 seconds back is hard for me to take at a track that I love and where I’ve been on the podium several times. I got to seventh toward the end and did my best lap, but they came with me. Bautista got me on my last lap, at the bottom of the hill. I re-passed him in the last corner, but he squared it up and nipped me to the line. It’s easy to say now, but I wish I raced the soft tyre. Thanks to the team and everybody that worked hard, but we had better hopes for today, going into Laguna.”

Valentino Rossi:

“Today went a little better. This morning in the warm-up we made a change to the setup that helped me to slightly improve the feeling compared to the very, very difficult practice sessions. After the opening laps, I realized that my pace was the same as that of Nicky and Bautista’s group, maybe even a little faster, but I had small glitches with the gearbox in the second half of the race. It was mainly hurting me in the last corner, when I changed to third, because the bike wheelied and it took me half the straightaway before I could put it back down. At the end of the race, I wanted to pass Nicky on the brakes into the first corner, where I was pretty strong, but instead even Bautista passed me on the straight. Anyway, that’s not where we want to be. We definitely improved today compared to Saturday, but we’re still too far back. We find the race setup late, and that makes everything more difficult, but in order to improve we have to try many things, which makes it easy to lose our direction. It’s understandable, because we don’t know this bike well and I think we have to take chances and try everything. Now we’ll analyze the data from this weekend and decide what to do for Laguna Seca.”

Third row for Hayden, difficult qualifying for Rossi

The qualifying session for the German Grand Prix went very differently for Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi. Hayden posted the eighth-best time, four tenths from the first row, after lapping all weekend at a pace that was very close to that of the top riders. The Italian wasn’t able to find a setup that gave him a good feeling, and tomorrow he’ll face an uphill race, starting from the sixteenth spot on the grid.

Nicky Hayden:

“I had hoped to be on the second row here, because I’ve been in the top six all weekend until this afternoon, and we know qualifying is so important at this track. Yesterday I had better grip when the track was cooler in the morning, and it was the same thing again today. When the track temperature comes up in the afternoon, I begin pushing the front. I’m not really happy with my lap time or my position. This morning I did 1'22.5 on a used soft tyre from yesterday, and I only managed a little better in qualifying. The team has done a good job because they found me some extra rear grip, which is so important around here, but then we just can’t find that front grip that we really need. There’s no doubt that it will be tough, but we’ll try to do something tomorrow when it counts.”

Valentino Rossi:

“Today we obviously had some big problems, or rather we haven’t managed to find a good compromise between the improved traction and acceleration that we’ve achieved with this bike, and front-end confidence, which is still missing. I’m not able to load the front and make it work like I can with the GP12 engine in the same chassis, which is why we’ve been so slow and are so far back. Naturally, we’re very disappointed, but we really can’t say that we haven’t tested because here we had four sessions with normal weather, and we tried many things. We’re thinking about a solution for the coming races in order to resume the positive improving trend that we were on until Barcelona."

Ducati Team press release