laguna001.jpgFour things stand out as I reflect back on the Laguna weekend. The first was the disgraceful condition of the newly resurfaced track. If this was anywhere else the race would have been delayed or have not have gone ahead. The strong need for a successful American MotoGP race means riders safety might very well have been compromised. What were the other stand outs? Follow the link for the results and standings after a scorching hot race.

Nicky Hayden stood atop the podium after a solid inch perfect ride from the second row which has very much set him on the path of being the 2006 MotoGP world champion.

“I think this feels better than last year, if that’s possible. I got a really good start from the inside - I did exactly what my big brother told me and got to the outside - and it worked perfectly into turn one allowing me to pick up a few places. I tried not to go too fast too quickly to preserve the tyre because the pace was quick. And then I tried to relax and chip away. It was really big for the Championship today but there’s a long way still to go and I’ve just got to stay healthy and go for some more wins.”

Valentino Rossi suffered his second mechanical failure and his third non finish of the year, another low points ride at the hands of a Elias helped tumble has made his championship.

“We’ve been in a really difficult situation all weekend, with a lot of problems and unfortunately things got even worse today! We made a big improvement this morning in warm-up and I was much faster, so I thought that maybe we could do a good job in the race and to start with we made good progress from our grid position. But then we had a problem with the rear tyre and I lost all grip and was forced to slow right down in order not to crash. Then we had a problem with the water-cooling system for the engine, it overheated and when I saw the smoke, I knew it was over. Anyway, now we’re 51 points down on Hayden with only six races left, so for the first time I will race for the rest of the season without thinking about the pressure of the championship. My plan is to have a lot of fun over the remaining races and try to win as many as possible, and then who knows what might happen?”

Chris Vermeulen rode a simply stunning race, only to be cruelly denied a well deserved podium. The searing temperature at Laguna may have been the issue with a suspected fuel supply problem. Above all, his ride was worth the price of admission itself.

“Everything went pretty well at the start, the bike was running well and we made - what I think - was the best tyre choice. Thanks to my whole team and Bridgestone for helping me today. But about 12 laps from the end the bike started cutting out, it was not running smoothly and it was hesitating on corner entry - this was making it so hard to ride. It got worse and worse and I only just brought it home. In fact three turns after the end of the race it stopped completely! I’m really disappointed that I didn’t get a podium but I think we have proved how strong the Rizla Suzuki, Bridgestone tyres and the whole team were here this weekend, and hopefully we can continue this performance in the next few races.”

Dani Pedrosa shined again performing well ahead of expectations at a brand new circuit, remembering the 125 & 250cc classes don’t visit the USA. Colin Edwards continues to struggle, (and disappoint?), in race conditions and his front row start was wasted after the first five laps. Casey Stoner again lost the front and tumbled out early on after it looked like he had a good consistent race pace. John Hopkins praised his teammates effort, but was missing in action himself, a sixth placing not quite to what he wanted after building the whole season for this weekend.

Laguna Seca results -

  1. Nicky Hayden, 32 laps, 45:04.867
  2. Dani Pedrosa, -3.186 seconds
  3. Marco Melandri, -10.929 seconds
  4. Kenny Lee Roberts, -11.941 seconds
  5. Chris Vermeulen, -27.438 seconds
  6. John Hopkins, -38.820 seconds
  7. Carlos Checa, -44.825 seconds
  8. Loris Capirossi, -48.526 seconds
  9. Colin Edwards, -53.228 seconds
  10. Sete Gibernau, -66.279 seconds
  11. Makoto Tamada, -71.941 seconds
  12. Randy De Puniet, -74.407 seconds
  13. James Ellison, -79.283 seconds
  14. Alex Hofmann, -101.277 seconds, crash
  15. Toni Elias, -1 lap, crash
  16. Jose Luis Cardoso, -1 lap
  17. Valentino Rossi, -2 laps, DNF, mechanical
  18. Shinya Nakanao, -17 laps, DNF, mechanical
  19. Casey Stoner, -18 laps, DNF, crash

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Current championship standings -

  1. Hayden, 194
  2. Pedrosa, 160
  3. Melandri, 150
  4. Rossi, 143
  5. Capirossi, 126
  6. Stoner, 91
  7. Edwards, 84
  8. Roberts, 79
  9. Hopkins, 74
  10. Nakano, 67

Next round - Brno, Czech Rebubliky, 20th August 2006