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MotoGP Laguna Seca Friday Insider
| | | Day one jumped off to a late but quick start with The Doctor on top of what was a very relaxed day at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. In an almost creepy way, nothing happened until 2:00 p.m. in the afternoon, as the GP boys no longer do a Friday morning practice as part of their “cost cutting” measures. But when things did get going, Valentino Rossi was up front right away, followed by his Fiat Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo and Ducati’s Casey Stoner. No surprise there, as these three have been the class of the field this year and come into the weekend tied in points!
Homeboy Hayden donned a new lid for the weekend, featuring a design for the 4th of July. “It’s tradition to light off fireworks here so that is the basis of the design,” the Kentucky kid said. But the new dome didn’t seem to bring him any fireworks or the elusive set-up he’s been looking for as he ended the first session 14th, some two seconds off the pace. The two-time previous winner is still victim of the fabled ‘Ducati syndrome’, as it seems literally no one but Stoner can ride the red machine.
“We’re in the back again so that’s not cool,” added Hayden. “And it’s not what I was hoping for. In some places the bike feels quite good but in other places, coming out of the corners, it feels pretty flat and I don’t have enough acceleration. Usually this is a strong point of the Ducati so this is a little strange. Hopefully we can get in a better direction tomorrow and find some spark.”
Nicky Hayden's new 4th of July-inspired helmet for the U.S. GP this weekend.
Unfortunately, no specially painted bikes have been unveiled thus far this weekend, though we’ll see come Sunday if that changes. But with the credit crunch hitting the racing world in as big a way as any, we’re not expecting it.
In AMA news, we caught up with Corona Honda’s Neil Hodgson, former World Superbike champion and one-time MotoGP rider, who is still healing up from a nasty motocross injury to his left shoulder. While still in pain, Hodgson says things are coming along.
“I’m probably 80% now,” he commented. “It’s tough cause it’s realistically a six- to 12-month recovery time and it’s only been t...
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