Hapless Hayden left dancing with the girl he brought
SHANGHAI: World champion Nicky Hayden cut a forlorn figure after finishing 12th in the China Grand Prix on Sunday and watching Casey Stoner steer his super-quick Ducati to his third MotoGP victory of the season.
Ducati had wanted the amiable Hayden on their bike this year but instead the American stayed with Honda, a decision he said he did not regret despite a miserable start to his world title defence that has left him ninth in the standings.
"I'd be lying if I told you guys that it hadn't crossed my mind," the 25-year-old told reporters.
Honda MotoGP rider Nicky Hayden of the US rides his bike during the second practice session of the China Grand Prix in Shanghai last Friday. Reuters |
"But I'm where I want to be. I've always been a Honda guy and it's easier to say the grass is greener on the other side, but you dance with the girl you brought, you don't change when you get to the dance."
"When you have managed just two sevenths and an eighth in the first three races of the season, the last thing you need is one of your fellow riders ploughing into you on the first corner of the race, as Toni Elias did on Sunday.
"I was definitely on for my best finish of the season," said Hayden. "I made a decent start, but then from out of nowhere someone hit me from behind, I was lucky to stay on. By the time I got the bike pointing the right way everyone had gone.
"But that's just the way things are going at the moment, it's hard to get any real momentum when things are going against you like that."
He now faces the prospect of an even tougher title defence than the last American to win the biggest prize in motorcycling, Kenny Roberts Jr., who finished 11th the season after winning the 500cc crown in 2000.
Hayden's preparations for the season were disrupted by a double crash in testing in Qatar but both he and his Spanish team mate Dani Pedrosa have been most hampered by the Honda 800cc racer developed for the new engine regulations in MotoGP.
The American won only two races on his way to the title last year but appeared on the podium 10 times, a consistency he has been unable to achieve on a bike that is clearly no match for the Ducati or even the Yamaha.
"Hopefully we can get some help from Honda, get things going back the right way," Hayden said. "(But) people think Honda have just got stuff waiting on the shelf but it's not as easy as that.
"I definitely believe in the company although some things are frustrating, I mean the aerodynamics was the biggest thing for me here, because Dani's top speed is not so bad and it's something I've been asking for and we finally won it on Friday."
Even the prospect of another chance to kick-start his season at the next race in France on May 20 failed to lift the gloom.
Agencies
(China Daily 05/08/2007 page24)
