Haga apologises after difficult weekend
Added on Monday, March 29th, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor
Haga apologises after difficult weekend
Noriyuki Haga issued an apology to the Ducati fans after yet another debacle in Portimao.
Ducati suffered a nightmare second round of the championship in Portugal with both Haga and Fabrizio struggling to keep pace throughout the weekend, with last season’s championship runner-up eventually being forced to settle for an eighth place finish in both races.
The result was actually better than expected for the veteran rider after he qualified in a lowly 18th position following a crash on Saturday but nevertheless, the result continued Haga’s appalling record at the Algarve circuit.
After crashing out at the inaugural Portimao round in 2008, Haga crashed out of the first race 12 months later, an accident that ultimately cost him the 2009 championship to Ben Spies, and he was quick to apologise for yet another disappointing showing.
“We’ve worked hard all weekend and today finally I had slightly better feeling with the bike but it was very difficult to score great results from the fifth row,” he said. “In race one I made a good start, which I knew was essential if I wanted to make some good points. I tried to push as hard as possible but by the last five laps or so I was lacking rear grip and this meant that my traction was very much affected.
“The second race was quite similar, the tyre performed better but I had a hard time getting past Guintoli, and again finished eighth.
“I apologise to the team, the fans and the sponsors for my poor results but at least I was able to make up a few positions and take some points. Now we look to start challenging for the podium every weekend from Valencia onwards. The important thing is not to crash, and to take as many points as possible each race.”
