Hayden delight at home podium
Added on Tuesday, September 1st, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Hayden delight at home podium
Nicky Hayden couldn’t hide his delight at securing his first ever podium for Ducati at Indianapolis on Sunday and took time out to celebrate with his friends and family.
The 2006 world champion secured a third place finish on his home round, his second consecutive podium at the IMS and his one and only podium since moving from Honda to Ducati at the start of the season, the highlight of a so far disappointing season.
Hayden’s previous best of the year so far had been a fifth place finish at Laguna Seca back in July but the 28 year-old put in a solid performance to move up to 12th in the rider’s standings and do his chances of earning a new contract the power of good.
“It feels great to be on the podium here at Indianapolis and I want to thank all the team, my friends, family and fans for their support because this has been a tough season and I’ve needed every one of them,” claimed Hayden.
“I was really careful at the start because I watched the 125cc race earlier on and the guy in my grid position made a jump start – it made me think that I really didn’t want to do that today! As a result I didn’t get a great start but I saw Lorenzo charge past a few guys, making a hole in the pack, so I tried to follow him.
“I pushed hard and in the middle of the race I went as fast as I have all weekend, but I didn’t have any more than that. Dovizioso came on strong at the end so I gave myself a little pep talk and made sure I was ready for whatever he had. He was going to have to come up with something special to keep me off the podium here at Indy! Thankfully I kept it together and brought it home.
“We don’t have long to the next race at Misano but I’m in the mood for a little party tonight. My buddies have seen the sun come up every day since Friday but hopefully they’ve got something left in the tank for me!”
Filippo Preziosi, General Director at Ducati Corse, led the tributes to the American, claming that the result was just reward for a year of hard work.
“I want to congratulate Nicky because even in difficult times he has always believed in Ducati and he has never given up, working hard and staying focused,” claimed Peziosi.
“Without his feedback we would have never been able to work out a set-up to suit him and it is in this area, as well as in performance, where a rider makes the difference! I also want to thank Vitto (Guareschi) and all the guys at Ducati Corse, who have worked like Nicky – never losing heart.”
