Hayden looking forward to home advantage
Added on Thursday, August 27th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor
Hayden looking forward to home advantage
Nicky Hayden is looking forward to racing on home tarmac this weekend as the MotoGP championship heads back to the States for the Indianapolis Grand Prix.
The Ducati rider heads to Indiana after behind born in neighbouring Kentucky and can bank on huge home support at the world famous “Brickyard” this weekend as he continues to carry Ducati’s hopes in the absence of Casey Stoner.
And home advantage will give the 2006 world champion a massive lift as he looks to prove his worth to the Ducati hierarchy, amid speculation surrounding the team’s 2010 rider line-up.
“Indianapolis is probably the race I look forward to most,” said Hayden. “It’s just three hours from my house and MotoGP now is becoming very popular. Last year it was a great weekend for me, the crowd was great and Indy did a great job in organizing their first race and made us proud of it. I would love to have another good weekend like that one.
“So far we have had a tough season and I would like to go there in a more confident mood but it is what it is and for sure we’ll go there and just do the absolute maximum.
“I like the track itself even though it’s quite flat. The most challenging thing is that it has different kinds of asphalt on different parts of the track so it will be a challenge to find out where there is grip, where not, and to find the best set-up. Hopefully we won’t have another hurricane, the weather should be fine, and so we will see how it goes.”
Hayden will also ride with a special edition helmet at Indianapolis, which will be auctioned off in aid of the Make a Wish Foundation following this weekend’s race.
“I will wear a special helmet, but this time it really is “special “, he added. “It will carry the “Make a Wish” logo and other special designs, and after the race we will action it off. All the money will go toward the Foundation which helps kids’ dreams come true.”
