Hayden, Edwards and some mics. fun facts on the MotoGP season opener in Qatar
- From: TRS Media | Published: April 9th, 2009 - 1:39 pm
Nicky Hayden: “It’s nice to be going racing again. The season is starting out much later than usual this year even though we haven’t been doing much testing. To be honest with you, I’d like to have had a little more time with the bike in preseason, but this is what we’ve got to deal with, and now it’s time to get serious. If I could have chosen anywhere to be making my debut on the Ducati, I would have chosen Qatar, where we had a good test session a few weeks ago. So I guess I’m lucky in that respect! I can’t hide the fact that I’d like to be closer to the front than where we’re at right now and further down the road in terms of the work we’ve got to do with the team, but I’m still really pleased that the season is starting because I love the races, I love racing, and I love competing against those other guys. I’m looking forward to getting out to Qatar, where the temperature should be a bit higher than it was in the test, and we’ll try to start out the season on the right foot by getting a decent result and enjoying myself as much as possible. I can’t believe it’s already been a hundred GP starts – I have really enjoyed them all … well some a lot more than others! But it’s been an honor to race in Grand Prix with all these great riders, sweet tracks and the awesome fans all over the world! I know it won’t be easy, but I really hope my best GPs are ahead of me. It seems only fitting to start my 100th race with a new bike and team.”
Colin Edwards: “I like the night race. I think it’s a cool little scenario. It’s something special; you only have one a year. It’s something a little bit different. I tend to ride faster when I can’t see where I’m going. Everything works out better that way.”
THEY SAID IT: “Finally! This hasn’t only been one of the hardest winter breaks for our sport, but it has been one of the longest. After all the talk over the winter, we can now get back to track action.” – Pramac Racing Team Principal Paolo Campinoti
FAST FACTS: This is the only night race on the 2009 MotoGP schedule and only the second night race in MotoGP history. The first was the 2008 Grand Prix of Qatar …
2007 MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner led all three official preseason tests on his Ducati, including a top lap of 1:55.744 on March 1-3 at Qatar …
Stoner has won this event the last two years …
2006 MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden, from Owensboro, Ky., will make his 100th career MotoGP start at this event. Hayden will become the seventh American to make 100 career starts at the premier GP level. The others are Kenny Roberts Jr., Randy Mamola, Eddie Lawson, John Hopkins, Kevin Schwantz and Colin Edwards …
Longtime MotoGP standout Sete Gibernau of Spain returns to the grid this weekend with the new Grupo Francisco Hernando team’s Ducati after a two-year hiatus …
Three rookies will be on the MotoGP grid this weekend: Niccolo Canepa of Italy, Mika Kallio of Finland and Yuki Takahashi of Japan …
Eleven of the 17 ri ders on the MotoGP grid this season have won a world title in MotoGP, 250cc, 125cc, World Superbike or World Supersport …
American Cameron Beaubier will make his World Championship debut this weekend in the 125cc class. Beaubier, 16, from Roseville, Calif., joins the Red Bull KTM 125 factory team with considerable international experience. He finished fourth in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup in 2007 at MotoGP tracks across Europe, winning at Sachsenring, Germany. He also participated in the Red Bull MotoGP Academy program in 2008, only the second American selected for the prestigious program, which grooms riders for future MotoGP competition …
American Stevie Bonsey will not compete in the 250cc class this weekend as the Aprilia Madrid team for which he is riding did not enter this event. Bonsey, from Salinas, Calif., competed in the 125cc class the last two seasons and was looking to be the first full-time American rider in 250cc since Kurtis Roberts in 1997.
Compiled by IMS
