The Motorland Aragon GP was probably one of the worst races that Ducati had this year – and there have been plenty.
First off, Valentino Rossi made a rookie error on the opening lap, almost clipping Jonathan Rea which forced and running off track to avoid crashing which put in last place and having to ride through the field and finish in 8th.
Despite the bad weather that hindered Rossi’s and Nicky Hayden’s better understanding of the new chassis and swingarm that was implemented at Misano.
The Italian seemed satisfied that he now has a more constant race pace and is not wearing down his tires as much as before, but even if without his two off track excursions he couldn’t have done better than sixth place.
Here’s what Rossi had to say: “It’s a shame about the mistake on the first lap.
I was a bit faster than Rea, and when we spread out on the straightaway, and he braked a bit earlier, I went to the right.
He couldn’t see me and pushed me close to the curb, and I went straight to avoid him.
I should have gone to the inside, not the outside.
Without that incident, I think I could have fought with Bautista for sixth place, which was our potential at this track today.
In fact, things went better in the race than in practice, when we suffered a lot on acceleration both in the wet and in the dry.
We made some changes after the warm-up, and that helped us to lap consistently at a decent pace for the whole race, without using up the tyres too much.
This is a positive sign, considering that we were also able to do that at Misano.
There’s still much work to do, but it’s also true that for us this was probably the most difficult track among those left on the calendar, so we hope to be more competitive at Motegi in two weeks.
”Hopefully the above video of Nicky Hayden’s crash will stay up long enough to see it again (we’ve got another one after the jump if this one gets removed).
The American had this horrific crash at the last turn (16) and ended up flying over the unprotected barrier and having the wind knocked out of him after he landed on the access road, which left many wondering why there wasn’t any air fence in that spot.
Franco Uncini and Loris Capirossi Dorna’s Safety advisors during Italia 1’s post race show Fuori Giri tried, and not to convincingly, in my opinion, to explain why there wasn’t a safer barrier in place.
Apparently the run off area (first grass, then gravel and a small strip of asphalted road) is over 100mt long and meets the current safety standards and the risk that Hayden took was trying to keep the bike upright and trying to brake on the gravel and travelling at a fast speed.
After the incident, they are now contemplating to have that entire run-off area asphalted in order to give the riders more chances of manouvers and sufficient space if they should slide out.
“I spun the tyre a lot on the start but was able to get past Rossi and Johnny Rea.
The rear brake wasn’t working great from about halfway around the lap, maybe because I overheated it.
I was trying to keep the group in front of me in sight, but I pushed the front in the last turn.
I was able to pick it up, but I came up on that wall really fast.
I thought I might hit it headfirst if I jumped off, so I let go right before impact.
I’m sorry to tear up the bike, but I’m thankful for great safety equipment and to be okay,” said Hayden is expected to be at Motegi in two weeks time.