Following the recent US Grand Prix,
Nicky Hayden and younger brother Roger Hayden took part in a media teleconference hosted by
Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Nicky finished fifth for Ducati at Laguna Seca, while Roger - who stood in for the injured
Randy de Puniet at LCR Honda - claimed eleventh place in his first
MotoGP appearance since 2007.
America's second
MotoGP round, the Red Bull
Indianapolis GP, will be held on August 27-29 - when Nicky will be looking to repeat his 2009 podium, while Roger will make his debut in the Moto2 class….
(Part 1)
Moderator:
Nicky, I'll start with you. What is it about Indianapolis, about the circuit there, the vibe, the crowd. What is it that suits you? You've rode so well there, being on the podium the first two years of the race. Is there anything that sticks out, that really works for you there?
Nicky Hayden:
Not necessarily one thing. I do think racing inside the oval, somewhat, I feel pretty comfortable. Growing up in America, we raced at a lot of tracks with that same style setup. Daytona, Vegas, Colorado, Loudon. There was a lot of tracks where we raced inside the oval. Indianapolis, you don't really feel it as much because we don't use the banking too much. But I like that. Also, the track is very technical. There's three or four different types of almost sections. You have some new pavement, old pavement. It's not an easy track for the riders or for the teams for the setup because you have to try to get the bike to work on the bumps in those parts. And also with some fast corners, slow corners. So quite tricky. More than anything, I just like the atmosphere, the crowd. My home crowd is always worth something.
Moderator:
Rog, how tough has it been for you … you've been on quite a variety of machines this year. Heck, in the last two or three weeks you've tested a 600cc Moto2 bike, you've ridden a 1000cc World Superbike and you raced an 800cc
MotoGP bike. How tough has it been to adjust to all three of those bikes, because we're not just talking engine displacement, but different levels of electronics and things like that?
Roger Lee Hayden:
It's been pretty tough, but for the Moto2 bike, I had two full days to get used to it. And I had a lot of time riding a 600, spent a lot of years on one. That adjustment wasn't quite as much. The GP bike was quite, was quite different than a Superbike or a 600. That one took a little bit longer to get used to. But I just try to think about it the night before, the days leading up to it about what bike I'm going to ride and come in prepared for it.
Jim Race:
Roger, this is for you. Is there any testing you're going to be able to get done, and are you going to Brno?
Roger Lee Hayden:
I'm not sure yet about Brno just because the team is planning on having Randy back, and that's their goal. For right now, Randy believes he's going to be back for that race. So now it's just kind of setting back and waiting.
Phillip Wilson:
This is going to sound like an obvious question, but I'm dying to hear your answer. Being on the podium at Indianapolis, you've been there and done that. I'm taking it that this year you want to be the guy on the top spot, and nothing else matters.
Nicky Hayden: