Superb third place for Hayden in race one at Lausitzring
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Superb third place for Hayden in race one at Lausitzring
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The first World Superbike race of the German Round has been contested this afternoon at the Lausitzring, with Nicky Hayden able to claim his fourth podium of the season courtesy of a third place finish. His Honda WorldSBK team mate Michael van der Mark was sixth at the chequered flag.

Hayden had a rough start to the day as he crashed out at turn ten during FP3. His crew worked against the clock to fix his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP machine, which had been severely damaged during the tumble. The bike was ready moments before the start of SP2, although Hayden had to return to the pits due to a small rear brake issue, which left him with only two quick-lap attempts before the chequered flag. Hayden made good use of the last one and, by clocking in 1’38.875, he claimed the third spot on the grid.

As the race went underway, Hayden got a great launch from the front row but ended up losing four positions as he was pushed wide at turn one. With two good early passes on Torres and Giugliano, the 35-year-old American moved up to fifth and was promoted to third place once Rea and Savadori crashed out of the encounter on lap 7 and 8, respectively. As the race progressed, Hayden did all he could to bridge the gap to Sykes while, at the same time, he was put under pressure from a recovering Torres. In the end, Hayden managed to seal third place as he crossed the line only 0.9s shy of second position.

After a difficult performance in Superpole 2, Michael van der Mark had a good start from the fourth row of the grid and ran as high as fifth while showing a good race pace and battling for fourth. As the race entered its second half, the 23-year-old Dutchman began experiencing some rear-grip issues, which forced him to slow down his pace. Nevertheless, van der Mark successfully defended his position until the end of the race and that allowed him to move up to fourth in the championship standings.

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Nicky Hayden - Nicky Hayden 69 - 3rd

It hasn’t been a silky smooth day, but that’s a lesson because normally in racing things never go exactly as you draw them up. It was definitely not smart to crash this morning during FP3 but the guys did a really good job,, because with red flags and delays they had even less time than usual. The bike was ready just on time but when I went out there was a little cut in the brake line in the rear, so I had to come back in. In the end I had time for a warm up lap and then I was able to go from eleventh to third. It was my best qualifying of the year on my very first flying dry lap of the weekend! I got a decent start to the race but I got pushed off line. My bike was really good on the brakes so I was able to recover a couple of places. I set a good pace and I was able to close the gap down to Tom; I really wanted to beat him because he’s a former champion and because I wanted to give the fans a bit of a show. I was also pushed from behind so I had to give my very best, but unfortunately I wasn’t close enough for a pass. Congratulations to Chaz, he was one step ahead of the rest of us today; we, on the other hand, will try to do even better tomorrow.

Michael van der Mark - Michael van der Mark 60 - 6th

Our FP3 session was OK: the track was wet and we needed to ride in those conditions, because the weather forecasts for the race were still uncertain. The track was drying up during Superpole so I kept an eye on the first session to see how it was; the track turned out to be almost fully dry during Superpole 2 and I was improving lap by lap, but unfortunately we ran out of time when it came to use the qualifying tyre. We surely didn’t need that mistake. I had a good start to the race but in the first corner I found myself stuck in traffic, although I think I still was able to make up a couple of places. From the first moment I started struggling with rear grip and, towards the end of the race, the problem became bigger and bigger, up to the point I wasn’t able to make any speed. I was able to pass Giugliano and stay with Torres for many laps, although it was almost impossible to pass him. In the end I finished ahead of Davide and that means I am now fourth in the standings. He and Nicky are just few points away, though, so for tomorrow we definitely need to step up our game.

Pieter Breddels - Pieter Breddels  - Technical Manager


Nicky’s crash surely didn’t help our cause: he went a bit off line and that’s what triggered the tumble. His crew did a fantastic job to put the bike together for Superpole 2, although there was one more complication after he went out for the first time. In the end, he put in an incredible time in what was his second and last flying lap, so hats off to him. His pace in the race was really good, in all ways similar to the one he showed during the test; too bad he was pushed wide in turn one. With Michael, when he came back to the pits to put the qualifying tyre on, it was simply a bit too late. In the race, unfortunately, he had a big problem with rear grip; he got a great start to the race but he simply wasn’t able to match the pace shown yesterday during practice. In the end he was able to salvage sixth place: it’s not a disaster but we know he has the potential to do much better, so we’re looking forward to tomorrow.




17-09-2016, 06:10 PM
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Superb third place for Hayden in race one at Lausitzring - by Malcolm - 17-09-2016, 06:10 PM



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