Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1542349
J \< Nickg Hagden: His TimeP ln his fourth Grand Prix season, Nicky Hayden is at the toP of the tree, as Honda's top factory rider- The cheerful and personable American takes over the spot vacated by the dumped l'lax Biaggr. to lead the effort of the world's largest motorcycle factory to regain the upper hand from Yamaha and Valentino Rossi. So is that top of the tTee, or out on a limb? Hayden will be the only Honda rider on the all-new compact'06 machine, with even his Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa on last year's updated bike. The bad news from the Catalunfa tests was that neither the all-new machine nor the update are quite ready to race- With iust a few weeks to go before the firct race, Hayden's prime position was not the sinecure some miSht have expected. cnr Flrrt off. whrt cxactlg ls qolng on wlth gou gugsP nic$rayden: Honestly, we're behind a bit. We haven't been helped by the weather [at wet Malaysian tests]. We're making progress slowt but surely. But we're not on the pace we need to be rigllt now and that's the bottom line, cnr ln Malegsle, you wan6 b.ck .nd lonh bGtwc.n the old blk. end th. n.ur. Wh!,tP niclqdraydenr When I lirst got on the new bike, it was lust a prototype, and it wasn't really ready. lt was okay to do a few laps. but the engine wasn't up to putring many laps on it. lt was just at the last Malaysia te$ that we had a bike we could put some time on. The others, it was iust to get a feel of it. cn! 50 lt w.!nt gouP cholc€P nickyhayden: No, no. At Malaysia, when I rode them back to back, I wa5 quite a bit faster on the old bike, That plays in my head a bit - the stopwatch don't lie, so that was a big thing. cn: Can qou tix it in just a f€w w€cksP nickyhayden: The clock's ticking, but I have to be conlident and believe that. l'm not going to give up now before the season starts. We know we're behind, and we know we have some workto do. cnr lt makEs a pr€tt! tough start as th€ numb€r-on€ gug. nickyhayden: lt's never easy. lt would have been nice to know allthis when we had more time, and could do stuffl But it's what we've got, and we have to make it happen. We have a lot of good people here, at Honda. We know how smart they are. and I have some good engineers and guys around me. cn: Would qou b€ happlcn i, Uou weren't the onlg onE rlding lt? nickyhayden: Yeah. I requested that we bring Tadi [Okada] to the las! Malaysia test. We were the only team without a test rider. For me, it was a bi8 help. He helped us sort throu8h quite a lot of stull in Malaysia, and that was my request. cn! Whg wEr€ Uou tastcr on thc old blk€P Was lt b€tt€r bel- ancc. or morc Por,\r€rP nickyhaydenr Mainly traction. And because I was more comfortable on it. But realt it's iust different, rather than befter or worse. cn: What is thc top thing on gour llst to fix? nickyhayden: Getting out ofthe corner. The traction, and the moving. We've got to figure out something. The bike does have some good points. lt's better into the corner, the chafter is better... the hopping is less. And they say the enSine has more potential, They have done a Sood iob in some areas - esPecially, we struggled with the chaft€r and the hoP- ping, and that's a lot better. cnr You dldnt rld€ th€ pnototgPc at Bmo la6t gcan WhGn was goun flrst tlm€ on th€ nE\^, blk€7 nick hayden: ln January. cn: That do€sn't mak€ it €asg. nickyhayden: I'd get a fishing pole if I wanted something easy. lt's frustratinS - we're all working hard. But it's only round one and we're not Siving up yet. ,,Urctoa, SGott I I I r \.( Dani PedPosE: The Rookie Have there ever Lreen higher expecta- tions of a rider than of Dani Pedrosa? Already a three-time World Champion at iust 20, the spaniard walked straight into Honda's official MotoGP factory team. And then, in only his third test, he started putting in lap times that put him among the fastest Hondas. By the time the Catalunya tests came around, he was being tipped as the man to upset Valentino Rossi. Even Rossi him- seli when asked who he thought would be his touShest rival, kept mentioning Pedrosa's name first. Jumping the gun a bit, you mighr think, for a diminutive youngster of just l12 pounds, in his first year in among the bi8 boys. Pedrosa agrees. cn: Oo goun rcsults so far in t€stlng surprls€ gouP danipedro5a. For sure, it wEs a surprise to me to set such 80od times. But it does- n't ryrcan too much. I think this class is ver/ diflicult. There are many things you need to have before you are ready to win. cn: What havc Aou l€arn€d so far about MotoGPP danipedrosa: One is strength, and I am working on that. I found out in November [his lirst MotoGP outing] that I was not ready. I had too liftle power in rny body. That is the biggest difference from 250, as well as the powe[ for sure - how much energy I must give, especially in accelera- tion and braking, with the weight transfer. cn: P€oplc havc high :xpecta- tions of gou ln gour flnst sea- son. Does that worrg gouP danipedrosa: I have not been at nry family house for a long time - away in Mala;,sia and Alstralia tor tests, and in London. where I don't know any people involved in racing. ldidn't realize what was happening until I arrived in Barcelona. Then I came here, and every- body is saying, "We hope you will beat Rossi." I heard that 100 times a day, and this is a tough situation. Because for sure I am not the one right now to do it. cn: How do qou cope with th€ prEssur€, including Rossi saging gou ar€ th€ man to b€at? danipedrosa: I don't know, I have to keep myself apart from these things, and do my work. l4aybe it's not so nice to say, but in racinS, you do things for your- self, and not for what others expect. I don't want to feel sad if I don't get a good result in Spain. lf Rossi is also saying that.-. I think he is trying to put pressure. /}llEhoc, S€ott EHHT a a cnr What ls the dlfference b.twGCn thcmP nickyhaydenr lt [the new bike] is a little bit lighter, and definitely more nimble. Seems better into the comer, better brak- ing, better from feel. But right now my problem is the backside. The edge Srip is y/hat we're missing out. And also a lot of rnoving coming out of the corner. That's rny big problem right now - and we cant figure out where it's coming from. We changed a lot of snrfl, and no matter what we change, it gets to a certain point, and the suspension's oot workinS. a a I - 16 MARCH 29,2006 CYCLE NEWS