INTERVIEW
HONDA RACING WORLDSBK BOSS RONALD TEN KATE
P84
Laguna Seca was the
first American race with-
out Nicky Hayden. How
was the feeling in the
team that weekend?
Of course, we already
had some races now with-
out Nicky. The first one at
Donington, which was so
close to his passing away.
The team was pretty down.
We still had to race, but usu-
ally we go racing because
we want to race. At that
point, I think nobody in the
team was really wanting to
be there at all.
Coming to Laguna Seca,
there're a lot of fans wanting
to have some posters from
him, signatures, or just want
to give us presents, which
is nice. They were behaving
really well. There's still a big,
empty spot which nobody
can fill.
How did things work
out with Jake Gagne?
Honestly, we hardly knew
him. I can pretend like we've
been following him the past
10 years or whatever, but
we have not. So, his name
comes up and the Ameri-
can Honda guys were of
course enthusiastic about
having Jake with us. You
can see his career. He is a
talented guy. He won Red
Bull Rookies. The funny part
about him is being a good
motocross guy as well.
"AFTER THE FIRST
SESSION ALREADY OUR
DATA ENGINEER CAME
TO ME AND HE SAID,
'HEY, HE'S GOOD. HE
CAN RIDE A BIKE.'"
(Left) Ronald
(right) and
uncle Gerrit
in mourning
at Donington
Park, the first
race after
Nicky Hayden's
passing.
(Right) Hayden's
final races were
not up to his
usual standard,
battling setup
and development
issues with the
new SP2.
