Ducati pair left frustrated after Indy outing

Ducati pair left frustrated after Indy outing

Nicky Hayden placed sixth in his home race having started from the front row, whilst Casey Stoner suffered a crash that ended his race on lap eight.

The Ducati Team were left to ponder what could have been at the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix after Nicky Hayden placed sixth having started from the front row of the grid, with Casey Stoner suffering the bitter disappointment of a DNF when he crashed out on lap eight.

Hayden had been on good form throughout the weekend at his home GP and that was consolidated with his first front row qualification spot on the Desmosedici. Just a few laps into the race the American – who was confirmed as a Ducati rider for the next two seasons on Saturday – lost his left knee slider, which consequently affected his ability to push as hard as he had intended.

“I still can't believe what happened - I am so disappointed,” said the 29 year-old. “I was being careful over the first few laps because in that heat the track was very greasy. I lost the front slightly on the third lap and caught my left knee on a drain cover on one of the kerbs, right where the knee slider attaches to the velcro. There are so many left-hand corners here... from that point on I had to take it really steady, I couldn't push anywhere and finished up with a huge hole in my leathers. I am incredibly disappointed because we had the pace to put in a performance today."

Team-mate Stoner suffered a recurrence of the front-end issues that affected the start of his campaign, as he was working his way up from his starting position of sixth. It brought to an end the Australian’s solid run of five straight podiums and he had expected to be able to challenge for a sixth at Indy.

“I am very disappointed - it was a nothing crash but obviously it was enough to leave me out of the race,” he said. “I know a lot of people have had front end crashes but apparently here at Indianapolis we have gone back to the situation we were in at the start of the season and we've struggled to find front-end feel in the corners. It is a real shame because we had good pace and I think we could have been on the podium."


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