Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi both had costly off-track excursions in the early stages of the Aragon GP, with the former crashing upon striking a tyre wall and the latter having to fight through the pack after re-entering the circuit and completing the first lap in last place.
Fortunately, there were no serious consequences from the American’s frightening incident, which occurred after exiting the track at same point where he had crashed yesterday. This time, he stayed upright until striking the wall and flying over it. Hayden was initially transported to the circuit medical centre and then to the Hospital de Alcañiz for precautionary checks. He has been released and plans to compete in the next round, the Japanese Grand Prix.
As for Valentino Rossi, he went off the track on the first lap to avoid contact with Jonathan Rea, and after re-entering in last place, he had to work his way forward. The Italian had a good pace for the entire race, making up twelve positions to take the chequered flag in eighth place.
Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) 8th
“It’s a shame about the mistake on the first lap. I was a bit faster than Rea, and when we spread out on the straightaway, and he braked a bit earlier, I went to the right. He couldn’t see me and pushed me close to the curb, and I went straight to avoid him. I should have gone to the inside, not the outside. Without that incident, I think I could have fought with Bautista for sixth place, which was our potential at this track today. In fact, things went better in the race than in practice, when we suffered a lot on acceleration both in the wet and in the dry. We made some changes after the warm-up, and that helped us to lap consistently at a decent pace for the whole race, without using up the tyres too much. This is a positive sign, considering that we were also able to do that at Misano. There’s still much work to do, but it’s also true that for us this was probably the most difficult track among those left on the calendar, so we hope to be more competitive at Motegi in two weeks.”
Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) DNF
“I spun the tyre a lot on the start but was able to get past Rossi and Johnny Rea. The rear brake wasn’t working great from about halfway around the lap, maybe because I overheated it. I was trying to keep the group in front of me in sight, but I pushed the front in the last turn. I was able to pick it up, but I came up on that wall really fast. I thought I might hit it headfirst if I jumped off, so I let go right before impact. I’m sorry to tear up the bike, but I’m thankful for great safety equipment and to be okay.”
Vittoriano Guareschi, Team Manager
“We had a very challenging weekend here at Aragon because we started the race having had very little time to work on our setup. With the new frame and swingarm, it’s a period when we needed to ride as much as possible, but the only dry session was qualifying, where it was more important to do a good time than to try different settings. We had the warm-up this morning, and I must say that the team did a good job of finding solutions that allowed Vale to ride until the end at a good pace, without wearing the tyres too much. Obviously, we could have done with the two off-track excursions, but fortunately for Nicky the worse outcome was a bad scare for us all. I think that today, apart from the results, there were some positive signs, which show that we’re working in the right direction.”
Results
1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 42'10.444
2. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Yamaha Factory Racing + 6.472
3. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Yamaha Tech3 + 11.047
4. Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Yamaha Tech3 + 11.184
5. Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha Factory Racing + 13.786
6. Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Honda Gresini + 28.166
7. Jonathan Rea (GBR) Repsol Honda Team + 32.290
8. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Ducati Team + 44.432
9. Karel Abraham (CZE) Cardion AB Motoracing + 57.417
10. Aleix Espargaro (SPA) Power Electronics Aspar + 58.525
11. Randy De Puniet (FRA) Power Electronics Aspar + 59.863
12. Hector Barbera (SPA) Pramac Racing Team + 1'14.561
13. Yonny Hernandez (COL) Avintia Racing + 1'16.159
14. James Ellison (UK) Paul Bird Motorsport + 1'16.580
15. Michele Pirro (ITA) San Carlo Honda Gresini + 1'25.815
16. Mattia Pasini (ITA) Speed Master + 1'31.801
17. Danilo Petrucci (ITA) Came Iodaracing Project + 1'42.300
18. Colin Edwards (USA) NGM Mobile Forward Racing After 1 laps
19. Stefan Bradl (GER) LCR Honda Not classified (19 laps)
20. David Salom (SPA) Avintia Blusens Not classified (20 laps)
21. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Team Not classified (22 laps)
Championship Standings
1 Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Yamaha Factory Racing 290
2 Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team 257
3 Casey Stoner (AUS) Repsol Honda Team 186
4 Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Yamaha Tech3 179
5 Cal Crutchlow (GBR) Yamaha Tech3 135
6 Alvaro Bautista (SPA) Honda Gresini 128
7 Valentino Rossi (ITA) Ducati Team 128
8 Stefan Bradl (GER) LCR Honda 115
9 Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Team 93
10 Ben Spies (USA) Yamaha Factory Racing 88
11 Hector Barbera (SPA) Pramac Racing Team 64
12 Randy De Puniet (FRA) Power Electronics Aspar 53
13 Aleix Espargaro (SPA) Power Electronics Aspar 51
14 Karel Abraham (CZE) Cardion AB Motoracing 32
15 Yonny Hernandez (COL) Avintia Racing 28
16 Michele Pirro (ITA) San Carlo Honda Gresini 25
17 Colin Edwards (USA) NGM Mobile Forward Racing 22
18 James Ellison (UK) Paul Bird Motorsport 19
19 Mattia Pasini (ITA) Speed Master 13
20 Danilo Petrucci (ITA) Came Iodaracing Project 11
21 Ivan Silva (SPA) Avintia Racing 11
22 Toni Elias (SPA) Pramac Racing Team 10
23 Steve Rapp (USA) Attack Performance 2
24 David Salom (SPA) Avintia Blusens 1
