Wet and chilly weather once again greeted the MotoGP boys at Indy. But the action off the track was anything but cold.
Just a quick update today from a short day here at
Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Once again it was raining for the first MotoGP practice of the weekend, though fingers crossed as the weather is said to be getting progressively better for the rest of the weekend. The one-and-only wet session today was topped by Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa with a best time of 1:51.507. American Nicky Hayden as a close second at 1:52.662.
But while the on-track action was wet and cold, the off-track action couldn’t be hotter. The MotoGP rider Silly Season is in full swing here and both American riders in the series are still part of the musical chairs. Homeboy Hayden has been the center of attention this weekend thus far, fielding a good deal of questions about his future.
Up until recently it was thought Fiat Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo could possibly take his spot for the enormous amount of money Ducati was said to be offering the rising star; rumored to be 13-million Euros for two years. But he confirmed he will be staying at Yamaha and it looks like the Ducati talks were nothing more than a ploy to get more money from his current employer. And from what we’re hearing, it worked. This came as some relief to Hayden, who has openly said he wishes to remain on the red machine despite the tough year he’s been having. We caught up with him briefly after the first practice, which he was a promising second-fastest in.
Hayden's future is still up in the air and has been the big talk so far this weekend. He did well for himself by starting the weekend off second-fastest in the wet session.
“It’s going good today,” said the Kentucky Kid. “It would be nice if things dried up but we’re headed in the right direction as a team and everything feels good. It’s nice to be back so close to home as well and in front of the American fans. Let’s hope that the weather is better tomorrow and we can put on a good show for everyone come Sunday.”
When asked about his plans for next year, Hayden smiled and simply said: “We’ll know within a week, won’t we?” This is because the option for the second year on his contract expires in roughly a week’s time and it’s pretty safe to say Ducati will have made an announcement before then. From the patented million-dollar grin he was sporting, we’ve got to believe that talks between himself and the Ducati squad are headed in the right direction.
One spoiler in the equation could possibly be Dani Pedrosa. Despite announcements from Honda and HRC that they would be staying with Pedrosa and his young teammate Andrea Dovizioso, nothing officially has been signed or announced, and there’s a rumor floating around that the diminutive Spaniard has been talking to Ducati. But from what we’ve heard, Hayden is the more probable option.
Fellow American Edwards also looks likely to stay in his current spot for next year, which is on the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha bike, now that Lorenzo has decided to stay with the factory team. Although Edwards didn’t say too much about it when we asked.
Edwards is the other American in the series and his future still remains up in the air as well.
“I don't know; we'll do something,” he said Thursday. “At the end of the day, I still enjoy riding a motorcycle. So I'd like to stay where I am with everybody and with Yamaha. Of course, we have to see financially if everything fits together.”
That wraps up the most current and biggest news as far as the musical chairs go, but we’ll be sure to keep you updated as we hear more throughout the weekend.
Let’s get back to the weekend at hand and some of the special one-off livery the riders are wearing. Hayden is sporting a special helmet painted to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He will be auctioning off the helmet after the weekend and also has several other pieces of memorabilia for auction on Ducati Island, with all proceeds going to Make-A-Wish.
Lorenzo is sporting a Captain America-inspired lid.
Even though he’s not American, Lorenzo is getting in the spirit with a Captain America-inspired helmet. Featuring a big ‘A’ on the top, wings on the side and a star on the back, the Spanish youngster looks to be hoping to gain some super powers this weekend from the superhero lid.
In new rider news, Pramac Ducati has given Spanish youngster Aleix Espargaro the opportunity to race in Mika Kallio’s vacated spot for the weekend. The youngster is a hot up-and-coming 250cc GP star and looks to make the most of the big opportunity. He ended the first session some 2 seconds quicker than his teammate Niccolo Canepa, getting off on the right foot.
That’s about all for the short day here at Indy. We’ll keep you updated as the weekend progresses. Let’s hope for some clear weather…
