Ducati Riders have Something to Prove at Indy
With the fracas surrounding the potential for Jorge Lorenzo to join the team put to bed yesterday, Ducati can now focus on its program for the remainder of the year. Many issues remain to be solved. Can Nicky Hayden finally get up to speed on the red bike and will he be signed for next year? Or will rookie Mika Kallio shine at Indy? And is Casey Stoner on the road to recovery?
The departure of Lorenzo as a candidate for a Marlboro Ducati ride has made it far more likely that Ducati will exercise it’s option on Nicky Hayden to the 2010 season. This must be done by September 1st. If Ducati has already made up it’s mind then it is likely this announcement will be made on Friday showing confidence in the Kentucky native. If not then it may still be the case that the team is toying with the idea of promoting promising rookie, Mika Kallio, from the satellite Pramac team to full factory support instead.
Kallio is in the middle of a 3 part tryout for the factory team as he sits in for a resting Casey Stoner as he battles to come to grips with whatever has been affecting his race performance in recent rounds. Stoner announced he would be sitting out 3 races starting with the recent race at Brno.
At Brno, Kallio started well, posting 7th fastest time and ultimately placing just behind Hayden on the grid. However he failed to finish yet another race this time colliding with Hayate Kawasaki’s Marco Melandri on the penultimate lap whilst not far behind Hayden who had one of his better results this season in 6th but still some 25 seconds behind the leader Rossi who was able to slow after Lorenzo crashed out leaving him with a big lead.
Although Kallio hasn’t been stellar this year, he has showed a good turn of speed for a rookie, especially on the difficult to ride Ducati. His pace is similar to Hayden’s although clearly much more was expected from the 2006 World Champion. The factory may be trying to weigh up whether Hayden can make it to the front of the field at all, against whether Kallio will continue to improve offering the company some evidence they can point to that someone other than a currently unwell Casey Stoner can put the Ducati at the front. Rhetoric from Ducati MotoGP Project Director, Livio Suppo, seems to support the notion that he views Kallio as the equal to Hayden on pace already.
Suppo: “As far Indy is concerned, I think everything is in place for both Nicky and Mika to have a good weekend. At Brno they were both lapping at a similar pace to the guys who finished on the podium. Nicky will have extra motivation here at his home circuit and for Mika it will be his second race in factory colours and I hope he feels more comfortable.”
link: MotoGP.com
If Kallio could beat Hayden or even finish right behind him in Indy, Ducati might just give the nod to the youngster despite Hayden’s undeniable star power in the US (the Nicky Hayden 848 edition rapidly sold out). However history points to Hayden making the grade. He seems to perform much better in his home country than anywhere else so Kallio will have his work cut out to keep up. The American has taken 2 of his 3 MotoGP victories at home (Laguna Seca) and finished 2nd last year at the inaugural running at the old brickyard.
Hayden certainly seems more enthusiastic about this race than some of his recent events.
Hayden: “This is probably the race I look forward to most as it’s just three hours from my house and MotoGP now is becoming very popular in the States. Last year it was a great weekend for me, the crowd was great and Indy did a great job in organising their first race and made us proud of it. I would love to have another good weekend like that one.
Meanwhile Kallio has set his sights realistically on a top 6 finish.
Kallio: “Even though I came here last year the race itself was cancelled because of the hurricane. Anyway, I can’t say I don’t know the track because we did contest every practice session, including the warm-up. It’s not exactly my favourite kind of track but it’s ok. There are three different kinds of asphalt and that makes it really tricky to get a set-up. Anyway, we’ll do our best and I’d like to be competing within the top five or six.”
Choosing a number two rider is not the only concern for Suppo. He is also anxious to deny mounting rumors that range from Stoner falling out with the factory to the faintly ludicrous notion that he is ready to retire from MotoGP entirely.
Suppo: “The news from Casey is positive, he is getting stronger and I’m sure he will be back at full strength at Estoril.”
link: MotoGP.com
For many reasons then, the race at Indy this weekend will be especially interesting. Hopefully no horizontal rain this time!
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