Hayden: first fugue in HRC major

By pocketing the United States GP at home yesterday, Nicky Hayden gave the official Honda Repsol team their first victory since Rossi’s departure and Honda’s very first victory at Laguna Seca in the premier class. Harmonious !

Yamaha, which celebrated its fiftieth anniversary this weekend (read), was considered the specialist of this track, having won five races out of six contested.

But the real masters of the Californian track seem rather to be the Americans (Lawson, Rainey and Kocinski), who also had five victories … And this year, Nicky confirmed this national domination by winning the official Honda team. !

Honda had never won a race at Laguna Seca. And it is neither Marco "second in the classification" Melandri, nor Sete "double vice world champion" Gibernau, nor Max "this year I must be champion" Biaggi, nor Alex "winner in Portugal" Barros, nor Makoto "always injured "Tamada, ni Troy" does not find its marks "Bayliss which brought the consecration to the first world manufacturer.

The liberator of Honda, who signs by the same the first victory of HRC Repsol since the departure of Rossi, is none other than the American with the mouth of young first: Nicky Hayden !

During his first MotoGP season, in 2003, the young American (he was 21 and was then the youngest AMA Superbike champion) conscientiously repeated his ranges in the shadow of a domineering team-mate: Valentino Rossi. himself. At the end of the season, he managed to climb on the podium twice, at Motegi and Phillip Island (read) and took fifth place in the world championship. He is crowned best rookie of the year against prestigious newcomers such as Edwards, Bayliss, Tamada and Melandri…

In 2004, Rossi’s departure for Yamaha marked a black season for Honda. Only Biaggi then Gibernau manage, for a time, to offer a semblance of resistance to the Doctor who flies to his sixth title. Now Alex Barros’ team-mate, Nicky fights with the leading men and often finishes in the top 5. He even finishes third in Brazil and Germany (read and). But he was slow to move up a gear, that of the cadors of the category … In addition, five falls and an injury prevented him from achieving his good performances and he fell to eighth place in the world ranking.

This year, the American still lacks the "little extra" that could see him take over the podiums and is only sixth in the provisional, fourth Honda. Will his victory on Sunday at home bring him that "magic touch", the little spark of confidence, recognition and / or pleasure that would allow him to explode? The British Grand Prix at Donington will give us the beginning of an answer. Last year, the Kentucky Kid had a great race and placed fourth. Will he improve his performance in 2005? He has every interest…

With Pedrosa’s next climb, the whispered arrival of the Vermeulen phenomenon (read) and Melandri’s good results this season, the factory RCVs are likely to pay dearly next season. There is still time for Hayden to prove to the Japanese that he could be the new Honda leader, but the road will be long !

To (re) experience the entire United States Grand-Prix, meet tomorrow for J. Arsouille’s turn-based tour. !

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