Nicky Hayden's 8-Hour
Nicky Hyden's 8-Hour
Enduring Suzuka proves even tougher than MotoGP
RACE WATCH
MARK CERNICKY
HALF PAST THE DAWN OF NICKY Hayden's freshman Grand Prix year, the reigning AMA Superbike Champion sets his watch to Japanese standard time. The summer break in the MotoGP schedule is earmarked by the 26th running of the Suzuka 8-Hour. It would be Hayden's first entry in this most infamous round of the World Endurance Series, held in torturously hot and humid conditions in early August.
One can only imagine the pressure of riding on Honda’s frontline GP roadracing squad with four-time title tallyman Valentino Rossi as your teammate.
Then there’s the 200-plushorsepower 990cc RC211V with which to come to grips, things considered, enjoying some time away from motorbikes would be understandable, wouldn’t you think?
Not for Hayden, however, as I discovered after tracking him down at his Kentucky home, where he popped in for a brief visit between Suzuka and the upcoming Czech Republic GP.
“We rode this new dirt track not far from the house, smooth and pretty banked, you’d-a-loved it,” he told me, “we” referring to his racing brothers Tommy and Roger Lee. The enthusiasm in his voice didn’t sound at all like someone suffering from jet lag.
A clamor in the background could be heard over the phone. “Sorry, that’s Rog,” Nicky apologized. “We’re on our way out the door to ride motocross.” That was my
cue to cut to the chase and ask Hayden about his par ticipation in the Suzuka 8Hour and life in the fast lane of MotoGP.
V 1V1ULU'.J~. "I wanted to do Suzuka just for the xperience," he re ayed. "It's such a big Ce, and so different an any other I've done. It was actually pretty cool just being there." A rookie to the endurance-rae ng scene, Hayden had a few con cerns, such as the rider changes that take place during pit stops. The language barrier also proved problematic, as the young American was working
with an entirely new team for this one event. "I don't speak Japanese and nobody spoke much English, but they were real ly serious about the prepa ration of the bike," Hayden said of his Seven Stars Hon da crew.
I He had no problem un derstanding how much this race meant to all involved, however. "It was cool to see the amount of effort they put in, and how hard the team worked to be ready come race day. This race is important to Honda, and that makes it im portant to me. We didn't have a common language, but we had a common goal."
Another concern among the faster riders was dealing with backmarkers. "I kind of forgot about them since I started riding GP-they just weren't there any more' laughed Hayden, who thought he'd seen the last of them n the AMA Superbike series.
Typical of endurance races, the 8-Hour features several different classes sharing the track, including rela tively slow production bikes. "They had a naked-bike class that used twin-shockers. It was kinda funny: You'd be coming up on guys and their bikes would just be shakin'! It would suck to clean one of those guys out at the speeds we're closing on them."
Although Suzuka used to draw the cream of the crop of GP roadracing, most of the competitors at the 2003 iteration were Japanese domestics. The notable exceptions were Hayden, two-time World Superbike Champion Doug Polen, AMA Superbike and World Endurance regular Jason Pridmore and Corona Extra Suzu id's Anthony Gobert.
Participating in the grueling event is by no means a holiday for MotoGP rid ers. Pre-race testing requires riders who compete in European-based series to make several 14-hour flights to and from Japan in the midst of an already hectic schedule. Not only is the race extremely physically demanding, but there's the in herent risk of an injury jeopardizing the rest of your season.
"Actually, I felt really good and re laxed at Suzuka' assured Hayden, who celebrated his 22w' birthday while in Japan. "Hour-and-fifteen-minute stints in the heat and humidity aren't easy, but after wrestling my V-Five Honda GP bike around, the endurance bike was kinda easy to hold onto."
The works Honda RC5 1 that Hayden rode at Suzuka was not only substantially "mellower" than his MotoGP mount, but the bike's 1000cc V-Twin engine was also milder than the one he used in winning the 2002 AMA Superbike title. Engine longevity and fuel economy are key fac tors in an endurance bike's state of tune. The Seven Stars Honda crew was pleased when Hayden set pro
visional pole on the third lap of qualifying early Friday morning. The fact that he did so while using teammate Ryuichi Kiyonari’s setup made his performance all the more impressive. But even after bettering his teammate’s time during the Special Stage qualifying session on Saturday, Hayden was disappointed with his result.
“I had to wait two hours between the warm-up session and my qualifying attempt, and I made some mistakes,” said Hayden of the Superpole-style, one-lapfor-all-the-marbles qualifying session. “I was riding tight, and wasn’t too happy with my time, but I tried my best.” Hayden’s time put the team sixth in line for the traditional Le Mans start, which requires the riders to sprint across the track and climb aboard their machines before blasting down the start/finish straight. “I got a really good pull out of the hole, but someone ran wide and I had to roll out, and lost a couple of spots going into Turn 1,” he said, recounting the frenzy of a first lap that rivals that of any sprint race. “I passed those two guys back and closed right up onto the lead group.” Then, seemingly sitting pretty with the whole 8-hour race ahead, disaster struck. Oil dropped by a mid-field machine on the opening lap claimed several of the
front-runners as the lead pack entered the fast right-hand curve to start lap two. Hayden was one of the unlucky victims.
“Tipping into Turn 1, I was right up the pipes of the guys in front of me when out the corner of my eye I saw an oil flag, but it was too late,” he said, disappointment still evident in his tone. “That’s a fast place to go down. There were guys and bikes everywhere; it was just unbelievable.”
Ironically, the crash that dashed Hayden’s hopes of victory was caused by an oil leak from the Team OVER Racing Yamaha, a fitting name as its race was now “over” as well.
Unhurt from the incident, Hayden ran to his RC51 to assess the damage, gathered up what parts he could and began pushing the ailing machine back toward the pits.
“My bike was really bad,” he recalled. “The front wheel was broken, the tire was flat and the gas tank was ripped off.” With the rear wheel locked up as well, Hayden looked prepared to drag his Honda all the way back to the pits for repairs, but was directed by corner marshals to let them have the bike. “They loaded us all up on the crash truck, and I guess you can’t do that or you’re disqualified,” he
explained dejectedly. “The team worked so hard, and just for one lap! There was nothing 1 could do...”
The fans shared in the loss as well, as Hayden was definitely a favorite. Banners with his name and number 69 were hung in the main grandstand from Thursday morning on. During the daily pit walks, long lines of spectators waited patiently to get his autograph or take a photo with him.
If nothing else, perhaps the stark contrast of Hayden’s Suzuka experience helped him feel more at home when he returned to the MotoGP campus. “The team has been really happy the last few races. It’s getting better because I understand those guys a lot better now,” Hayden said of the Repsol Honda squad headed by crew chief Trevor Morris. “He’s my guy. Even though I have a tire engineer, a suspension engineer and motor guys, it’s kind of like me and my crew chief who really decide.”
Lurking behind the scenes are a couple of others who have played a role in Hayden’s continuing education: five-time 500cc World Champion Mick Doohan and former GP winner Tadayuki Okada. “Mick works for Honda and goes to the races and oversees the whole program.
Tadayuki is our assistant team manager, and a big help as far as understanding things and making tire choices.”
You get the sense that Okada-san may fill the role of spiritual leader, as well. “Sometimes he helps with little things
you wouldn’t think of, not just about riding, but how to deal with different people on and off the track.”
As one might imagine, the RC211V offers a myriad of setup options, but Hayden says he really doesn’t need a lot
at this early stage. “I’m still not riding to the bike’s level. I need to get more out of the bike before I look into changing a whole lot of stuff.”
Having had time to adjust to the bike and his new surroundings, Hayden has found that returning to the basics and trying things that didn’t particularly feel right when he first began testing back in January now offer promising results. “I’m more comfortable on the bike now, and my style is a little bit better. I’ve tried some things again that I really like now, things that at one time I didn’t like, because so much has changed.”
He also feels he’s gained a better understanding of the tracks and what it takes to exploit the VFive’s considerable strengths. “When I first started riding the bike, I was carrying a lot of corner speed-too much,” he admits, having since realized the true meaning of slowing down to go faster. “Instead of getting into the corner deep, I’m now getting it stopped and turned and picked up, using that 200-plus horsepower instead of trying to drive out of the corner on the side of the tire and not being able
to open the throttle ’cause I’m leaned over too long.”
He also admits that he needs to improve in qualifying.
“I really need to get better at hanging it out and stepping it up at the end of qualifying. A few times after a race weekend, I’ve thought to myself, ‘Maybe I should have gone banzai.’ Not ride over my head, but try harder. I mean, I’ve been trying really hard, but sometimes you just think you should have taken more chances sooner.”
Always learning, even a GP star like Hayden has to remind himself of the basics he learned long ago to refine his technique. “When I started in AMA racing, I didn’t start off winning. You have to get the feel for it, and when it’s right, it will come. When it all comes together in GP, I have no doubt that we’ll be up there,” he assures.
For anyone paying attention, it’s obvious that Hayden has gotten his footing and is poised to make a run toward the front. A few weeks prior to the Suzuka 8Hour, he carded his best result of the season, finishing fifth at the German GP. He credits momentum from the previous round at Donington Park, where he was fourth-quickest in the Sunday-morning warm-up, and knowing that the other competitors didn’t like the tight and bumpy Sachsenring circuit. “I had good feel from my bike and I liked the bumps, but I also was comfortable with my team and surroundings. That really helped my riding there,” he asserts.
Hayden was in high sprits heading into Brno in the Czech Republic for round 10
of the 16-race MotoGP series. Having already tested there boosted his confidence greatly. He got away in seventh and held his position, and inherited sixth a few laps from the end of the race when Loris Capirossi’s Ducati expired. Television cover-
age enabled viewers to follow bike num ber 69 from lap one. And as Rossi crossed the finish line to take the win, Nicky Hay den was in the picture. Additional reporting by David Swart:, www.roadracingworld.com.
