Brno MotoGP: Americans Talk FP1

MotoGP News

American riders Nicky Hayden from Owensboro, Ky. on the Ducati Team, Ben Spies from Longview, Texas on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 M1 and Colin Edwards from Houston also on the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 M1 will compete in the Brno MotoGP race.

Hayden is sixth in the MotoGP World Championship standings, with Spies seventh and Edwards 11th. Kenny Noyes from Borrego Springs, Calif. with Jack&Jones by Antonio Banderas Team will compete in the Moto2 race. Noyes is tied for 19th in the Moto2 World Championship standings.

Nicky Hayden (after practice Aug. 13) says: “It was certainly nice to be back in the saddle today and the bike felt quite good out of the gate. The two weeks away gave me time to think about some things and the team, too, and together we were able to come up with some ideas that seemed to have worked. I’m not sure what everybody else had in the bag, but I’m sure we’re not miles away for the first session. Hopefully it’s the start of good things to come.”

Ben Spies (after practice Aug. 13) says: “We started with the setting from Laguna Seca, and I just couldn’t quite reach the pace of where I needed to be. But I know there is definite room for improvement. The first bike I just couldn’t get working like I needed, and we’d got quite a bit different front-end setting in the second bike.”

“The second bike should make it easier for me to roll through the middle of the corner because I was having to hold the brake a bit too much on the other bike to help it turn. I’m pretty frustrated because that bit of rain stopped me from getting in a few laps to properly try it and get some data. I wasn’t fussed about bettering my time; I just wanted to feel the difference. But I’m 90 percent sure that the second bike setup is the way we need to go.”

Colin Edwards (after practice Aug. 13) says: “I felt pretty good immediately, and I feel like we should be in for a strong weekend if we can build on the momentum from today. A lot this season we have started on the back foot a bit and spent the whole weekend playing catch-up. But we’ve got a platform to build on, and that’s mainly down to a new front-end setting we tried.”

“Thanks to my guys at Monster Yamaha Tech 3 because they came up with this experimental setting, and it worked really well. We put more weight on the front, and I like it better than what I started the session on. Now the bike holds the turn a lot better, and I’m not running wide. We’ve put more force through the front tire to help it turn. I’ve never had a top six here before, so after this start, I’m hoping to put that right on Sunday.”