2WF.com - Online and on the Gas - Interview with Nicky Hayden about IMS

Interview with Nicky Hayden about IMS

Posted by Staff
Monday, 07 April 2008
RON GREEN: OK, good afternoon. My name is Ron Green, director of public relations with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And to those of you on the World Wide Web, again thank you for tuning in. It is an historic day here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Historic in that we had a motorcycle take the initial laps around the new road course here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And what made it even more special is two things: The bike itself was a 1909 Indian that actually raced in the first race here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1909, and then the rider made it extra special. The rider is Nicky Hayden, 2006 MotoGP champion and current rider on the Repsol Honda Team. Nicky, we have to get your reaction first just taking those laps on the 2009 -- I'm sorry, the 1909 Indian. NICKY HAYDEN: To be honest, when they first fired it up, I thought, 'Man, what did I get myself into here?' because when she fired up, she wasn't ready for all the throttle going like this. But it was really cool. Actually, I mean the gear, I really liked my helmet. That was probably my favorite part. Those guys were men, and I can't imagine racing that bike around here. But it was pretty unique and quite an honor to be the first guy to go around the new track here at the famous Speedway. So, yeah, I enjoyed it, and the bike ran perfect. Had a little bit of oil dripping, so I stayed off the racing line. But other than that, the thing ran perfect the whole time. The backwards brake was, you know, like my bicycle back in the day, a skid, so it was pretty interesting but I enjoyed it. GREEN: Yesterday was your first chance to see the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in person. You've been to Indianapolis for a race at the Indiana State Fairgrounds but the first time to see the Speedway. What were your initial impressions? HAYDEN: Well, I imagined it being big, but I didn't imagine the whole Speedway and just the grandstands and just the golf course, everything being so huge, you know. I mean, definitely was even for me. I've been to speedways and been to a lot of tracks, but just the size of this place is enormous and got to go around the course in a car and, you know, was excited to be here and be a part of it. It's cool to see so many people, Red Bull and Indy working hard, you know, to help bring MotoGP to the East Coast. Obviously, they have Laguna but also another race in America and just the interest for me is exciting to be a part of it. So I want to do my part to help do all I can and make the race be a huge success. Because I think MotoGP now, and road racing in general, is a great sport, and it's, I think, this will be a big opportunity to show it to people who are -- you know, there's a lot of, I guess, racing fans, sports fans in this area but also to show them a different form of motorsports should be good for our sport. GREEN: You just took some laps at speed on a Honda CBR1000. Initial thoughts, initial impressions of the course itself. How is it going to be suited for MotoGP racing? HAYDEN: When I seen the track map, I looked at the map and some pictures on the Internet, but I didn't realize how quick the front straightaway is. Definitely going to be a long straight there, going to need some ponies. Yes, my initial impression was great. I didn't really see any concerns. You know, Turn 1 is a little bit probably, I would say, the sketchiest place, but the rest looked like more than enough runoff. The first bit, the track is brand new, so really slippery. But in the back where the Formula One was going, the surface felt quite a lot of grip. I'll be excited to get the GP bike out there, and you can feel a lot more on that bike than a street bike, so we'll see. GREEN: We'll open it for questions for Nicky. I'd ask you to state your name, your affiliation and then ask your question. Q: Dick Mittman with the 500 Old Timers at the Speedway. You said -- explain what you mean the first turn was kind of sketchy or at least that's the word you used. HAYDEN: It's fast. You know, that's definitely coming down in there quite so fast is just the one where your eyes open up the biggest and the walls are a little bit close, so I would say mainly just from the speed. You know, that's going to be, I would say, a big overtaking place. And the slipstream will be really important in this race, especially 125 and 250, but I would say there will be a lot of overtaking going into Turn 1. So it will be important to get off the last corner well. That's quite maybe the most technical little corner on the track. So, yeah. Q: To those unfamiliar -- Phillip B. Wilson, Indianapolis Star. To those unfamiliar, how fast are you going on your regular ride out of here today? HAYDEN: I'm not exactly sure what the speed was today. I don't know, maybe 150, 160. But, you know, our GP bikes will be doing 200 miles an hour down in there. So, yeah, we'll be moving pretty quick. I would say the last corner will be maybe the slowest corner, and then the front straightaway obviously will be the quickest. Also the Turn 5 will be a quick corner. It's fast. Q: Just to follow, (inaudible) from the Museum curators area said you were flat out on the Indian at about 40 coming down. HAYDEN: Well, I'm not sure, but that was all she had. I had the throttle open completely up and it was on the stops. So 40, it felt like about a hundred. She was vibrating pretty good and things were moving around there, but maybe it was just 40. It felt, I guess them goggles also maybe a little more air flow coming through than I was used to. Seemed a little quicker than 40, but it always does. Q: Jeremiah Johnson from WXIN. I'm curious, being a Midwest guy, what was your first reaction when you found out there was going to be a race in Indianapolis? I'm sure the fans in Owensboro will be showing up in September. HAYDEN: Yeah, when I first heard about it, I thought, 'Well, I didn't want to get too excited until I actually seen it on the calendar and everything.' It almost was a little bit too good to be true. I travel all over the world and long flights, you know. Takes a day to get to most races, and to be racing so close to home, it's going to be really good. Also, a lot of my friends and family, though we've been racing in California the last couple years, still a lot of people haven't, you know, that's even a trip from Kentucky. So they got no excuse to miss this one being it's only three hours from home. So I'm sure a lot of people from Owensboro is going to be coming up. I get a lot of support there. That's a lot of car guys from Owensboro and a lot of sports guys in general, so it will be nice to race in front of my home crowd. I'm sure, yeah, will not be - I'm not sure what Owensboro is going to do if you need something that weekend because the town might have to shut down because I think they're relocating that weekend. Yeah, it's really cool to be a part of and want to do my part, put on a good show for them and give them something to cheer about. GREEN: The Red Bull Indianapolis GP is September 14th. Nicky, in your mind what's it mean to have the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on that MotoGP calendar? HAYDEN: I think for MotoGP it's also a big step because it's got the famous name. I know a lot of people from international are wanting to come over to, not just for the race but to see the Speedway, see the Museum and see Indianapolis. I know a lot of, you know, my team, they always stay after Laguna and go down to Hollywood or hang out in San Francisco. But I think this will be an experience for the teams and all the people who work in the paddock, all the mechanics, coordinators, cooks, everybody, to see a different part of America. It's a little bit different over here in the Midwest, so I think -- I know a lot of my team in particular are, you know, going to spend the week after the race touring around and seeing what goes on around here. Q: Growing up in Owensboro where most of the race drivers out of there are stock car drivers, how did you become a motorcycle rider? HAYDEN: Well, my dad was into bikes. Yeah, it's definitely more NASCAR country. But, yeah, my dad was into bikes and his brother, and I guess just even from what I can remember my early days were always motorcycles. I really, this here has been my life, my passion since I can remember. I never really had no plan B or anything else. It was be a motorcycle racer and make it happen. You know, my family has certainly been involved. My two brothers are both AMA champions, and my older sister, she was into bikes there for a while. So I was born into it. It was a good area for growing up. You know, there was a lot of racing in Indianapolis, Kentucky, Illinois and places, so it was quite a good location. Q: Brad Love with the Honda Sport Touring Association. I used to watch you in '94 back at Raceway Park; you were a little guy. As you come through your career and many years from now when you're done with the racing part, do you have aspirations of being a team owner or where do you see yourself in the future? HAYDEN: Well, I mean, right now my future, I'm not looking too far out in front. Probably not a good thing, but I mean I have to focus on next weekend, Portugal's race, as much as what I'm going to be doing 10 years down the road. But I would like to think I'm a lifer in this sport, somehow stay involved and help young riders do something, you know. That's all I know, that's all I've done. So I've gained a lot of experience and a lot of knowledge, so I would like to one day be able to pass that on and help other kids out and show them some of the things I've learned the hard way. So, yeah, I would imagine that, yeah, I will find something in this industry. Q: Mandy Langston, BMW Owners News. First of all, it was good to see you in Milan. Second of all, I was just wondering, you've got Portugal, you've got Shanghai, you've got France two weeks after that, you've got quite a packed schedule with GP racing. What are you going to be doing between now and Portugal to prepare for that and to prepare for the rest of the season? What does your down time look like or preparation? HAYDEN: Well, the down time, that was Christmas. So there's not really much down time between now and the grand finale in November. Actually, I leave tomorrow for Portugal. I go home today and leave in the morning for Portugal, which is actually about the closest European race to get to. Fly through New York, and it's a direct flight into Lisbon. And then after that race we stay and do some testing in Portugal. Then actually I come home and do have a week off there and then the season really gets busy. China is a big trip and then France, and then we start doing some back-to-back, Barcelona, Mugello, back-to-back weekends. So, yeah, we're going to get pretty busy, but that's OK. It's not a bad thing. I'm definitely looking forward to some of the tracks coming up. Q: Rich Nye with Channel 13, the NBC station here in Indy. Can you give us a sense of how big a star you are internationally as compared to like an F1 driver, how you guys rate? HAYDEN: Well, I mean I'd like to think I'm a pretty humble guy, so I don't want to, I don't know, say too much. I mean, I don't -- you know, I enjoy just coming home, that's one reason I come home. I don't need to strut around Europe with my shoulders out and try to be cool with the Formula One guys in Monaco or anything. But our sport definitely, I mean, we just came from Jerez where there was 150,000 people on race day almost. I think the exact number was 135-, you know, attendance, paying fans. So this sport is really, I think, you know, it was really big in the '80s and '90s and then plateaued off for a while. And then Valentino Rossi, one of my rivals which I respect a lot, did a lot for the sport. When he came along the way, he won and really helped bring the popularity back up. I think the last couple years spectator attendance have been up, numbers. TV numbers is a big part of it. Yeah, I think the sport is quite strong right now. We just raced in Qatar at night for the first time, which was a milestone and pretty exciting. We're traveling outside of Europe more and more each year, Laguna now twice and China has been on the schedule the last couple years. Qatar is a big market. So, yeah, the sport is growing, but the one place it really hasn't taken off is here in the U.S., and Dorna along with Red Bull and a lot of the sponsors have worked hard the last three or four years, I would say, to bring a race back to America was obviously a big part of it and being an American champion has helped. The one thing that they really -- there's a lot of sponsorship money here in America, a lot of big companies. Now that the cigarette sponsors, which used to run the teams for a lot of years, is getting harder and harder to use the branding at certain tracks, is getting pushed out. I think this American market is a big part of it. We did the MTV movie, was a big thing for the sport, and I think, you know, Dorna's commitment to seeing it blow up in America is really what's driving the whole thing. GREEN: Any more questions for Nicky? Nicky, on behalf of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, thank you for coming out today. We appreciate your time and hope you enjoyed it. HAYDEN: Yeah, I really did. Thanks for having me, and thanks for bringing two wheels back to Indy. I'm excited.

< Prev		Next >