MotoGP: Revved Up for New Season

Defending World champion Nicky Hayden (The Kentucky Kid) is looking for speed, fellow American Colin Edwards (The Tornado) is showing flashes of brilliance and five-time MotoGP champ Valentino Rossi (The Doctor) has served notice he intends to take back the title Hayden snatched from him in 2006.

While none of the three topped the time charts on the third and final day of testing Thursday (Feb. 15) at Qatar, the first official round of testing prior to the MotoGP season-opener March 10, they still attracted a lot of attention on the Losail International Circuit last week.

Hayden used the return of MotoGP to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2005 to launch his motorcycle racing career to new heights. The breakout victory (his first in the world championship) came in dominant fashion and set the stage for his championship season in 2006, during which he won again at the dry lake.

Hayden, Italian heart-throb Rossi – who won his five world titles in consecutive fashion from 2001-’05, Edwards and fellow Americans John Hopkins (second fastest at Qatar) and Kenny Roberts Jr., the 2000 world champion, and the rest of the highly competitive MotoGP field make their lone U.S. stop at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix July 20-22 at Laguna Seca.

Tickets are available now but, once again, many packages are already sold out. Call 1-800-327-SECA for information and to buy tickets or log on to www.laguna-seca.com.

Hayden’s Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa topped the Qatar test session as riders actually dipped below the 2006 pole-winning time on the circuit situated on the Arabian Gulf. Riders are finding the new 800cc machines to be quicker than last season’s 990cc bikes. The first two days at Qatar, Edwards, Rossi’s Texan teammate, put his factory Yamaha out front.

While Hopkins was second-quickest with Suzuki power at Qatar, a crash in the morning session will probably cost him any seat time this week at Jerez, but he is expected to be ready for the season-opener.

World Champion Hayden was nearly two seconds off Pedrosa’s pace-setting time as he is still searching for pace after coming back from shoulder surgery. The “Kentucky Kid” spent a week ago in California with doctors analyzing his progress and suffered two crashes onboard his 2007 bike at Qatar.

“After yesterday (Wednesday), I just needed to come in and do some laps to try to get the feeling back, so today (Thursday), I got comfortable and didn’t get too carried away chasing lap times,” Hayden said. “I’ve been trying to get some more feeling from the front – that’s what we’re working towards. I’d have liked to have gone a bit faster today but we’re still positive and we’ll go back to work in Jerez and make some improvements.

“Things started out so good on the first morning here – since then, it’s been a tough couple of days. Sometimes this is a hard game and you’ve got to adjust to it. I go away from here healthy and hopefully we’ll go to the next test and get some things sorted out with me and the bike. I want to thank my team because yesterday was pretty hard on those guys and they were really cool about it.”

Hayden was 14th on the new Honda RC212V out of 20 riders who tested Thursday.

I’d Rather Be Lucky

What will it take to win today’s Daytona 500, NASCAR’s Nextel Cup Series “Super Bowl? Veteran motorsports journalist Lewis Franck says preparation alone is not enough; it will also take some luck.

Read Franck’s analysis on SI.com. You can use the following link to go right to the article: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/lewis_franck/02/14/winning.edge/index.html

Rookie Sensation

Teen-ager Graham Rahal, son of former three-time CART champion and Indy 500 winner Bobby, has been lightning fast in the Champ Car World Series’ first two test sessions of the season.

While official information coming out of the Newman/Haas Racing team camp says they are exploring sponsorship options to put Rahal, runner-up in last year’s Champ Car Atlantic Championship, in a car for 2007, don’t kid yourself. Graham’s in and three-time series runner-up Bruno Junqueira is looking for a ride. What I have heard is that NHR, paced by three-time defending series champion Sebastien Bourdais, might consider a three-car operation (with Bruno in the third seat) if the funding materializes.

Read some more using the following link: http://www.champcarworldseries.com/News/Article.asp?ID=11275

While we no longer have a Champ Car race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, the series will hold its “Spring Training” on the storied 2.238-mile, 11-turn permanent road course March 9-10. That’s a Friday and Saturday and will follow two days of Champ Car Atlantic testing here March 7 and 8.

This will be a great opportunity to see all the stars and cars in action in a far more relaxed atmosphere than a race weekend. I heartily recommend playing hooky from work to come out and get up close and personal with the teams as they make their final preparations for the season-opener on the streets of Las Vegas April 6-8.

Unfinished Business

For all the wins in his illustrious career, former CART champion and current IRL team owner Michael Andretti still feels there is some unfinished business and it’s going to put him behind the wheel again this May.

Andretti has never won the Indianapolis 500 and he wants to change that. Last year, Andretti came out of retirement (as a driver) to run at Indy with his son, young phenom Marco. Michael led late and wound up third as he watched winner Sam Hornish school his son to steal the win from the rookie on the last lap.

Read some more at the following link: http://www.indycar.com/news/story.php?story_id=8206

Best Laid Plans

When last I posted in this space, I said we’d march forward with some consistency in Pitstop with Dave Coffin. Alas, my body said otherwise and I went through another physical shut down. Thanks to Dr. Chris Carver – who has been intimately involved with my cervical spine restoration – and the talent of anaesthesiologist Dr. Michael Herhusky for a well-placed epidural, I’m back on track. As long as the fingers keep working, I’ll do all I can to keep you legions of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca fans and fellow motorsports enthusiasts updated on what’s going on in the racing world. Please give us your feedback; we’ll try to bring you some inside info along the way.

Meanwhile, see you at the track.