Cycle News - January 17, 2012

cause me and Ducati, we wanted to
get results.”
Hayden was responding to a
question about why he was slower at
a number of tracks in 2011 than he’d
been in 2010.

“So probably it’s true you can try
too hard and get a little bit off track,
but that’s not the case every week,”
he said. “There were a lot of places I
was a lot faster than the year before.
So yeah, there were a few tracks that
you can always take into account
for that. Sometimes the tracks get
bumpier, lose grip year-to-year, but
there were places I was a bit slower.
But then again let’s not forget there
were places that I was a lot faster
than in 2010.”
Still, all of the work they did pro-
duced little in the way of results. The
team made a decision very early in
the season to abandon the frameless
concept and ordered a conventional
perimeter frame built. From the day
the frame was ordered to when it
made its debut on track was about six
months, according to Ducati techni-
cal boss Filippo Preziosi, rather than
the normal two-year gestation.

Briefly...

about 10 days when I cannot do any physio, but then I can start again. This is a bit of a setback, but it’s really not too bad because I have been training and getting fit for some time now, so my base level is very good. I’ll be able to train fully again soon and be able to get on a bike in three weeks, so I’m sure I’ll be ok for our first tests in Australia.”

Henny Ray Abrams

MOTOGP: THE LIST

With the arrival of the Claiming Rule Teams (CRT) in MotoGP this year, the grid has grown to 21 riders. Here’s the official list of entries for the coming season. Some of the CRT rider’s names you’ll recognize. Others might require a Google search.

Schwantz For Breakfast The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame has announced that 1993 World Champion Kevin Schwantz will be the featured guest at its annual Breakfast at Daytona fund-raiser, set for the Friday of Bike Week, March 16, at the Daytona 500 Club in the infield of Daytona International Speedway. Tickets are available for $75, with all proceeds supporting the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame. For more information or to register, call 614/856- 2222, ext. 1234.