Nicky fading?

Photo: Getty Images/Kazuhiro Nogi

Nicky Hayden looked to have a good grasp on the MotoGP championship a few races ago, but with his 5th place finish in Japan, he is holding on to a slim 12pt lead with 2 races to go. Speed has all the details, but it isn’t just Nicky- he has been having some mechanical problems as well. Hopefully, Honda will get it sorted out before the next race so we have a great end to the season.

Hayden came home fifth and was powerless to stop Rossi cutting his championship lead to just 12 points with two races remaining.

Hayden goes to the next race at Estoril with 236 points, with Rossi on 224, desperately needing a technical boost from Honda.
Starting seventh, Hayden was back to 12th in turn one although he fought back even though his chances of containing Rossi were gone on the opening lap.

Hayden got to sixth as Casey Stoner and Toni Elias drifted back, with Stoner then crashing out, unhurt, on lap 13. When Nakano crashed on the final lap as he was squeezed by Gibernau, Hayden moved to fifth at the flag.