Ducati boys happy with the Malaysian Grand Prix

Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi were happy with their performances in the 2012 Moto GP Malaysian Grand Prix. Hayden finished in a strong fourth place while Rossi finished in fifth place after dropping down to ninth midway through the race.

Rossi started from the fourth row and made a great start to get up to the fifth place by the end of first lap. Following that, he was involved in a tight battle with Casey Stoner and Doviozo for the third place, but ran too deep at turn 7, which dropped him back to ninth place.

Nicky Hayden drove a calculated and error free race and managed to make up positions from other’s mistakes.

Here is what they had to say post-Malaysian Grand Prix:

Nicky Hayden – 4th

“Those were really tough conditions. I got a good launch, but when Dovizioso got sideways in front of me, I shut off the throttle and lost positions. I was able to recover, but I lost some confidence when the rear tried to come around a couple times. I had to be really patient in the beginning, but once I got rolling, I had good rhythm. It was clearly the right decision to call the race. There was a lot of water those last couple of laps, and it was almost impossible to see, although the rear lights on the bikes helped a lot. In dry conditions, I would’ve been thrilled with fourth, but I know our potential is higher in the wet. It would’ve been amazing to give my guys a podium today, but it’s a decent result. Hopefully, it can help me come out of the difficult period and give us something to build on.”

Valentino Rossi – 5th

“Our race wasn’t bad because I got a great start despite being so far back, on the fourth row, and then I managed to be pretty fast. I was riding with Dovizioso and Stoner, when unfortunately I started having some problems with my visor fogging, and in those extreme conditions, with low light and a lot of water, it was very difficult. I made a mistake in turn 7, and I was lucky not to crash because it was the same point where Dovizioso, Spies and then Bradl went down. Without that mistake, I could have finished fourth because honestly, Stoner was a bit faster than I was, especially in T2. In general though, it didn’t go bad. Of course I would’ve liked to finish the full race, but there was really too much water. I think the decision to stop was correct because in these conditions, the bikes can aquaplane and you can go down in any corner.”

Press release courtesy of Ducati Team.