Nicky Hayden re-signs with Ducati, but struggles at Indianapolis

Hayden struggles at Indy

INDIANAPOLIS — Nicky Hayden finally got the contract extension he was expecting.

He couldn’t celebrate the way he would have liked.

Ducati announced a two-year deal with the United States rider a day before the MotoGP race. Unfortunately, he finished sixth in Sunday’s Indianapolis MotoGP after finishing in the top three the previous two years.

“I still can’t believe what happened,” he said. “I am incredibly disappointed because we had the pace to put in a performance today.”

Hayden qualified third, but he lost his chance to win during the third lap when he ran over a drainage cover.

“I was trying to be smooth and just lost the front a little bit there and dug my knee in to save it and it just about ripped me off the bike,” he said. “At first, I felt a sharp pain, and then I really didn’t notice it until the end.”

At least he has security. The Owensboro, Ky., native joined Ducati last year after spending his first six years with Honda. He will be reunited with Valentino Rossi, who will leave Fiat Yamaha to join Ducati next season.

“Last year, I felt like I rode for Ducati, but this year, I feel as if I am a Ducati rider,” he said. “The team, sponsors and Ducati fans have really taken me in and supported me a lot, and I hope to pay them back with the results they deserve.”

Ducati president Filippo Preziosi said he was pleased to have Hayden back.

“It is no secret that he is a rider who never gives up; his whole racing history shows it,” Preziosi said. “As a person, his tenacity is an example for us all because he shows us nothing is impossible if you truly believe,” he said.

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MOTO2 SHORTENED: Spain’s Toni Elias won a crash-filled Moto2 event.

The race was shortened from 26 to 17 laps, in part because of an eight-bike crash in turn two during the first lap.

Elias took the lead right after the restart, but after a few lead changes, polesitter Julian Simon took the lead during lap 11.

Elias regained the lead for good in lap 12, while Simon, another Spaniard, finished second.

There were a total of five crashes in the first nine laps. In all, 10 of the 36 riders who started did not finish.

Roger Lee Hayden, younger brother of Nicky Hayden, started 29th and was one of the riders involved in the early crash. He recovered and finished 17th.

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125cc WINNER: Nicolas Terol won the 125cc event, the best of four Spaniards who finished in the top five.

Pol Espargaro finished third, Efren Vazquez fourth and Esteve Rabat fifth.

It was Terol’s second straight win and his second win in Indianapolis. He won the 125cc race in 2008.

Sandro Cortese of Germany finished second after getting off to a poor start.

“I think the first meters were quite OK, but then I let the clutch go too early and after the first lap I was maybe 12th or something and then I had to fight back,” Cortese said.

Polesitter Marc Marquez, also of Spain, finished 10th.

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AOYAMA FINISHES: Japanese racer Hiroshi Aoyama finished 12th out of 17 riders in his first race since breaking his back two months ago.

He rode in a specially designed harness that was designed to give him extra support.

“It was quite a tough race for me, but I was glad I could get some points,” he said. “The race was very long and very tough. This was the first step for us to come back, and I’m glad we got the finish that we did.”

Aoyama had to balance trying to ride fast and be safe.

“I could not crash at all,” he said. “As a rider, I want to go fast, and being careful makes that difficult. This race was a critical test for me, and to finish was very big for me.”

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ATTENDANCE: Attendance fell for the second straight year, days after it was announced that the event would return in 2011.

A total of 136,184 spectators attended the three days of action. Sunday’s total attendance of 62,794 fell from 75,130 last year, when the combined total for the weekend was 146,680.

The three-day total for the first event in 2008 was about 170,000.Still, Ballard was positive about the future.

“A lot of people know that I’m trying to get the name of Indianapolis out across the world, and this event really, really helps in doing that,” he said. “There’s a lot of economic impact and development as a result of this event.”

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SPECIAL GUESTS: Jay Leno waved the flag to start the MotoGP race and presented the winner’s trophy to Dani Pedrosa.

Juan Pablo Montoya, the 2000 Indianapolis 500 winner, presented the second-place trophy to American rider Ben Spies. Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard gave the third-place trophy to Jorge Lorenzo.