With an impressive second place finish at Phillip Island today, Honda’s Nicky Hayden slotted into a tie for second place in the championship with Marco Melandri (Honda) with just two races to go. More importantly, the way Hayden rode today may have sent a message to Rossi, and others.
Rossi loves Phillip Island, and has many wins there. As he acknowledged in his post-race interview, Rossi clearly tried to check out on the field at one point, and was successful at it with one exception . . . Hayden. Rossi dipped into the mid 1:30’s, and only Hayden could match him. Indeed, Hayden stayed so close to Rossi that Rossi ultimately backed off and allowed Hayden to lead for a few laps.
Rossi is clearly still the master of Phillip Island, but Hayden showed something special today, and he may be entering a phase where he is the lead protagonist of the “beat Rossi” contingent, replacing Sete Gibernau.
With two races left in this series, we will see what Hayden has in him.
