Hayden and Schwantz eager for more after Indy experience

A final placement of 17th in the Moto2 Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix may not have been the top-15 result that Roger Lee Hayden and Kevin Schwantz were aiming for, but given the turbulent nature of their weekend the duo were positive about their American Honda wild card experience.

With the race red flagged on lap one due to two separate crashes, one of which caused damage to Hayden’s bike, the team won a race against time to get their Moriwaki machine back out for the restart. Given the fact it initially looked like they would not be allowed to start the shortened 17-lap contest the achievement of getting the bike on track was all the more impressive.

“I got a good start but then somebody’s rear wheel locked up and they ran into the back of me. I guess I’m lucky to be okay,” explained Hayden. “The throttle was broken and the guys worked hard to change almost everything but they ran out of time for the rear brake, so I had to ride without that which was a little bit different! I’m just glad we got to go out there and finish the race.”

“The team and I worked too hard for 17th place. It’s just disappointing when you get a good start and somebody else comes in way too fast and pretty much ruins your day. There are still a lot of positives to take. At least we got to restart the race.”

Team manager Schwantz was similarly philosophical, and said: “The result wasn’t exactly what we were hoping for, but to have been able to go back out there and compete shows what a great effort the team put together.”

“Top 15 was achievable for us. Seventeenth is not as good a showing as we all felt we could have given, but when the going got tough we all managed to pull together and get that bike back out there which was quite an achievement in itself.”

Having now ridden a MotoGP and Moto2 race this season Hayden is keen for more opportunities. “I’d like to do another MotoGP or Moto2, that would be great, but somebody has to offer it to me first,” he said. “I guess if another team needs somebody to fill in they can give me a call! I rally enjoy the series, the riders are really good and it’s very tough, and I would definitely like to be in another one.”

Similarly Schwantz was just as enamoured with his experience and stated: “The opportunity I was given to manage this team was something I really enjoyed, and I worked with a great bunch of people. If American Honda has any desire to get into this full time then hopefully I’ll be the man who gets to oversee it. We’ll just have to watch this space!”