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Hayden And Melandri To Develop 2006 RC211V
Pedrosa Waits His Turn
by toby hirst
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Nick Hayden will drink direct from the well of HRC engineering in 2006
The first indication - in a semi-official capacity anyway - as to which "factory riders" will develop the 2006 version of the Honda RC211V motorcycle was given this week by General Manager of HRC, Tsutomu Ishii.
Speaking after the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island, the Japanese controller of all things Honda Racing stated that although new wonder kid Dani Pedrosa will ride for the full works Repsol team for 2006, it will be Nick Hayden and Marco Melandri that will develop the evolution V5 machine.
Hayden, of course, will be Pedrosa's team-mate in Repsol colors next year and as such will ride a factory machine, and Melandri it would seem has been granted Sete Gibernau's full factory slot, run under the Gresini team set-up.
Pedrosa gets the third factory bike but will be enduring a learning season in the MotoGP class, getting to grips with the heavier, faster and more technically advanced 990cc machine following his support class titles in 125cc and 250cc racing.
Ishii stated that the plan was to bed Pedrosa in to the premier class and then turn development of the new 800cc bike over to Pedrosa in 2007.
"The moment has arrived for betting on the young pilots. One has demonstrated that the veterans are not able to beat Rossi and they (the young guns) have to be the leaders", said Ishii.
He continued, "In 2007, with a new regulation, a new era in MotoGP will begin. Thus Hayden and Melandri will be the ones in charge to develop the machine of 2006 and Pedrosa will work in the one of 2007".
Hayden and Melandri currently sit in joint second place in the riders standing's this season with two races remaining.
So, gone are the days of Gibernau, Biaggi and Barros - the elder statesmen - getting the "good oil" at HRC, and in come the brat pack, ready to take the Honda charge to Rossi.
Hard work then for Hayden and Melandri starting with post-season testing, and will we see the pair (or Hayden at least) on the evo-bike - road tested in Japan and briefly at Brno - at the Valencia Grand Prix?
A winter test has, apparently, been pencilled in for the week following that final Grand Prix at Valencia; Hayden and Melandri on the evo-bike with Pedrosa on a 2005 season ending V5.
Stay tuned as HRC try and solve the Rossi conundrum and stick one over the Italian and Yamaha with young talent.
Can the sun really rise again over HRC headquarters in 2006?
ENDS
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