MotoGP 2005 - Round 8

American Nicky Hayden has scored his debut MotoGP victory at his home Grand Prix at the Laguna Seca circuit in California.

In a “dream come true”, the 23-year-old Hayden led from start to finish on his Honda factory bike after posting his career-first MotoGP pole position.

Yamaha’s Colin Edwards made it an American one-two at the first Grand Prix on US soil in over a decade, finishing 1.941 seconds behind Hayden, while runaway championship leader Valentino Rossi completed the podium in third.

Australian Troy Bayliss equalled his best result of the season in sixth place, but was disappointed not to have capitalised on the speed he showed in practice and qualifying.

Bayliss used his previous world superbike knowledge of the circuit to good effect in the early practice sessions, topping the timesheets on the opening day and eventually qualifying fourth – his highest grid position since the Czech GP in August last year.

He won for Ducati at Laguna Seca in 2002 just before his switch to MotoGP and was hopeful of scoring his first podium with Honda at the famous circuit.

“Sixth isn’t what I want, or what I expected here at Laguna,” Bayliss said.

“In the race I was just unable to find the kind of feeling I had in practice. I didn’t have the confidence on the front and hardly any grip at the back. I picked up some good points and I gained a place in the championship standings, but today I wanted more.”

After initially fighting with Rossi for second place on the opening lap, Bayliss lost ground before joining the battle for sixth place.

It was Hayden’s first victory since moving to MotoGP in 2003 from the American superbike series and the first for an American rider since Kenny Roberts Junior won the Japanese GP at Motegi in 2000.

“I can honestly say that this is a dream come true for me,” said Hayden, who admitted climbing over the Laguna Seca fences to witness the last Grand Prix there as a 12-year-old in 1994.

“You spend your whole life rehearsing the speech for a day like this but now it has happened I can’t find the words to describe how I feel.

“It hasn’t been easy for me in MotoGP over the past two seasons but every dog has its day and this was mine. Hopefully it can be the start of bigger things from now on.”

Edwards celebrated his second straight podium finish for the first time in his MotoGP career – he was third in the Dutch round two weeks ago, while Rossi clocked his 10th podium in a row.

The Italian extended his lead in the championship to 79 points over compatriot Marco Melandri, who crashed out with Brazilian Alex Barros on the first lap.

Another Italian, Max Biaggi, was fourth, placing him just seven points behind Melandri in the battle for second in the championship, while Spaniard Sete Gibernau is a further five points behind Biaggi after finishing fifth at Laguna Seca.

Hayden is sixth on 85 points and Bayliss moved up one place to 10th on 47 points.

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