May 10, 2006
Istanbul, Turkey - Repsol Honda’s Nicky Hayden found himself sitting atop the 2006 FIM MotoGP World Championship points standings after Honda RC211V-mounted riders, one a MotoGP rookie no less, swept the round three podium at Istanbul’s Turkish Grand Prix. Fortuna Honda’s Marco Melandri beat out MotoGP newcomer Casey Stoner (LCR Honda) for the win, with Hayden filling out the podium in third, in easily the most thrilling contest so far in this still-young MotoGP season. Another series rookie, Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa, turned in another sensational performance as well, running a close third before crashing on the last lap and finishing 14th.
Suzuki’s Chris Vermeulen got the holeshot, but behind him was shaping up what would be the eventual masters of the race, with Hayden slotted fourth, followed by Stoner and Melandri. Pedrosa, fighting his way up from a sixth-row start, made is way up to 13th by the end of lap one.
By the mid-race point (11 of 22 laps), the Honda frontrunners were set after dispatching the early leaders, and now Melandri led the pack as Pedrosa lay second, Hayden third and Stoner fourth.
From there, barring a major pile-up, it was simply a matter of which three Honda RC211Vs would wind up on the box as this fast-flying foursome controlled the race up to the last lap. It was there that Pedrosa lost his front end going into turn one, thus opening the door for Hayden, then running fourth, to secure the podium’s final spot. Hayden now leads the championship by one point, 52-51, over Ducati’s Loris Capirossi, with Melandri and Stoner lurking close behind in third (at 45) and fourth (at 41), respectively.
Other Honda pilots finishing in the top 10 included Fortuna Honda’s Toni Elias in fifth and Konica Minolta Honda’s Makoto Tamada in 10th. Kenny Roberts Jr. and his Team Roberts KR211V took the checkers in 13th.
Next up on the 2006 FIM MotoGP World Championship is round four in Shanghai, China on May 14th.
FIM MotoGP World Championship Results, Rd. 3
1. Marco Melandri – Honda
2. Casey Stoner – Honda
3. Nicky Hayden – Honda
4. Valentino Rossi – Yamaha
5. Toni Elias – Honda
6. Loris Capirossi – Ducati
7. Chris Vermeulen – Suzuki
8. Shinya Nakano – Kawasaki
9. Colin Edwards – Yamaha
10. Makoto Tamada – Honda
FIM MotoGP World Championship Points Standings
1. Nicky Hayden – 52 – Honda
2. Loris Capirossi – 51 – Ducati
3. Marco Melandri – 45 – Honda
4. Casey Stoner – 41 – Honda
5. Valentino Rossi – 40 – Yamaha
6. Dani Pedrosa – 32 – Honda
7. Toni Elias – 32 – Honda
8. Shinya Nakano – 22 – Kawasaki
9. Colin Edwards – 19 – Yamaha
10. Sete Gibernau – 18 – Ducati
