MotoGP Video: “In Italy occasionally you have to deal with an Italian rider who wants to be a hero.”
There was drama early in the MotoGP contest on Sunday at Misano when home rider Alex de Angelis hit Colin Edwards at the start of the first lap, with the crash also taking Nicky Hayden into the gravel and instantly ending the race for all three riders.
Following their good performances in practice and qualifying each of the talented trio had looked well set to earn a decent points total at round 13, but it was not to be – with De Angelis accepting the blame for the crash and later apologising to both Americans.
However, Edwards was in no mood for sympathy and described De Angelis’ riding as unacceptable. The Texan fumed, “I thought I had the pace to easily be fourth and maybe fight with Dani Pedrosa for a podium but we are in Italy and occasionally you have to deal with an Italian rider who wants to be a hero and today that was De Angelis. Turn one at the start with 17 bikes is not the place to be going at race pace and he was never going to make through there. Today De Angelis is the guy who needed to be wearing Valentino’s donkey helmet.”
Hayden, meanwhile, was similarly disgruntled and was particularly dismayed to have missed the chance to give the thousands of Ducati supporters at Misano something to shout about. The Kentuckian competitor remarked, “It’s easy to say it now but I just know I was set for a good race so I’m extremely disappointed. Maybe I wasn’t going to win but at least I could have run with the front guys for a while and given all the Ducatisti something to cheer, as well as picking up some vital experience and data for this machine.”
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