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Rossi Second in 2006 MotoGP Championship
Category: Racing News
Date: 31 Oct 2006
Time: 14:44:17 -0500Comments
After earning five consecutive MotoGP world championships, Camel Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi finally passed his title to a deserving Nicky Hayden in Valencia, Spain on Sunday, October 29. Rossi finished a courageous 13th after recovering from a crash early in the race while Hayden grabbed a podium finish and enough points to win the championship – the first for an American since Kenny Roberts, Jr. in 2000. Coming into the Valencia Grand Prix, it appeared Rossi had everything he needed to take home the 2006 title, including an eight-point lead and the pole, with Hayden qualifying only fifth. But a slow start dropped Rossi to seventh on the opening lap while Hayden quickly advanced to second. Then while rounding a hairpin on the fifth lap, Rossi unexpectedly went down. The Italian quickly picked up his YZR-M1 in last place, then battled forward until the end of the 30-lap race – impressive but not enough to retain the title. Troy Bayliss won in his first MotoGP appearance this year over Loris Capirossi and Hayden, while Camel Yamaha’s Colin Edwards qualified 10th and finished ninth to claim seventh in the season points. Despite finishing a close second in the championship, Rossi remains a great ambassador for MotoGP and for Yamaha. “All I can say now is a big ‘congratulations’ to Nicky because he is a great guy, a great rider and he is the World Champion because he has been the best this year,” he said. “I want to say a huge thank you to Yamaha, to all my team and engineers and to everyone else involved. They’ve done an amazing job this year and now I am looking forward to working towards next season with the 800.”