DRIVE M7 Aspar Team with new-look line-up for Indy
Leon Camier to join Spanish team in place of Nicky Hayden for next two rounds
After a three-week summer break the MotoGP World Championship resumes this weekend with the second half of the season getting underway at Indianapolis. The tenth round of the campaign takes place at the legendary American circuit, which has been resurfaced and slightly remodelled since last year, with Marc Márquez looking to extend his incredible record-breaking unbeaten run in this year’s championship.
DRIVE M7 Aspar rider Nicky Hayden misses his home race as a result of the recent operation on his right wrist, which will also force him to miss the next round in the Czech Republic, although he will travel to Indianapolis to support the team and spend time with his fans. Nicky’s replacement will be British rider Leon Camier, an experienced campaigner from World Superbikes who will be making his MotoGP debut on his first ever visit to the Indy circuit. Whilst the goal for Camier is to learn and adapt as quickly as possible his new team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama returns from a summer holiday in his native Japan looking to continue his recent good results in his 160th Grand Prix appearance.
Nicky Hayden: “Well I don’t like the thought of this weekend being the Indy MotoGP race knowing I’ll be watching and not out there on my bike representing in my home race, but this is the situation. Truthfully I have already dealt with it and I’m only thinking about my recovery so no pity party for me. Of course I will still be in Indy for the complete event – I love everything they do in Indy to make it such a cool weekend, there really is something for everybody to do there so I look forward to seeing it all and meeting up with the fans. I seem to be healing on course but it was no small surgery so I’m not sure when I’ll be back and probably won’t know until after my next doctor check up. Until then good luck to Leon – of course it won’t be the easiest situation but I am happy the team was able to find such a experienced rider with his credibility to hold the fort until I get back.”
Hiroshi Aoyama: “I made the most of the summer break to head back to Japan and spend a few days with family and friends. I have topped up on energy and motivation for the second half of the season. Indianapolis is a unique circuit with its own peculiarities but they have made some changes for this year so I am looking forward to getting there and having a look at what they have done. It is a strange track but I like it and in general I like racing in American because of the atmosphere, the culture and the fans. We finished the first half of the season well so the aim is to kick off the second half with another strong result.”
Leon Camier: “I am excited to have the chance to ride a MotoGP bike with the DRIVE M7 Aspar Team. It will be a tough weekend, with a lot of learning to do because everything will be new to me – the bike, the tyres… I am going to have to adapt to a lot of things in a short space of time. This is a wonderful opportunity for me though, with a very experienced team and I am sure it will be an interesting weekend. I am looking forward to getting out on track at Indianapolis and learning the track as quickly as possible, starting with some laps on the scooter on Thursday. We’re not going to start targeting results just now, I think the most important thing is to learn and to adapt.”