| The issue of Hayden's clutch only seems to have come up over the last few weeks, when he's suddenly started to really struggle - I can remember races earlier in the season when he rocketed off the line. And yet now they're claiming he's been struggling with it all season?
What is apparant to me, is that he's still running the same pace as he has been all season, but whilst he was getting 2nd/3rds earlier in the season, now everyone is fully fit and back from their injuries - Gibernau, Melandri, Capirossi from Barcelona, he's finishing top 5 if lucky - as a package, Hayden and (development) Honda is not fast enough. Take his win at Assen - where was the competition? Rossi had a broken hand in practice, Capirossi could barely walk or breath, Gibernau was missing, Melandri looked like a panda with all his bruising.
Personally I think he will hold on - it will only take one decent result out of the two races to pretty much wrap it up, but I do think he'll be a very lucky champion to say the least. | 
26-Sep-2006, 11:10 
MJS
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