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Repsol Honda celebrates Hayden's ride to podium

Repsol Honda's Nicky Hayden made a dramatic return to the podium at the Dutch TT
as he brilliantly converted 13th on the grid into third place at the chequered flag. The World Champion made a fantastic start from the fifth row and rode round the outside of nearly half the MotoGP field to arrive at the first corner in fourth place. By the end of the first lap he'd dropped to sixth but then began to pick off positions, riding with renewed aggression and confidence aboard his RC212V. 

"It's really nice to get a good result and just have fun - be up there at the front battling with the boys," said Hayden. "On the warm-up lap I was thinking this is by far the best my machine has felt all year in any conditions and, even though I'd qualified in 13th, on the line I just remember thinking, "fight like a dog today boy!" Then I just put it in gear and got a really good start. In fact I got such a good start that when I got to the hairpin I almost relaxed and took a breath and Edwards came back past me. I needed that start - the only choice I had was to look for a hole and do something. My pace was pretty good but when Valentino came through he just split and I couldn't get my pace down to do those few quick laps to stay with him. I thought for a while I might be on for something a bit special and maybe an even better result, but we'll definitely take this one and try to build on it. A big thanks to my team and all my guys at Repsol Honda who've worked really hard for me. It would have been really easy to start giving up on me and pointing the finger but they stayed and worked really hard at the tests - especially the two days after Barcelona - so thanks to them."

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