Ducati rider Nicky Hayden once again was cruelly sent tumbling out of the opening lap of the San Marino Grand Prix. This time it was wayward local rider Alex de Angelis.

Hayden made a superb start from the second row of the grid. However, a late braking manoeuvre from the San Marinese in the second turn left the American with no time or space to react and his rear wheel was clipped, sending him to the same gravel trap as last time Hayden raced here.

“I had a feeling De Angelis might create some drama here. He’s at home and fighting for his job and when I saw him in the corner of my eye I just tried to gas it and get out of his way. Unfortunately he slightly clipped my rear wheel and that was the last I knew about it,” said Hayden.

“I know in racing people can make mistakes and I have done plenty in my life but I’m not happy with Alex because this wasn’t racing – it was just stupid to try and pull a move like that on cold tyres, in the second corner on the first lap.”

Mika Kallio finished a creditable seventh place in his final appearance for the factory team before making way for regular rider Casey Stoner. The Misano result is Kallio’s best ever MotoGP result. The Finn now returns to the satellite Pramac Ducati team with the thanks and best wishes of everybody at Ducati Marlboro Team, who eagerly await the return of Stoner in Estoril.

“The crash in turn two happened right in front of me. I had to back off and pick a line through the debris, which cost me time and a couple of positions,” said Kallio.

“The guys who came past were slower than me but I struggled to find places to pass them over the opening few laps. By the time I worked myself up to seventh the group of Elias, Dovizioso and Capirossi was four seconds clear of me. I was gaining on them in some areas and losing in others, Melandri was also pushing me hard from behind so I couldn’t relax at any point.”

The thousands of Ducatisti packed into the “Variante del Parco” corner gave the absent Casey Stoner a huge show of support today by holding up a giant mosaic that read ‘I love 27’.

“I’m really disappointed for Nicky because he was having a good weekend and we had made a tyre choice for the race that gave him even more confidence with the front. The incident, which he was not responsible for at all, definitely denied him the chance of a great race. Mika picked up his best result of the season here after setting a good pace throughout the race,” said Claudio Domenicali (General Director Ducati Motor Holding).