Hayden confident of stronger race

Hayden confident of stronger race

By Matt Beer from: http://www.autosport.com

Tuesday, April 28th 2009, 13:46 GMT

Nicky Hayden believes he has made great strides in acclimatising to Ducati in recent weeks and will be able to demonstrate that improvement at Jerez this weekend.

The former champion described his qualifying test at the track in March as "a disaster", but thinks he has become more comfortable in the team since then and will therefore be in much better shape for the race.

Hayden has only scored four points so far this year having had a massive qualifying crash at Losail and then been taken out by Yuki Takahashi on lap one in Japan last weekend.

"I can't deny that it's been a tough start to the season, especially in Japan, but we have to move on and look ahead," he said.

"Now we go to Jerez and even though we didn't have a great test there in March, things are different now.

"At Motegi I felt as though the communication within the team had improved, the work we're doing together as a group is becoming more smooth, so I'm looking forward to starting again at Jerez with a clear and positive mind."

He hopes that he can get maximum dry track mileage during the race build-up this time after the abundance of rain in the opening rounds.

"I don't even want to think about the possibility of it raining again there," Hayden said. "At the moment it looks like the forecast is good but it seems as though somebody upstairs likes seeing MotoGP riders in the wet.

"Joking aside, it would be nice to have a 'normal' weekend so that we can work properly on the bike. I want my season to finally get going."

I guessed that this year will not be an easy year for Nicky, but this is crazy, lets hope that thing could only improve from now on. And that all the bad luck has finished.

Disappointed Hayden aggrieved by Takahashi clash

Monday, 27 April 2009 from: motogp.com

First lap crash leaves American ruing lack of track time.

Nicky Hayden had a short day at the office on Sunday –not the short hours that he would have liked at Motegi. ‘The Kentucky Kid’ lasted barely a lap before his day was over, courtesy of some rookie exuberance from home rider Yuki Takahashi.

Punted into the gravel by the Scot Racing rider, Hayden was in little mood for hearing Takahashi’s side of the story in the heat of the moment, with the need for as much time as possible with the Ducati Desmosedici GP9.

“In the gravel trap I tried to ask Takahashi what he was doing; I guess he apologised, but I’m not too big on ‘sorrys’. I know that it’s a home race, and that there’s a lot of pressure, but that’s no excuse for trying to be a hero and take somebody out. It’s a race, and we’ve all done it,” said the Ducati Marlboro man, a relentless professional who can be forgiven for feeling aggrieved.

“It was exactly what we didn’t need. I got a decent start, then just going into the hairpin I just felt somebody hit me and that was it. We could have done with the experience, more than anything, as I need some laps on this bike.”

As a minor consolation for the American, he will be at full fitness for the upcoming Gran Premio bwin.com de España this coming Sunday, despite his fall.

“This week I felt like I had better communication, and understood people better. We’ve got another race coming up, and I’m in good shape at least. I landed on exactly the same place as I did at Qatar and, apart from a bad headache, I’m feeling ok,” he concluded.

Disappointed Hayden aggrieved by Takahashi clash

Monday, 27 April 2009 from: motogp.com

First lap crash leaves American ruing lack of track time.

Nicky Hayden had a short day at the office on Sunday –not the short hours that he would have liked at Motegi. ‘The Kentucky Kid’ lasted barely a lap before his day was over, courtesy of some rookie exuberance from home rider Yuki Takahashi.

Punted into the gravel by the Scot Racing rider, Hayden was in little mood for hearing Takahashi’s side of the story in the heat of the moment, with the need for as much time as possible with the Ducati Desmosedici GP9.

“In the gravel trap I tried to ask Takahashi what he was doing; I guess he apologised, but I’m not too big on ‘sorrys’. I know that it’s a home race, and that there’s a lot of pressure, but that’s no excuse for trying to be a hero and take somebody out. It’s a race, and we’ve all done it,” said the Ducati Marlboro man, a relentless professional who can be forgiven for feeling aggrieved.

“It was exactly what we didn’t need. I got a decent start, then just going into the hairpin I just felt somebody hit me and that was it. We could have done with the experience, more than anything, as I need some laps on this bike.”

As a minor consolation for the American, he will be at full fitness for the upcoming Gran Premio bwin.com de España this coming Sunday, despite his fall.

“This week I felt like I had better communication, and understood people better. We’ve got another race coming up, and I’m in good shape at least. I landed on exactly the same place as I did at Qatar and, apart from a bad headache, I’m feeling ok,” he concluded.

Recovering Hayden assesses day one

Although Nicky Hayden himself claimed he was close to full fitness before the Polini Grand Prix of Japan the American rider was not on the pace on Friday at Motegi.

The hard-working Nicky Hayden has plenty to do on Saturday at Motegi as he looks to bounce back from his injuries and tough first race weekend with Ducati in Qatar. He was outside the top ten on the first day of practice in Japan.

Nicky Hayden – 13th

“The track was quite slippery when we first went out and the air felt so cold, with the humidity, it felt like it could rain any second. We certainly had to be careful getting some heat into the left side of the rear and into the front. We tried a few things out with the set-up – I ran both bikes and worked in the direction we’d found in Qatar, where the balance of the bike had felt much better in the later laps, with less fuel on board. Obviously the lap time isn’t great but we improved with every run and pretty much every lap, we got a good number laps in just in case it does rain tomorrow and we worked out a basic direction we need to take for the race, so I’m satisfied.”

Hayden expecting full fitness for Japanese trek

American to have stitches in chest removed on Thursday.

Left sore by a huge qualifying highside in Qatar, Nicky Hayden expects to be able to ride a more comfortable race when the World Championship arrives in Motegi. The Ducati rider will be competing in his first Japanese round since leaving Honda, and is keen to make a better impression on the final results than he did at round one of the 2009 season.

Some big bruising to his back has all-but-completely gone down, and ‘The Kentucky Kid’ expects to have the only lasting momento of his tumble taken away before the opening practice session for the Polini Grand Prix of Japan.

“Physically I’m okay – no doubt the race (in Qatar) was tough because I was pretty beaten up but I’ve recovered well and I don’t expect to have any problems in Japan. I’ll probably go to the Clinica on Thursday to have the stitches removed and that will be the end of the matter,” said the gritty American, who also acknowledged that even before his crash things were far from perfect.

“My first GP with Ducati didn’t exactly go as I’d hoped but we took some positives out of it – I lapped quicker in the second half of the race than I had done all weekend and above all I felt comfortable on the bike. Hopefully this will help us work out what it is exactly that I need to improve my feeling with the bike because being so far off the pace in practice wasn’t cool!

“I’m really keen to do well in this race and even though I’ve always had a kind of love-hate relationship with Motegi – with some good results and some bad ones – it is always a special Grand Prix.”

Hayden –who celebrated 100 Grand Prix appearances at the Qatar race- earned his very first podium at the 2003 edition of the Japanese round.

Hayden expects to be unaffected by Qatar crash

American keeps stitches in chest, but claims near-100% fitness.

Nicky Hayden had been expecting to start Friday’s practice session for the Polini Grand Prix of Japan fully recovered from his Qatar highside. The American revealed on Thursday, however, that he would have to wait just a little bit longer to put the incident behind him.

“I got checked out again at home; no disrespect to the hospital in Qatar, but it’s always good to get your own doctor and people you trust to look you over,” said Hayden. “I went today to get the two stitches in my chest taken out, but the doctors said that it wasn’t ready yet so we’ll keep those in. They don’t bother me at all, apart from itching sometimes.”

Whilst the qualifying hit undoubtedly affected his performance at Losail, the Ducati Marlboro rider believes that he is starting in near-perfect condition this weekend, aided by the location of his back bruising.

“I’m not at 100% for some things, but the motorcycle position is no problem for me. My sleep wasn’t affected, and being in my own bed certainly helped. It just shows how much things like back braces, helmets and boots have progressed that I can take a crash like that and be OK.”

Hayden reviews tough Ducati debut

Tuesday, 14 April 2009 from:motogp.com

After his horror crash in qualifying on Saturday at the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar Nicky Hayden did well to come home twelfth on his Ducati race debut.

Nicky Hayden produced an impressive display in his first race for Ducati Marlboro coming from 16th on the grid at the Losail International Circuit in Monday’s re-scheduled MotoGP contest to finish in the points in 12th place, despite his back and chest injuries.

Controlling the awesome Desmosedici GP9 throughout the race cannot have been easy for Hayden after his big crash in qualifying on Saturday, given the badly bruised back and stitches in his chest which the American had to deal with.

Nonetheless he was still fighting right to the death, recording his best lap time right at the end of the race and almost catching his former team-mate Dani Pedrosa for 11th place on the finishing line.

“It’s been a tough weekend, we’ve had a lot of issues and obviously a 130mph high-side doesn’t help things, but nothing really went smooth,” Hayden said afterwards. “At the beginning of the race I was quite slow, I didn’t get a great start but actually as the fuel load changed and I got a better feeling I got faster and faster and the last five or six laps were my fastest of the whole weekend.”

The ever optimistic Kentuckian went on to add, “It would have been nice to beat Dani at the end there but I think the team have showed that even though a lot of stuff has gone against us this weekend we’re not going to give up. Hopefully the bad stuff is behind us now and Casey (Stoner) has shown the potential of the bike. Crazy as it sounds I’m leaving here in a really positive mood and looking forward to Motegi.”

Hayden: Would’ve been nice to nick Dani

Nicky Hayden found himself closing rapidly on former Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa in the closing stages of Monday night's Qatar Grand Prix.

Both riders, who experienced a 'frosty' relationship at Honda, were carrying significant injuries - Pedrosa from recent knee and foreman surgery and Hayden from a huge qualifying highside - and the battle in question was only for eleventh position.

Nevertheless, Hayden admitted it would have been nice to beat the Spaniard on his Ducati debut, after crossing the finish line just 0.357sec from the #3.

“It's been a tough weekend and we've had a lot of issues - obviously a 130mph high-side doesn't help things but nothing really went smooth,” said Hayden. “In the beginning of the race I was quite slow, I didn't get a great start but actually as the fuel load changed and I got a better feeling I got faster and faster and the last five or six laps were my fastest of the whole weekend.

“It would have been nice to nick Dani at the end there but I think the team have showed that even though a lot of stuff has gone against us this weekend we're not going to give up. Hopefully the bad stuff is behind us now and Casey has shown the potential of the bike, so crazy as it sounds I'm leaving here in a really positive mood and looking forward to Motegi.”

Hayden's team-mate Casey Stoner took victory on Monday, with Pedrosa's new team-mate Andrea Dovizioso fifth.

Hayden doubtful for Ducati race debut

Sunday, 12 April 2009 from: motogp.com

Following his high-speed crash in qualifying at the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar Nicky Hayden may not be able to make his Ducati race debut this weekend.

In stark contrast to his pole-setting new team-mate Casey Stoner in Qatar, Nicky Hayden is suffering a nightmare weekend at the Losail International Circuit and may not be able to race on Sunday after a heavy crash in qualifying.

Trying to improve on his 16th place on the grid at the end of Saturday night’s 45-minute qualifying practice at the floodlit desert circuit the 2006 World Champion suffered a spectacular highside that has left him battered, bruised and doubtful for his Ducati Marlboro debut.

The American is suffering severe pain in his back and after undergoing some initial x-rays at the circuit medical centre, he was taken to the local Ahmad public hospital in Doha for further checks. Hayden required three stitches in a cut on his chest and a decision on his participation in the race will be made on Sunday.

Hayden was briefly quoted as saying cheerfully, “I don’t feel like going for a jog right now, I can tell you that much! It was a big crash and I’m in a lot of pain so we’re going to get some more x-rays done and see what the score is.”

A concerned Stoner added, “The whole team are keeping our fingers crossed for Nicky. Hopefully he can ride but the most important thing is that he’s okay.”

Hayden brings up century on Ducati debut

from: http://www.crash.net

Hayden brings up century on Ducati debut
The opening round of the 2009 MotoGP season at Losail is destined to be a significant weekend for Nicky Hayden as gets ready for his first event with Ducati and his 100th race in total.

Having spent six seasons with Honda, former champion Hayden makes the high-profile switch to the Italian manufacturer in 2009, where he is eager to get back to winning ways, something he hasn't done since he won the title in 2006.

However, testing hasn't gone entirely to plan for Hayden as he struggles to adapt to the GP9, the American a fair way down on pace setting team-mate Casey Stoner.

Nonetheless, Hayden is happy to start the season in Qatar having conducted an encouraging test at the Losail circuit last month.

“It's nice to be going racing again,” he said. “The season is starting out much later than usual this year even though we haven't been doing much testing. To be honest with you I'd like to have had a little more time with the bike in pre-season but this is what we've got to deal with and now it's time to get serious.

“If I could have chosen anywhere to be making my debut on the Ducati I would have chosen Qatar, where we had a good test session a few weeks ago, so I guess I'm lucky in that respect! I can't hide the fact that I'd like to be closer to the front than where we're at right now and further down the road in terms of the work we've got to do with the team but I'm still really pleased that the season is starting because I love the races, I love racing and I love competing against those other guys.

“I'm looking forward to getting out to Qatar, where the temperature should be a bit higher than it was in the test, and we'll try to start out the season on the right foot by getting a decent result and enjoying myself as much as possible.”

Furthermore, the weekend also brings up a milestone for Hayden as he is set to make his 100th start in MotoGP.

“I can't believe it's already been a hundred GP starts - I have really enjoyed them all… well some a lot more than others! But it's been an honour to race in Grand Prix with all these great riders, sweet tracks, and the awesome fans all over the world! I know it won't be easy but I really hope my best GPs are ahead of me. It seems only fitting to start my 100th race with a new bike and team!”

Hayden looks back on ‘disastrous’ session

Monday, 30 March 2009 from :motogp.com

Ducati Marlboro newboy Nicky Hayden encountered problems on Sunday afternoon in Jerez and referred to his eleventh placed finish in the BMW M Award as something of a disaster.

Outside the top ten in the first ‘competitive’ session with his new team on Sunday at the Official MotoGP Test, Nicky Hayden left Jerez trailing his triumphant team-mate Casey Stoner by a significant 1.755s margin – as the Australian took the honours in the BMW M Award.

In fairness, the vast majority of the MotoGP grid have struggled to match Stoner’s 2009 preseason pace and Hayden is still adapting to Bridgestone tyres and the Ducati Desmosedici GP9.

The 2006 World Champion survived a scary moment in the Sunday showdown session as he ran into one of the Jerez gravel traps at high velocity, fortunately managing to keep himself upright and immediately return to the track.

Having placed eleventh on the Official Practice timesheet Hayden reviewed the second day in the south of Spain saying, “In the morning we made some small improvements and I was able to go a bit quicker, but the 45-minute session was a bit of a disaster. We were making some changes beforehand but ran out of time to get the bike ready and I lost some time at the beginning of the session. Then when I went out we had a clutch problem and I had to change to my second bike, which I’ve hardly ridden this weekend, and it had a different setting.”

Forever his own harshest critic Hayden admitted he had hoped to round off the preseason in a more competitive fashion and noted his own team-mate’s high standards, to which he will aspire in 2009.

“Casey has shown the package is good and to be honest I’d hoped to be closer to him by this stage,” the American rider stated. “But now it’s time to go racing, so we’ll head out to Qatar, work hard and see what happens.”

Unlike Stoner, Hayden went back out on track for the late Sunday free practice run, using the opportunity to get some additional wet laps under his belt before calling it a day.