Hayden says his plight is demoralising

By Matt Beer from autosport.com

Friday, May 29th 2009, 16:20 GMT

Nicky Hayden admitted that he had been depressed by the results of free practice at Mugello having continued to struggle with the Ducati GP9.

The former world champion had hoped he might achieve a breakthrough on his team's home ground but was only 15th today.

"This is a very different circuit to Le Mans and to be honest I was hoping that coming here, to the track where this bike was born, we would be on the pace," said Hayden. "Unfortunately we're not and the truth is we're struggling again."

The American said the issues slowing him at Mugello were totally different to the problems he had previously suffered.

"It's pretty demoralising because every track we go to at the moment seems to cause us different kinds of problems," Hayden explained.

"Here the worst thing is the bumpiness of the surface, which is unsettling a bike that can already be quite unstable. It is hard to change direction when the bike isn't planted and that's a big thing here."

Hayden has been unable to get the Ducati to his liking since joining the team from Honda at the start of 2009, and his progress was also disrupted by a serious crash in qualifying at Losail.

He has yet to qualify or finish above 12th for the team, and is only 15th in the championship after four races

Hayden hopes for Mugello progress

By Matt Beer from autosport.com

Monday, May 25th 2009, 14:13 GMT

Nicky Hayden is desperate to improve his form at this week's Italian Grand Prix so that the home crowd does not have to see a Ducati in the midfield.

The former world champion has made gradual progress with acclimatising to the Ducati GP9 after joining from Honda this year, but has been hampered by the repeated weather interruptions in practice sessions and a heavy accident in Qatar.

Hayden, who has yet to qualify or finish in the top ten this year, said he had been looking forward to racing a Ducati in Italy for the first time, but did not like the thought of struggling for the team at its most important race.

"It is going to be really nice for me to race at Mugello as a Ducati rider because I can remember from past seasons seeing all the fans dressed in red and cheering on their riders from the grandstand," he said.

"It is an honour and a privilege for me to now be a part of this team and this tradition. I hope with all my heart that I can be competitive because those fans don't deserve to see a Ducati at the back."

He hopes that Friday practice will run smoothly so he can be better prepared for qualifying than he has at this year's opening rounds.

"I'd really like to have some better results on the board and be going into the factory's home race with some more experience under our belts but we are making progress and now I hope we can make a good step on Friday so that we can build on it over the rest of the weekend," Hayden said.

Team boss Livio Suppo is optimistic about Ducati's Mugello prospects following a strong test at the track recently with retired Superbike legend Troy Bayliss and test rider Vitto Guareschi.

"It will be tough, like always, but I think we can do well - as the impressive lap times recorded by Troy and Vitto in the recent test demonstrated," said Suppo.

Ducati is seeking to end arch-rival Valentino Rossi's seven-year winning streak at its home circuit.

And this time a word to Nicky from team-mate Casey Stoner

Stoner: Hayden needs confidence

By Simon Strang and Matt Beer from:http://www.autosport.com

Wednesday, May 6th 2009, 14:14 GMT

Casey Stoner believes his team-mate Nicky Hayden will get up to speed on the Ducati as soon as he regains confidence after recent crashes.

Like all Stoner's previous Ducati team-mates, Hayden is currently struggling for pace and has been significantly slower than his fellow former world champion.

But Hayden had started to show better form in testing only to lose momentum following a massive crash in qualifying at Losail, and then a subsequent first lap tangle with Yuki Takahashi in Japan.

Although Hayden could only finish 15th, 50 seconds behind third-placed Stoner, in last weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, the Australian is confident his team-mate has the potential to get to grips with the Ducati GP9 once he gets over the accidents.

"He's struggled with confidence of late," said Stoner. "These last two races have been a disaster for him, and not really his fault.

"He made the mistake in Qatar and crashed. For sure that's a big blow to your confidence and then of course Takahashi took him out. There are maybe just a few things he needs to get over."

Stoner thinks that without the accidents, Hayden would be much closer to his times.

"We've seen him be very competitive up in the top five (in testing) and getting more comfortable on the bike, and then those things hit, and that put a backwards step in his stride, "he said. "Hopefully we can see him start to bounce back."

So Nicky, come on, get yourself together and start showing us and everyone what you can really do. what I know you can do.