With MotoGP enjoying the heart of its summer break, Nicky Hayden can reflect on his progress so far with Ducati, having enjoyed a far stronger 2010 than the disastrous season he suffered a year ago. However, the former Honda rider now hopes for a significant push ahead of next year.
Having finished on the podium first time out in Qatar, Hayden was the lead Ducati rider in the early stages of the current campaign although the Kentucky rider is placed sixth and two positions behind outgoing team-mate Casey Stoner with nine races completed and as many remaining.
“We took a big step from last year to this year and I would hope to be able to do the same next year,” said the 2006 Champion, who has already amassed more points than he had after six more rounds had passed in 2009.
“The bike has improved a lot from last year and the engineers there are really committed to wanting to make it the best bike on the grid. I’ve seen a lot of improvements from last year in terms of rideability, reliability, and it’s a more consistent bike. I think the bike has a lot of potential that we haven’t even got to yet.”
Nicky also stresses the significance of the upcoming test session, which follows the imminent race at Brno which is to be staged next weekend.
“That test is important, as limited as testing time is now in MotoGP, so you really have to take advantage of any extra time,” he explained. “The motors we get to test with don’t come out of our allocation, so you hope for good weather and hope to make a breakthrough.”
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