Hayden wants drag cut

Repsol Honda rider Nicky Hayden is hoping he can strike a new fairing of his Honda wish list when he returns to pre-season testing action in Qatar on February 13, 2007.

The 25-year-old is hoping a new aerodynamics package will arrive for the Doha IRTA test, as one of the biggest problems he’s faced on the new RC212V 800 has been a lack of protection from the wind.

In Sepang last month he claimed he was losing crucial time on the long straights because the current bodywork doesn’t protect him enough.

Honda’s compact new V4 has troubled bigger riders like Hayden and Carlos Checa, and Hayden said he hoped a solution would arrive in the Middle East.
 
“I definitely hope we have some aerodynamic stuff there, that would be good. You have seen me sit on the bike and it doesn’t exactly take a rocket scientist to see that I got a lot of stuff hanging out.

“We got to improve the rider, the bike, the aerodynamics and at this level you got to take any bit you can get,”said the former American superbike champion.

Hayden said he had more problems in windy conditions in Phillip Island and added: “The wind felt like it was really hurting us. I don’t want to sound like a sissy worrying about the wind but on the 990 for whatever reason it didn’t bother me too bad.

“I don’t know if it’s because the bike is lighter or our aerodynamics package is not there, but we definitely got some work to do because we are getting blown around a lot.”