Hayden needs to refocus

MotoGP world champion Nicky Hayden should abandon plans to shed weight to help him make the transition to Honda’s new RC212V 800cc contender.

The American recently said he would need to lose weight to help him master the new machine, which requires a much more 250-style of riding that will heavily favour Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa.

But Valentino Rossi’s legendary Aussie crew chief Jerry Burgess said: “If I was Nicky, I wouldn’t be focusing too much on that. I’d be focusing on if you start to lose too much of your own physical body mass, you start to make your life pretty miserable.

“I’d rather see Nicky concentrate on not shedding kilos here and there, but actually focusing on beating his team-mate and not only his team-mate but everybody else.

“I don’t think a kilo here or there is going to save him. Otherwise I could be world champion if it’s all down to shedding weight.”