German MotoGP: Nicky Hayden satisfied with Ducati progress

American Nicky Hayden has talked of his satisfaction at finally making some big progress on Ducati’s fickle factory GP9 machine.

The Kentucky rider has finished eighth and fifth in the last two races, ending a disastrous start to 2009 when he struggled to make the switch from Honda’s factory RC212V. Arriving at the Sachsenring in Germany, a circuit where the former world champion has enjoyed great success with four podiums between 2004 and 2007, Hayden said:

“The last couple of races have gone well with an eighth and a fifth so we’re making progress and moving in the right direction.

“It has been good but getting close to that next group is when it is going to get real hard. That’s a big step to get to that group up front but we’re going in the right direction and there’s a lot of racing to go.”

Hayden is at least finding some form after a shaky start for Ducati that saw him fail to come close to the continuing impressive form of Aussie team-mate Casey Stoner. He added:

“At the beginning everything was wrong and I didn’t have any confidence with the bike. I had a lot of bad luck and it was a disaster really. Slowly we started eliminating problems but we’re still a way off where we need to be but a lot of people have been working hard.

“The bike is good. It’s sometimes hard to get it working but when it does it has huge potential. But when it’s off it can also be a nightmare.”

 

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