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Click here to watch Nicky’s interview with MotoGP.com after testing.

Despite still feeling the slight after effects of arm surgery from two weeks ago, Nicky Hayden made impressive progress on the Desmosedici GP10 of the Ducati Marlboro team at the Sepang test.

Not entirely happy with how things went on the opening day, Friday was a far more satisfying session for Hayden as he set a time of 2’00.703 – the third fastest of the test as the new engine in his GP10 prototype showed its competitiveness.

“I am obviously really happy because the changes we made yesterday afternoon that enabled me to go a couple of tenths faster despite the heat have proved to work even better today with the track in improved condition,” said Hayden. “After making small steps for the last few test sessions today we have finally taken a big leap forward and I was able to ride fast.”

He added: “The arm wasn’t too bad but it still isn’t as strong as before, which I can feel more than anything in the hard braking, and it was hard work today. Anyway, I am recovering well and now we move on from Sepang feeling really happy.”

Hayden’s team-mate Casey Stoner was second on the timesheet behind Valentino Rossi, as both the Ducati machines came inside the top three times of the test.

Click here to watch Nicky’s interview at Wroom 2010

Ducati Marlboro rider Nicky Hayden is ready to build on the stronger second half of his season last year, as preparations for the 2010 campaign continue to gather pace.
The 2006 World Champion admitted that last year was a difficult one on the track, but a podium at Indianapolis and fifth-placed finishes in Malaysia and Valencia ended the season on an encouraging note.

“Last season was tougher than we’d hoped, but things don’t always go exactly as you planned,” he explained at Wrooom 2010 in Madonna di Campiglio. “We started the season with a couple of crashes and struggled for momentum, but I think we have to be positive about the progress we made with a lot of hard work from everybody. We were able to get on the podium at Indianapolis and then finished with two top fives in a row and made some big steps. We’re really excited for the new season, if we can pick up where we left off and keep trying to close that gap to the front.”

The Desmosedici GP10 which he will ride in the forthcoming campaign will be unveiled on Wednesday, and Hayden is optimistic about its prospects.

“We had a good test at Valencia. I like the bike and I think another off-season with the team will be a big help for me. We’re all working hard and will wait and see what happens,” said Hayden.

“What Casey did at the end of the year shows that our bike is very strong, and we’ve tried to improve it and the engine. This will certainly help us in 2010 to make it more consistent as the season goes on. We have a couple of different little tweaks to make but the bike is good. We have a strong package for 2010 and combined with some changes in the team there’s a lot of excitement about the season for me and everyone involved. There are some big changes but with changes come opportunities so we’ll see what it amounts to.”

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Nicky speaks about his short-lived San Marino GP to MotoGP.com

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After qualifying in 6th place at Misano, Nicky talked about his session and what we can expect from him and the Ducati tomorrow.

Nicky Hayden – 6th
“This morning I had a really good feeling with the bike and put together a good rhythm – I was fastest in T4 and that’s the first time this year I’ve been fastest at anything in the dry! I’d hoped to improve and do my best dry qualifying of the year this afternoon but to begin with the track was a little warmer and I didn’t get that same level of feeling, so we had to make some tweaks to the set-up. Like I say, I’d hoped to do better than what I did but we got on the second row and our focus turns to tomorrow. I need to get a great start because those first two or three turns are going to be harsh – everybody will be fighting for positions and there’s a good chance of some drama there! We want to get through that cleanly and as high up the order as possible in the early stages. From there it’s a case of giving my maximum for all the Italian fans and trying to put their bike up front. It is great to have their support here and all the staff from Bologna – Claudio (Domenicali), Filippo (Preziosi), Vitto (Guareschi), Alan (Jenkins)… It’s fun and I’m enjoying having them around so hopefully we can celebrate a result together tomorrow.”

Source: MotoGP.com

 As you probably know by now, Nicky Hayden has finally broken his podium duck at Ducati, taking third place on the rostrum at his “home” track, Indianapolis Grand Prix!

The Kentucky Kid held off a late charge by Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso, incidentally the man who replaced Hayden at HRC, to take his second consecutive podium at the brickyard!

Here’s what Hayden had to say after the race-

Nicky Hayden – (Ducati MotoGP Team) (3rd)

“It feels great to be on the podium here at Indianapolis and I want to thank all the team, my friends, family and fans for their support because this has been a tough season and I’ve needed every one of them. I was really careful at the start because I watched the 125cc race earlier on and the guy in my grid position made a jump start – it made me think that I really didn’t want to do that today! As a result I didn’t get a great start but I saw Lorenzo charge past a few guys, making a hole in the pack, so I tried to follow him.

I pushed hard and in the middle of the race I went as fast as I have all weekend, but I didn’t have any more than that. Dovizioso came on strong at the end so I gave myself a little pep talk and made sure I was ready for whatever he had. He was going to have to come up with something special to keep me off the podium here at Indy! Thankfully I kept it together and brought it home.

We don’t have long to the next race at Misano but I’m in the mood for a little party tonight. My buddies have seen the sun come up every day since Friday but hopefully they’ve got something left in the tank for me!”

You can watch Nicky’s post-race interview here

Once again, mega congrats to Nicky and the Ducati team, and we hope this is just the beginning!

Source: Nicky’s Official Site

MotoGP.com caught up with Nicky after his best dry qualifying position onboard the Ducati, and here’s what he had to say-

Nicky Hayden – (Ducati MotoGP Team) (6th; 1’41.067)

“It seems the story is always the same: even though this is my best dry qualifying result and second best grid position of the year I still feel I could have gone faster at the end and I’m not completely happy. I set a good lap chasing Dani (Pedrosa) but I think the tyre went off right at the end because it started to spin up in the last sector and it cost me some time. Anyway, I’m on the second row and we’re competitive so it’s not all bad.

I’m using a slightly different set-up here than before Brno – something we found in the test there – and it’s definitely helping me through some of these flip-flop direction changes. I know what I’m in for tomorrow and I’m not expecting to find a full second in the morning. The main thing will be to see about the tyre choice if it is a lot cooler, as a lot of people are expecting.

I’m really looking forward to racing in front of my fans, friends and family here at Indy and the plan is to get the best start possible, try to hang on to that front group as long as I can and just give the absolute maximum.”

Source: MotoGP.com

Click here to watch the video on MotoGP.com

MotoGP.com have uploaded an interview with Nicky after yesterday’s first practice session at Indianapolis. You can watch what he had to say (and check out his new hairdo!) or read the transcript below.

Nicky Hayden – (Ducati MotoGP Team)  (2nd; 1’51.662)

“It feels good to be near the top again! The bike felt pretty good from the beginning and after trying something new on the other bike, which didn’t work, we went back to the standard setting and went from there.

The track was really tricky because there were sections with a lot of standing water and others where the grip was amazing – you had to be really on your toes. Midway through the session a funny line formed – I’m not sure if some kind of chemical came up through the asphalt from when they cleaned it but it was pretty slick. Over the last couple of laps I just went for it because I knew I had a chance to be on top today and this is the highest I’ve been in any session this year.

Truthfully though I need dry track time because I tend to start the weekend slowly and build up, so to lose a session to the weather is not an advantage to me. We need to start out strong in the morning and go from there. P1 would have been sweet but P2 at just a tenth of a second off gives us reason to smile. I’m delighted to be racing here at Indy so let’s hope tomorrow brings more joy!”