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.”

Click here to watch the video from the opening day of Wroom 2010.

The Wrooom Press Ski Meeting 2010 officially opened on Monday, in a week that traditionally combines spectacle, sport and meetings with the international press in Madonna di Campiglio’s magnificent Dolomites.

Events will get underway on Tuesday, with press conferences with the two Ducati MotoGP Team riders, Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden.

On Wednesday it will be the turn of Claudio Domenicali, General Manager of Ducati Motor Holding, with another key moment being the official presentation of the Ducati Desmosedici GP 10.

The week will also include events dedicated to the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team, with drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa and test driver Giancarlo Fisichella all present, and proceedings will conclude on Friday.

Happy New Year to everyone, sorry I’ve been slow with updates (again).

Ducati and Ferrari’s annual week of launches and skiiing in the Italian Alpes begins tomorrow, with the WROOM even scheduled to run this week!

You will see lots of Nicky and the new Desmosedici on here, so stay tuned!

I totally missed this when it was published, but there is a new interview with Nicky up on Superbike Planet which discusses his season, the return of the 1000cc bikes, Casey Stoner’s illness and Livio Suppo’s departure among other things.

Make sure you check it out!

Well, I’m stuck in Chicago airport on my way home from India thanks to some great weather. When I was going thru my phone I saw a few photos that I wanted to share with you guys.

They pretty random but here’s the run down:

My favorite one is from when I was at Ducati headquarters last wk checking in with all the crew and checking out my 2010 weapon. Watching them test engines on the dyno was cool. I’m happy to report they’re doing their home work.

Also had a few pictures from when me, my bro Rog and a few of our boys went to watch the university of Kentucky basketball game. They beat north Carolina in a thriller that went right down to the buzzer in a instant classic for sure. Freshman John Wall took over, he is a bad dude!!!

Also got a picture from me and all the fellas at one of my best friend’s wedding from a few wks ago which you could also could say was a instant classic!!

HAHA And last some pretty interesting pictures from my latest trip to India where we launched a new Ductai dealership. It was my first time there, prob wouldn’t go back anytime soon on my own time, but wow didIi get to see a few things I cant say I see everyday and meet some nice people.

The biggest thing was seeing cow’s in the middle of the road, yes I said cow’s in the middle of the road in the middle of the city. Turns out there some people actually worship these cow’s and the locals told me you better off to hit a person in the road then a cow!!! No wonder they didn’t let me drive!!!

Last but not least there is a photo of me training in the dirt

Nicky

You can view the photos mentioned at Nicky’s Official Site. Do note that he also managed to leak a photo of the GP10! Cheeky!