Unhappy Hayden sure he will improve
Nicky Hayden has admitted that he was frustrated with his times at the Sepang test, but remains optimistic that he can get to grips with the Ducati GP9
The American was around the foot of the top ten throughout this week's test, while his teammate Casey Stoner was fastest of all despite struggling with a wrist injury.
Stoner's previous teammates Loris Capirossi and Marco Melandri both had extreme difficulty adapting their riding style to the Ducati, and though Hayden appears to be in a similar position at present, the former champion is determined to get to the bottom of his problems.
"Obviously I'm not happy with my lap times, I was expecting more from myself, but I have to stay positive," said Hayden.
"I've improved my lap times every day and we have gathered a lot of data to work from in the next test.
"The fact Casey is already so fast means that the bike has the potential - it can only be a good thing that he is going so quick. The team is working hard and they are just as determined as I am to get the results, so that's a good thing.
"I wasn't too bad in the first two sectors but I was losing too much in T3 and T4, where the problem I'm having with the bike being unstable and unpredictable on the exit was the worst."
He also had an accident on Saturday, but said this was caused by a problem with the track surface rather than his issues with the bike.
"I had a little crash in Turn 2, where to be honest they've done a bad job of resurfacing the track and it has caught a few riders out this week," said Hayden. "Luckily I wasn't hurt."
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