Hayden delighted after maiden Ducati test

Hayden enjoyed his first taste of the Italian bike following the end of his relationship with Honda after the Valencia Grand Prix last Sunday.

The American completed a few laps with this year's GP8 bike before switching his focus to the GP9, also tested by teammate Casey Stoner.

Hayden finished around 1.5 seconds off Stoner's pace, but the former world champion admitted he felt right at home from the beginning, although he accepted there is still a lot of work ahead.

"It has been a very intense day and full of many things to test and to understand, but it was exactly as I expected it to be," said Hayden.

"I did just one run with the GP8 and then I switched completely to the GP9. Obviously there is a lot of work to do but I am happy, it was a good day that has allowed me to understand that the bike has good potential and, more than anything, I can say that I really enjoyed myself.

"This first day has given me an appreciation of the bike and the team. One of the things that really impressed me the most was the acceleration. I found myself pretty comfortable on the bike, and I really didn't make a lot of changes to levers and handlebars.

"We have not even changed a lot the settings, we have just made some small changes, some mapping settings, a couple of tyres, in order to try and understand the direction of the bike and to feel comfortable on it".

The Valencia test continues today.