Hayden happy with Assen safety

First Suzuki's Loris Capirossi was sidelined by an arm wound after a crash on Thursday, and then John Hopkins sustained multiple injuries to his left leg when he crashed his Kawasaki at the fast Ramshoek corner in qualifying yesterday.

Hopkins' violent accident led to some comments in the paddock about the safety of the turn, but Hayden said it was important to keep fast corners even though higher-speed areas would inevitably carry greater safety risks.

"It's dangerous just because it's fast," he told reporters at Assen.

"We complain when they put these little chicanes in. Here we've got a fast corner, so we'd better not complain or they'll go and put a chicane in down there and then we'll be crying about how the old track was better but more dangerous.

"Sure, it's pretty 'gnarly' when you come in there - especially because it's not so easy to get heat on the left side of the tyre here. A lot of guys have made some deposits down there.

"All fast corners are dangerous, it's just simple physics. The faster the corner, the faster you crash. I can't say the corner itself is really a dangerous corner."

He believes that if any changes are made, it should be the run-off and barriers that are altered rather than the track layout.

"Maybe we could do something to improve some run-off and add more air-fence," Hayden said. "I guess there was no air fence where John went off."

Hayden added that he believes it is the current intensity of competition in all three MotoGP classes that has led to recent accidents, rather than any safety issue with the bikes or circuits.

"I don't think there's a problem with that corner or the fast corners in terms of the track being dangerous," he said.

"I think what's dangerous is the fact that we're trying to go so fast. In the 125s, if the guys weren't having to hang it out so far, they probably wouldn't be having problems. I think it's just guys trying hard."