Hayden rues 'disastrous' race

The former world champion made an early pit stop in the wet race after struggling with both tyre and electronic problems.

"Today was a bit of a disaster, really," Hayden said.

"All weekend in the dry we had been going okay but conditions changed a lot for the race. I was actually glad it was raining because the bike has been working good in the rain recently, but the race turned into a disaster.

"The tyre choice wasn't good and something also didn't look right on the electronics, seems like it was a combination of problems."

The American said that a change of rubber actually eased his problems slightly, but by then his priority was to stay out of the way while being lapped.

"We came in and changed the rear tyre to a slightly different compound," said Hayden. "Things were a lot better when I went out but I was right in the middle of everybody and I didn't want to get in the way of people racing. We got a few points."

He now hopes for a change of fortune in his home race at Laguna Seca in seven days' time.

"Now it's Laguna next weekend, so we'll just keep pushing and hope to catch a break somewhere along the way," Hayden said.