Hayden still struggling with riding style

Hayden has struggled for pace since the start of pre-season testing, having found his riding style fundamentally ill-suited to the less powerful new machines.

It looked like his fortunes might be improving when he vaulted from 11th on the grid to fourth on the first lap at Jerez, but he was unable to keep up with the leaders and fell to sixth by the end of the race.

"It's tough," he conceded in an interview with BBC televsion. "The pace is fast, the other guys are really going fast right now.

"I'm just really struggling with the same things I struggled with since I got on it (the 800cc bike). I just really can't find an answer to get the front to steer for me.

"The bottom line is, we ain't going fast enough."

Hayden pledged to keep working with his Repsol Honda team to find a solution.

"I've got a lot of work to do, and have to work with my team, I've got some good guys here," he said.

"It's going to be a long few weeks. Thanks to my team for working hard. Hopefully we'll get to Turkey and get up front."