Roger Hayden pleased with debut

The AMA Superbike rider - and younger brother of world champion Nicky Hayden - is making a one-off wildcard appearance on a third Kawasaki at the US Grand Prix.

He ended the day in 15th place, and was only three tenths of a second behind teammates Randy de Puniet and Anthony West.

"I'm still learning so much about the bike but managed to go faster every time I went out, which was my aim, so I'm glad about that," Hayden said.

"All in all, I think the first day went pretty well and we're just getting some ideas to maybe make the bike a bit better for tomorrow.

"There's been a bit of chatter, and a few little things to sort out which may help me go a little faster, but it's good. Getting used to working with the crew: they're doing a great job and making me feel really welcome.

"I had a lot of fun out there and I just want to do my own thing. I don't want to get in anybody's way."

The two regular Kawasaki riders were less content. De Puniet crashed at the first corner in the afternoon, while West confessed that he was finding the track difficult to master.

"I really struggled to learn the track this morning," West said.

"At first, I wasn't sure where the lines were or anything but it got better and it all started to fall in to place in the last ten minutes or so. It seems the more laps I do the faster I get, which is positive.

"I had wanted to follow somebody around but every time I went out, there didn't seem to be anybody on the same bit of track! Still, I'm learning it on my own and maybe I'll be able to see if I can stay with the other guys tomorrow."

De Puniet was relieved to escape injury in his accident, but less happy to end up on Kawasaki's spare bike, which he was less comfortable with.

"I went in too fast, locked the front wheel and tried to stop but couldn't, then crashed close to the wall," he explained.

"It was a bit like the accident last weekend at the Sachsenring. With the second bike we had some problems with rear grip, so we made some adjustments but then it started vibrating as it entered corners.

"Obviously, we need to fix this because it's difficult to ride at the moment. My times got better at the end but there's some work to do yet.

"At least I'm not injured: I banged my head but I'm okay."