Stoner boosted by Hayden's arrival

Hayden, world champion in 2006, will leave Repsol Honda this year to replace Italian Marco Melandri, who is moving to Kawasaki.

"I was happy when I was told they were talking to Nicky, and I was also asked for my opinion," Stoner told Motosprint magazine.

"To make this decision they considered my opinion too, and this pleases me. I'm in agreement with his arrival.

"I'm happy Nicky will come to race with us, because we need a strong but also tough rider. We need someone who can help me develop the bike.

"Nicky and I speak the same language, we have the same interests in life. We also come from the same school, that is dirt track racing, and we have a very similar mentality. I have a lot of respect for him."

Stoner is convinced his working relationship with Hayden will be a lot better than it has been with Melandri, who has struggled for pace all season.

"I know we'll work together and we won't be one against the other," he said. "This year there was an invisible wall in our garage, while with Hayden it won't be like that anymore.

"An invisible wall, yes. For sure there are teams, like Yamaha and Honda, where a wall was raised for real, but we had it too: it was invisible, but it was there.

"That's not what a team needs, a divide between riders. I think we need to be open and collaborative. I think it will be completely different with Hayden. I want to work with him, and he wants to work with me. We'll get along well and we'll do a good job."