Hayden admits double trouble

Nicky Hayden has admitted the combination of Honda and Michelin’s struggle to match its rivals has made the defence of his MotoGP world crown doubly difficult.

Honda’s new factory RC212V 800 contender has failed to match the pace of Yamaha and Ducati, while Michelin has also struggled in the face of a new onslaught from Japanese tyre rival Bridgestone.

Honda has yet to win in the opening five races of the new 800cc era and Michelin has won just once, with Bridgestone claiming a clean sweep of the podium in two of the last three races.

And 25-year-old Hayden told MCN: “It is frustrating. I’m not going to hide the fact that for a few years I had the best of both worlds because Honda and Michelin were really good.

“What goes around comes around I guess. It is tough right now to be taking a back seat in both but that’s racing.”

Hayden returns to track action this weekend in Mugello hoping to inject some momentum into his season which has so far seen him score a best finish of seventh.

But he is fearful the long start/finish straight in Mugello will again expose the horsepower and top speed weakness of Honda’s new V4.

The Kentucky rider said: “I’m dreading those big straights but we’ve just got to keep going. Le Mans has always been a bad track for me but this year was the closest I have ever been there.

“I’ve got to try to take something positive out of it, turn things around and get something out of the bike that I like a little bit more. That’s all I can really do.”

Meanwhile Hayden has confirmed his one and only test for the Suzuki Eight-hour endurance race will take place immediately after the Dutch GP at Assen.

Hayden will fly from Holland to Japan to test a factory Honda FireBlade in preparation for his appearance in the 30th staging of the prestigious race.

He is still waiting to find out who his partner in the race will be with James Toseland, Carlos Checa and Ryuichi Kiyonari all in the frame.