Donington Park MotoGP: Warning light put Nicky Hayden off stride

Nicky Hayden’s first outing with the new Honda chassis was a big success this weekend at Donington.

The 2006 MotoGP World Champion was more competitive throughout the race weekend than any other round this season.

But during the race the American said he was slightly put off by a warning light that came up on the screen of his RCV Honda, resulting in a seventh position in the race after coming out on top in a great dice with Chris Vermeulen.

He said: “We didn’t know what to expect here, everything went smooth until this morning when we had to switch bikes.

“The first few laps of the race went okay and then about nine laps in I had a dash light come on.

“I didn’t know what it was for, but if a sensor goes bad you realise just how much you use traction control, engine braking control and things like that.

“It was nothing serious but I lost some confidence for a couple of laps, so my lap times fell and it upset my rhythm while I got my confidence back.

“The guys are looking into it now.”