Nicky Hayden optimistic for 2010

Nicky Hayden has backed himself to impress on Ducati’s new GP10 machine this season after a tough debut MotoGP campaign for the Bologna factory last year.

Hayden scored a solitary podium in 2009 and for the opening half of the season struggled to adapt to the Desmosedici machine.

But as he prepares for his second season alongside 2007 world champion Casey Stoner, the former Repsol Honda rider first reflected on his difficult ’09 campaign.

“Last season obviously we had a little bit higher expectations than how we went. It was tougher than we had hoped, but life is like this sometimes and things don’t always go exactly how you draw them up and how you lay in bed and envision them.

“We started off the season and had a couple big crashes and got beat up and just really couldn’t get any momentum going.

“But I think the thing that we got be positive about is the progress we made. Thankfully with a lot of hard work from everybody at Ducati we were able to slowly but surely start working our way toward the front.

“And I finished the season really positive. Was it enough? No, but I was able to get on the podium at Indy and then finish the season with two top fives in a row and make some big steps with myself, with the bike, with the team, with the set-up in a lot of areas.

“So I’m really excited for the new season. I need to pick up right where we left off and keep trying to close that gap to the front, “said the 2006 world champion.

Looking to his hopes and aspirations for 2010, Hayden said: “2010 sure is exciting. The season, like I say, ended in a positive way.

“We had a good test at Valencia. I like the bike. Sure, another off-season with the team will be a big help for me.

“We made some changes to some guys during the season just to get the communication a little better. And sure everybody is working hard.

“Ducati is committed to helping me and we’ll just wait and see what happens. There’s no need to sit here talking about it and blowing a lot of smoke and making a lot of predictions.

“I just need to get ready so when we get to Qatar and the lights go out I’m able to get up front.”

Hayden admitted his recent form in MotoGP had been frustrating, with the popular American without a victory since he claimed the last 990cc world title in ’06.

He added: “It’s been frustrating. You go from being the world champ to running around mid-pack is tough at times when I expect a lot from myself and sure it’s not fun. But the bike, I have no doubt about my bike, my team and even my potential.

“I know we have all the ingredients we need. It’s just putting it all together and making it happen, so it’s pretty simple.”

Hayden said one of his key targets for 2010 will be to find a set-up for his GP10 quicker and more efficiently than he did last season.

Hayden has talked extensively about the need to be faster right from the off on a race weekend with crew chief Juan Martinez and he said: “Me and Juan have talked, because last year a lot of times we would be changing the bike a lot.

“I would get there Friday and be so far off the pace and would be 13th or 14th and we joked that we needed to race on Tuesdays, because it wasn’t until about Sunday morning that we normally would find a set-up.

“The ideal thing in this world is to find a set-up in the winter testing, that’s why you go do all the winter tests is to find a good base set-up so that when you show up on Friday you’re really just checking a tyre and maybe a spring.

“Where I was still on Saturday morning changing seat heights, wheelbases and trying lots of different shocks and a lot of different options.

“So our plan is and like I say, it’s never that easy, but certainly hope this winter to find a good base set-up that works at a lot of different tracks, a lot of different conditions and be closer.”