Ducati making little progress, admits Nicky Hayden

Ducati is no closer to challenging Honda and Yamaha than it was at the start of the new 1000cc era, according to factory rider Nicky Hayden.

The Bologna factory has only scored one rostrum in the opening six races when Valentino Rossi needed wet conditions at the French Grand Prix in Le Mans to claim second position behind Jorge Lorenzo.

Rossi hasn’t yet scored a top six finish in dry conditions while Hayden’s best result was a sixth place result in the season’s opening race in Qatar.

And American Hayden said despite its best efforts, Ducati had enjoyed little success in bridging the performance gap to Japanese rivals Honda and Yamaha.

The 2006 world champion said: “It has not just been a real easy season but that’s how they go. Every now and then we get some momentum and feel like we are making some gains but these guys aren’t sitting still.

“We go away and test and learn a couple of things but everybody is improving and truthfully the gap now is pretty similar to what it was at the start of the season.”

Hayden is back at the legendary Assen track in Holland this weekend, which was the venue for his solitary MotoGP victory outside of America in 2006.

And he said improving tyre life over race distance will be one key focus of the weekend.

He added: “We think tyre wear affects our bike more than others but at Silverstone in the race, the first five to eight laps were probably as quick as I’ve been on the Ducati for a long time and I quite enjoyed it.

“That track being big, wide and open made the bike work good but we need the grip and when it goes away we suffer maybe more than others.

“We got some ideas here to make the tyre last a bit longer and I need to try to do better when the tyres go away to help make it last.”