MotoGP – Sepang Day 1 – Nicky Hayden works on the electronics

On a circuit where he has already tested during the winter, Nicky Hayden achieved the eighth fastest time in the first free practice session, encountering significant and particular problems such as the lack of top speed, usually a Ducati strong point. The former world champion worked mainly on the electronics in anticipation of being able to improve further tomorrow.

“I know my position isn't exceptional but I'm still happy because I haven't started the weekend this well in a while and because we're just over a second away from the best time, which isn't a lot on this long track. Today we worked a lot on the electronics, and my feeling progressively improved. I was in the top ten for the whole session when usually, on Fridays, I'm further back. Obviously there are several areas we need to improve on, starting with understanding why I am fourth last in the "top speed" rankings. It's quite strange because it's usually one of our strengths, so tonight we'll have to try to find out the cause because I'd certainly prefer to be much higher! Overall though I think we're off to a good start and I can't wait for tomorrow to see how much we can still improve in the two hours we have left.”