Motegi Test - September 24 - Day One - Yamaha Report

Nicky Hayden and his dedicated Repsol Honda crew remained at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit on Monday for a day of testing following yesterday’s eventful Grand Prix of Japan. The 2006 World Champion took the opportunity to perform analysis work on a modified swing-arm and also tested the latest crop of high performance MotoGP tyres from Michelin.

Hayden completed 86 laps of the 4.801km (2.981-mile) circuit and recorded the third quickest time – a lap of 1m 48.065s. The conditions were considerably cooler than the 30+ degree heat experienced on Friday and Saturday here which meant the American didn’t quite match his fastest race-tyre lap of the weekend – a 1m 47.597s lap set on Saturday morning. However, despite constant cloud cover only a few spots of rain fell today, in contrast to the wet conditions yesterday.

After his heavy crash in the rain-affected race, Hayden’s team-mate Dani Pedrosa did not test today. The 21-year-old Spaniard who lies third in the MotoGP World Championship instead took a flight back to Barcelona this morning where he will have further x-rays on his left foot to determine if he has sustained a fracture.

The Repsol Honda Team returns tomorrow for another day at Motegi before MotoGP takes a two weekend break ahead of the Australian GP which takes place on October 14.

Nicky Hayden Best lap time: 1m 48.065s – 86 laps
“Looking back to yesterday I felt like if things had gone differently we could have had a much better result, so the only thing to do is come back here today and go to work. We spent time this morning checking some settings and testing a few modifications from HRC. We also tested some tyres for Michelin – both front and rear – in particular looking to help with the grip and performance in the first few laps so that they come in a bit quicker. That was a big part of the day with the tyres playing a huge role in things right now. We were lucky with the weather conditions today because it looked a little bit threatening and it definitely wasn’t a day to be at the beach. A few times I got a little bit of mist on the visor but we were able to get quite a lot done.”