- Home
- TV Shows
-
TV Schedule
-
SPEED Showcase
-
- NASCAR
-
- Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
MotoGP
MOTOGP: Hayden Holds Court
Former MotoGP World Championship Nicky Hayden fielded a number of question ahead of the approaching 2013 MotoGP Championship season.
Ducati Team's Nicky Hayden (Photo: Ducati Corse)
MODERATOR: Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the Red Bull Indianapolis GP teleconference. Our guest today is 2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden. Nicky is from Owensboro, Kentucky, and is entering his 11th season of MotoGP, and he is starting his fifth consecutive season with the iconic Ducati team. Nicky, thanks for joining us today.
NICKY HAYDEN: All right, thanks for having me.
MODERATOR: Nicky, you guys have tested already twice in Sepang and you made some really good progress it seemed like in the second test. The bike seemed to come alive and you got closer to the pace set by the Honda's and the Yamaha's. Was there a real breakthrough or was there a evolution in the GP13?
HAYDEN: Well, unfortunately I would say there wasn't a huge breakthrough and it wasn't quite that dramatic. It is true that we definitely reduced the gap to the front on some things. The track probably wasn't as good for the second test, there was a lot of rain during the night and a lot of guys wasn't as fast, and me and Dovi were quicker than the first test and reduced the gap to two seconds to 1.5 or 1.4 or something. It still is a lot. It is clear that we still have a lot of work to do, but we left there feeling a little bit more positive with some of the new things that we tested. It was stuff that we tried, we kind of hit on a couple things, so it was nice to find direction. If I am honest, the flight home after the first test was pretty rough.
MODERATOR: New management this year, new ownership of the team with Audi coming in and buying Ducati and Bernhard Gobmeier running the team. Is there a distinct difference with the way the team has been ran in the past and if so, what is the most noticeable change with the new faces?
HAYDEN: No, I would say inside the team there is not huge changes. Most of my core guys are pretty much the same. A lot of the same engineers that we have had and of course on Dovi's side there are a lot of new faces. But for me there hasn't been too much change in that regard. Of course, a new management style and a little bit of a different approach, but I would say they haven't come in and turned things upside down at the moment. If you see some different things and different ways of working at the moment, no huge changes. I still feel pretty comfortable and not too much to adjust and the bike at the moment is still last year's bike there hasn't been a lot of changes from the new management just yet.
Q: Hey there Nick, on my other screen right now I am watching Daytona live timing and scoring. I am guessing you may be down there or not. I just want to as Qatar as a race to you, do you kind of feel like it is the odd man out? Like Daytona here in the U.S. with the big gap.
HAYDEN: Not particularly. I was watching Daytona a bit on and off today, too. But no I am not there, no. Not really, I don't think there is a big gap. I think they have a two months off after Daytona and we have a week off and then the season picks up straight away from there. It feels odd out because it is a night race and it is the only night race of the year. I like the night race. I am glad that not every race is a night race but for the first race of the year it is really cool. We pretty well have to go racing right after Qatar. From there we have one week off, and then we go racing from there. Then Austin, then one week off then Jerez then things really pick up in Europe.
Q: Speaking of the Austin race, there have been guys testing there the last few days and there are still guys running around there right now. Is that a track that you are looking forward to? Have you been following them there, as well?
HAYDEN: Yes. I was obviously looking forward to it. I love going to new tracks for the first time, and I love the challenge. I was watching a lot of Tuesday, I was flying home from Germany and I had a four-hour layover in Chicago and I was killing time and reading up on what the guys had to say about the track. It was frustrating. Obviously I hated not being there and I hated giving those guys a big head start. But I was reading some of the comments and checking out some of the pictures from the track.
Q: My question is and you are one of the few guys that can answer it. How much have Moto Grand Prix bikes changed from the first bikes 990 that you rode through the bikes you ridden up to the 1000cc Ducati today?
HAYDEN: There have definitely been some changes. I would say the biggest changes have been with the electronics. I would say yearly those electronics can change greatly with the amount of changes and things. I would say 800 was a big change, small changes and the electronics have really made a lot of steps and the tires. There the tires were such a big part of finding the right tire, when you had a lot options. One race weekend with the single-tire rule changed the way you went about the weekend. You had your qualifying tires and many compounds front and rear. I would say there wasn't probably wasn't as many options with the bike. A lot of times during the weekend you were testing tires trying to find the right tire for the weekend because tires make a huge difference where you can really make or break your race. Where now we normally have two choices. We have a little bit shorter session which probably are justified because less changes now and it is probably more about dialing in the electronics.
Q: And how much of an issue, how much of a challenge for the team has it been to go from down to 21 liters and now 20 liters and does this change of you what they ask as a rider?
HAYDEN: Well, I think you would ask the engineers that, of course. I think it makes a difference. I think for me sometimes, I think how does a liter of fuel make that kind of a difference? But it does and really over a race distance makes a big difference. Last year with the 1000 we didn't have too big of issues with the fuel and it really wasn't a big part of it. With a couple of tracks that were a bit thirsty. Obviously, Japan was the one that was probably the thirstiest and Malaysia used to be until they took a lap off the race a couple of years ago. On 800, I would say the fuel really changed the game a bit. Those things, to really keep the bike and the power and to go off smooth was more tricky, and there were times as a rider we have had to change some things. I remember one time on Saturday nights, realizing that we have to make a big change or we aren't going to finish the race. There were times we had to change the transmission to make it longer to make less RPMs to save a bit of fuel and they have all kinds of little tricks, and it all adds up. Little grams of fuel and I mean on corner entry, you don't realize to help the bike get into the corner and less rear wheel locking actually uses fuel for that. There would be times you have to use that and if it was really dramatic a couple of times, you would have to use a different gear in a different corner. Use third gear instead of second. That hasn't been much of an issue lately, but there was definitely a time where you lost a lot of sleep over just fuel consumption.
Q: Nick, what can you do now as essentially as a lead rider in your team to influence direction and I guess in the new organization do you feel like you are being listened to?
HAYDEN: Yes, I do feel listened to. I can't really say that I felt that in the past. Obviously with Valentino as a teammate, he got paid a lot of money, so of course it was clear is the more the number one. But I have never really had that problem with Ducati. As far as being listened to, it is important to go fast and you have clear feedback and be consistent. The worst thing for engineers is to if you want to lose their faith and confidence and be all over the board. You know, one minute say this and the next minute say that. Just try to be consistent with your feedback and tell them exactly what you feel and what you think. And don't make anything up or don't dream anything up and don't lead them off and hope that it matches up with the data.
NICKY HAYDEN: All right, thanks for having me.
MODERATOR: Nicky, you guys have tested already twice in Sepang and you made some really good progress it seemed like in the second test. The bike seemed to come alive and you got closer to the pace set by the Honda's and the Yamaha's. Was there a real breakthrough or was there a evolution in the GP13?
HAYDEN: Well, unfortunately I would say there wasn't a huge breakthrough and it wasn't quite that dramatic. It is true that we definitely reduced the gap to the front on some things. The track probably wasn't as good for the second test, there was a lot of rain during the night and a lot of guys wasn't as fast, and me and Dovi were quicker than the first test and reduced the gap to two seconds to 1.5 or 1.4 or something. It still is a lot. It is clear that we still have a lot of work to do, but we left there feeling a little bit more positive with some of the new things that we tested. It was stuff that we tried, we kind of hit on a couple things, so it was nice to find direction. If I am honest, the flight home after the first test was pretty rough.
MODERATOR: New management this year, new ownership of the team with Audi coming in and buying Ducati and Bernhard Gobmeier running the team. Is there a distinct difference with the way the team has been ran in the past and if so, what is the most noticeable change with the new faces?
HAYDEN: No, I would say inside the team there is not huge changes. Most of my core guys are pretty much the same. A lot of the same engineers that we have had and of course on Dovi's side there are a lot of new faces. But for me there hasn't been too much change in that regard. Of course, a new management style and a little bit of a different approach, but I would say they haven't come in and turned things upside down at the moment. If you see some different things and different ways of working at the moment, no huge changes. I still feel pretty comfortable and not too much to adjust and the bike at the moment is still last year's bike there hasn't been a lot of changes from the new management just yet.
Q: Hey there Nick, on my other screen right now I am watching Daytona live timing and scoring. I am guessing you may be down there or not. I just want to as Qatar as a race to you, do you kind of feel like it is the odd man out? Like Daytona here in the U.S. with the big gap.
HAYDEN: Not particularly. I was watching Daytona a bit on and off today, too. But no I am not there, no. Not really, I don't think there is a big gap. I think they have a two months off after Daytona and we have a week off and then the season picks up straight away from there. It feels odd out because it is a night race and it is the only night race of the year. I like the night race. I am glad that not every race is a night race but for the first race of the year it is really cool. We pretty well have to go racing right after Qatar. From there we have one week off, and then we go racing from there. Then Austin, then one week off then Jerez then things really pick up in Europe.
Q: Speaking of the Austin race, there have been guys testing there the last few days and there are still guys running around there right now. Is that a track that you are looking forward to? Have you been following them there, as well?
HAYDEN: Yes. I was obviously looking forward to it. I love going to new tracks for the first time, and I love the challenge. I was watching a lot of Tuesday, I was flying home from Germany and I had a four-hour layover in Chicago and I was killing time and reading up on what the guys had to say about the track. It was frustrating. Obviously I hated not being there and I hated giving those guys a big head start. But I was reading some of the comments and checking out some of the pictures from the track.
Q: My question is and you are one of the few guys that can answer it. How much have Moto Grand Prix bikes changed from the first bikes 990 that you rode through the bikes you ridden up to the 1000cc Ducati today?
HAYDEN: There have definitely been some changes. I would say the biggest changes have been with the electronics. I would say yearly those electronics can change greatly with the amount of changes and things. I would say 800 was a big change, small changes and the electronics have really made a lot of steps and the tires. There the tires were such a big part of finding the right tire, when you had a lot options. One race weekend with the single-tire rule changed the way you went about the weekend. You had your qualifying tires and many compounds front and rear. I would say there wasn't probably wasn't as many options with the bike. A lot of times during the weekend you were testing tires trying to find the right tire for the weekend because tires make a huge difference where you can really make or break your race. Where now we normally have two choices. We have a little bit shorter session which probably are justified because less changes now and it is probably more about dialing in the electronics.
Q: And how much of an issue, how much of a challenge for the team has it been to go from down to 21 liters and now 20 liters and does this change of you what they ask as a rider?
HAYDEN: Well, I think you would ask the engineers that, of course. I think it makes a difference. I think for me sometimes, I think how does a liter of fuel make that kind of a difference? But it does and really over a race distance makes a big difference. Last year with the 1000 we didn't have too big of issues with the fuel and it really wasn't a big part of it. With a couple of tracks that were a bit thirsty. Obviously, Japan was the one that was probably the thirstiest and Malaysia used to be until they took a lap off the race a couple of years ago. On 800, I would say the fuel really changed the game a bit. Those things, to really keep the bike and the power and to go off smooth was more tricky, and there were times as a rider we have had to change some things. I remember one time on Saturday nights, realizing that we have to make a big change or we aren't going to finish the race. There were times we had to change the transmission to make it longer to make less RPMs to save a bit of fuel and they have all kinds of little tricks, and it all adds up. Little grams of fuel and I mean on corner entry, you don't realize to help the bike get into the corner and less rear wheel locking actually uses fuel for that. There would be times you have to use that and if it was really dramatic a couple of times, you would have to use a different gear in a different corner. Use third gear instead of second. That hasn't been much of an issue lately, but there was definitely a time where you lost a lot of sleep over just fuel consumption.
Q: Nick, what can you do now as essentially as a lead rider in your team to influence direction and I guess in the new organization do you feel like you are being listened to?
HAYDEN: Yes, I do feel listened to. I can't really say that I felt that in the past. Obviously with Valentino as a teammate, he got paid a lot of money, so of course it was clear is the more the number one. But I have never really had that problem with Ducati. As far as being listened to, it is important to go fast and you have clear feedback and be consistent. The worst thing for engineers is to if you want to lose their faith and confidence and be all over the board. You know, one minute say this and the next minute say that. Just try to be consistent with your feedback and tell them exactly what you feel and what you think. And don't make anything up or don't dream anything up and don't lead them off and hope that it matches up with the data.
Latest Gallery
LATEST HEADLINES: MOTO-RACING
-
MOTOGP: Pedrosa Needs More Time To Understand '14 RCV
Dani Pedrosa gave the 2014 RC213V prototype a shakedown ride today… -
AMA DSB: Westby Not Holding Back At BMP
Dane Westby is ready to let it all hang out again this weekend at… -
AMA SBK: Gagne On His Way
Rising star Jake Gagne is emerging as the biggest threat to Cameron… -
AMA MX: Villopoto Carries Momentum Into Budds Creek
Ryan Villopoto is on a roll as the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship… -
MOTOGP: '14 RCV Could Debut This Season
The all-new 2014 RC213V could be utilized for Dani Pedrosa and Marc… -
AMA DSB: BMP Set For SportBike Showdown
Rising ace Cameron Beaubier leads the AMA Pro GoPro Daytona SportBike… -
MOTOGP: Rossi Calls Out Bautista
Valentino Rossi has had enough of Alvaro Bautista's ill-advised attempts… - More News
