Nicky Hayden

NICKY HAYDEN

DUCATI'S MOTOGP "LAB" BIKE WASN'T A STEP BACKWARD, SAYS THE 2006 WORLD CHAMP, BUT IT WASN'T THE STEP FORWARD THAT HE HAD HOPED FOR, EITHER. By Matthew Miles

Matthew Miles

-> They've been working on the bike for a while and had some good theoriesmainly in the chassis, lateral and torsional stiffness-but we didn't find much of a sten with it.

-> At Jerez, I was maybe one-tenth faster. We tested it more in Mugello and were a couple of tenths slower. They spent a lot of time and resources on it, and to not do the step we hoped for is frustrating.

-> Turn-in is a little easier. We're able to brake a bit more on the edge of the tire. That was all positive. But on the exit, we had more problems-pumping, instability.

-> Bernhard Gobmeier's approach is not really hands-on. Some engineers are very involved with the details. He's more of a manager. He really relies quite a lot on the staff. We hope he's the man for the job, but at this point, I can't say if that's clear.