Former MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden believes this year has been his hardest season in the championship with not even a sniff of a podium so far and the largest gap to the leaders in his whole Ducati career.

The Kentucky rider says that he was nearest the ball in 2010 with some solid performances but Honda and Yamaha have moved on in the intervening period and Ducati haven't been able to keep up, even with the test team introduced this year.

"I would say, 2009, that was a very hard bike to ride, very challenging, especially with the pumping. I struggled a lot at the beginning of the year but at the end of the season, that bike had a lot of potential," said Hayden, speaking at Indianapolis.

"2010 was the best bike for me. I only did one podium that year but did fourth place four races in a row. I was able to compete, beat Lorenzo on the last lap at Aragon for the podium and have some fun races. I really enjoyed that bike and went back and forth with Valentino at Phillip Island.

"Unfortunately, I would say this year has been the toughest challenge. The gap to the front is the farthest now. The target has moved. Honda has really gotten serious in the last two or three years.

"They went and got Casey, their effort raised a lot which drew Yamaha up and we haven't been able to go with them. Ducati have put in a lot of effort, especially with the test team, but we just haven't been able to close down on them."