Marlboro Ducati's Nicky Hayden reckons that his choice of tyre for this afternoon's MotoGP clash at Indianapolis will be critical if the track temperature is cooler than yesterday.
The former world champion starts from row two on the grid but says he isn't happy with his performance as he reckons he could have gone faster towards the end of yesterday's qualifying session.
"It seems the story is always the same: even though this is my best dry qualifying result and second best grid position of the year I still feel I could have gone faster at the end and I’m not completely happy," said Hayden.
"I set a good lap chasing Dani (Pedrosa) but I think the tyre went off right at the end because it started to spin up in the last sector and it cost me some time. Anyway, I’m on the second row and we’re competitive so it’s not all bad. I’m using a slightly different set-up here than before Brno – something we found in the test there – and it’s definitely helping me through some of these flip-flop direction changes.
"I know what I’m in for tomorrow and I’m not expecting to find a full second in the morning. The main thing will be to see about the tyre choice if it is a lot cooler, as a lot of people are expecting.
"I’m really looking forward to racing in front of my fans, friends and family here at Indy and the plan is to get the best start possible, try to hang on to that front group as long as I can and just give the absolute maximum.”
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