Marlboro Ducati's Nicky Hayden has knocked more than 1.5 seconds off yesterday's best laptime at the Jerez MotoGP test but knows he is still a second off the pace.

The American former MotoGP Champion reckons he is now more comfortable with the Desmosedici and new Bridgestone tyres, and also got some good feedback from team-mate Casey Stoner.

"We've made a big improvement today. It was important to have back-to-back days with similar conditions because at Valencia we only had one dry day and we weren't able to check that the changes we made to the bike overnight had worked," said Hayden.

"Today my feeling with the bike was much better from the first run and it is important that we've taken over a second and a half off my best time from yesterday. We are still a second off the top guys and I know the last second is the most difficult to find but at the same time we're less than a tenth off third fastest and the team is working well, I feel more and more comfortable with the bike and tyres and I can head home with a clear mind.

"I was pleased that Casey wanted to be here at the test. It has been useful to speak with him and Filippo (Preziosi) and it shows how tight the team is and how well everybody wants to do next season!"

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