Marlboro Ducati's Nicky Hayden reckons that although he would have liked more pre-season testing time on his Desmosedici GP9, it is now time to get serious as he prepares for his 100th GP start.

The American said that he would have liked to have been nearer the top of the test timesheets but having the opening round at Qatar couldn't be better as that is the track he would have chosen.

“It’s nice to be going racing again. The season is starting out much later than usual this year even though we haven’t been doing much testing. To be honest with you I’d like to have had a little more time with the bike in preseason but this is what we’ve got to deal with and now it’s time to get serious," said Hayden.

"If I could have chosen anywhere to be making my debut on the Ducati I would have chosen Qatar, where we had a good test session a few weeks ago, so I guess I’m lucky in that respect! I can’t hide the fact that I’d like to be closer to the front than where we’re at right now and further down the road in terms of the work we’ve got to do with the team but I’m still really pleased that the season is starting because I love the races, I love racing and I love competing against those other guys.

"I’m looking forward to getting out to Qatar, where the temperature should be a bit higher than it was in the test, and we’ll try to start out the season on the right foot by getting a decent result and enjoying myself as much as possible. I can’t believe it’s already been a hundred GP starts - I have really enjoyed them all… well some a lot more than others."