Marlboro Ducati's Nicky Hayden will not be shedding any tears when he says goodbye to the 800cc era on Sunday night at the Valencia MotoGP finale, half-joking he would have preferred a step straight up to 1200cc bikes which echoes the thoughts of fellow American Colin Edwards.
The 2006 world champion has had a rough time in the 800cc era, having to cope with a bike that won't let hi ride the way he wants so a return to 1000cc power is a boon for the Kentuckian. He wouldn't, however, be drawn on whether he will be using a full aluminium frame when testing commences on Tuesday, saying: "I'm just riding, I let the guys in the garage look after the technical stuff."
"I'm not going to be sad on Sunday night when they're gone. I would have been happier if they has just moved to 1200s instead of 1000s but truthfully, I am looking forward to the weekend. The last couple of races we haven't really got a result on Sunday but the gap to the front has been closer, especially in Japan and Malaysia, than it has been all year," said Hayden, speaking to bikesportnews.com.
"On Monday, Filippo (Preziosi) is going to give everyone the rundown on all the technical stuff we're testing but I'm looking forward to trying new bikes and Bridgestone have got new tyres."
