Marlboro Ducati's Nicky Hayden has tested the newly-surfaced Indianapolis Motor Speedway a couple of weeks ahead of the MotoGP circus' arrival at the American track.

Hayden took a Ducati 1198 for a ride earlier this morning over the recently refurbished IMS road course. Beginning on June 9, 2011, crews repaved 1.5 miles of the circuit from Turn 5 through Turn 16. The existing asphalt was ground and then repaved with fresh asphalt to create a surface consistent with the other sections of the course. The FIM, the worldwide sanctioning body of motorcycling, inspected and approved the repaved section of the circuit July 7.