Hayden and Pedrosa experiencing turnaround in fortunes

The Repsol Honda Team experienced contrasting fortunes in qualifying for the bwin.com British Grand Prix, but for once it was Nicky Hayden who had the most problem-free time of things at Donington Park.

Continuing his rejuvenation with the pneumatic valve RC212V engine, the 2006 World Champion clocked the fourth fastest time of the wet Saturday session, and continues to show just why he had lobbied so vociferously for the more `rough and ready´ motor. Starting from the second row, Hayden can now consider himself in with a realistic chance of a podium and new season start at the Midlands track.

`I came away from Catalunya with a pretty clear idea of what I wanted, and I really pushed to use this engine and this chassis. So far things have been going great; I can´t say that I´ve had a single problem. No flashing lights or anything like that!´ said the American, willing to take the burden of the decision to run the new development on his shoulders.

`The mechanics have been working really hard since Catalunya. Now I´ve got to do my part when I´m racing it. Even if it rains we should be OK, Tadayuki Okada did a good enough job with the engine in Mugello when it rained.´

Whilst Hayden was enjoying the added grunt of the pneumatic valve engine, teammate Dani Pedrosa was experiencing a more difficult session in terms of placings. The Spaniard was neither excessively sore from his recent crashes nor battling with mechanical problems; the frantic last-minute hot laps simply relegated him down the field.

`The race won´t be easy tomorrow because I´ve got to start from the third row of the grid,´admits the 2006 Donington Park racewinner.

`This is a tight, one-line racetrack where overtaking can be quite difficult. But the main unknown is the weather. If it´s dry we already have some fairly clear ideas about machine set-up and tyre choice from yesterday´s two dry sessions. Today the bike felt fine in the wet but some of the riders were going very fast with an impressive rhythm. We were fast, but not fast enough.´