Hayden wraps up Jerez test on top

The majority of the 2008 MotoGP field having left Jerez after Monday's post-GP test sessions, there were just four premier class riders in attendance at the southern Spanish track on Tuesday, with Nicky Hayden leading the way in terms of times.

Despite original suggestions that he might not even be present for the second day of testing, Hayden put in one of his typical marathon shifts in search of improvements to his Honda RC212V-Michelin package, completing 86 laps and notching a best time of 1´38.940 on qualifying tyres at the end of the day.

Hayden explained the day´s activities, saying, `Everything went real smooth. We did a lot a work with Michelin, tried to check a few tyres´ durability, and I was able to string together a few high 1´39s on race tyres, which we were pretty happy with.´

`We also tuned the bike a little bit, tuned the rider too, worked on a few things, and overall it´s been a real positive day. We´ve got the chassis working good, now we need to work on the engine because we´re coming up to some tracks with big long straights.´

The American´s Repsol Honda colleague Dani Pedrosa, the race winner in Sunday´s superb 800cc Gran Premio bwin.com de España contest, was second on the timesheet.

Although the sunshine was present yet again at the Andalusian track, conditions were not ideal - with strong winds blowing dust and debris onto the circuit, prompting Pedrosa to curtail his work at around 3.30pm.

The only other MotoGP participants on Tuesday were Rizla Suzuki riders Chris Vermeulen and Loris Capirossi, third and fourth respectively and playing catch-up in terms of testing at Jerez, where they spent less time than most of their rivals over the winter, having privately tested in Australia in November.

Also putting in some hard work today were Olivier Jacque (Kawasaki) and William Costes (Michelin), both French test riders focusing on their individual tasks, with Jacque getting closer to the MotoGP stars in terms of times as he went round just over a second slower than Capirossi.

Jerez post-Gran Premio bwin.com de España Tuesday test times (number of laps in brackets)

1. N. HAYDEN, Repsol Honda - 1´38.940 (86)
2. D. PEDROSA, Repsol Honda - 1´40.099 (41)
3. C. VERMEULEN, Rizla Suzuki - 1´40.184 (44)
4. L. CAPIROSSI, Rizla Suzuki - 1´40.776 (24)
5. O. JACQUE, Kawasaki Racing - 1´41.852 (47)
6. W. COSTES, Michelin - 1´42.581 (72)