Tough day for Hayden despite second fastest time

The top home rider at his favourite circuit on Friday, Nicky Hayden was performing his usual hard graft with the Repsol Honda RC212V. The top Michelin rider in a Bridgestone-heavy fastest ten, the `Kentucky Kid´ is determined to make something work for him this weekend.

Nicky Hayden – Second

`It´s been quite a tough day, to be honest. We´ve been trying to work around a few problems the best we can. We´re not completely happy with our tyre options this week, it´s tough saving some for the race, which makes it a tough weekend. This is a track I´ve gone well at in the past, but none of that counts now, I need to do it again. This afternoon the team´s done a good job, made a few changes to try and make the tyres work better. At the end I got going a little bit better but still the gap to Stoner is so far. We'll keep working hard and use all the time we´ve got. The support I´ve got here is unbelievable, man. I just can´t believe how these fans treat me. We´ll keep working hard and try and give the fans something so they´re not headed to the gate with five laps to go!´