MotoGP: Hayden happy with Ducati switch

"Oh say, can you see..."

NICKY HAYDEN says he's happy with his switch to Ducati after the first day's testing on the GP9 bike in Valencia yesterday.

The former World Champion has made the switch from Repsol Honda to partner Casey Stoner on the factory Ducatis. After his first outing in the two day test, which saw him complete a total of 79 laps, he said: "I enjoyed it and I can see that the potential is huge. I know it´s going to be a lot of hard work, but I´m not ready to go and hang myself either! I felt pretty comfortable with the bike, the team and everything. It has been a very intense day and full of many things to test and to understand, but it was exactly as I expected it to be.

"When I got in the first time I told my brother (Tommy) that I´m not sure what they pay Casey, but it´s not enough! They need to double it because the bike is a bit of an animal. I really want it to work. I want it to work so bad that it´s scary, and we´re up for it."

And what a paint job. No one can say Ducati haven't made an effort to make the American welcome!