Hayden: one of the great MotoGPs

Nicky Hayden may only have stood on the Catalunya podium once during his nine visits, but that doesn't stop the American admiring one of the MotoGP's 'great' events. Hayden finished runner-up at Catalunya for Honda during his 2006 title winning season - in a restarted-race following a huge accident involving Ducati team-mates Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau heading into turn on. Hayden's own three visits as a Ducati rider have yielded a best result of eighth. “Although I've struggled a bit at Catalunya the last few years, I do like the track, and it's one of the calendar's great GPs,” said Hayden. “It's pretty wide, open and fast, and it's really important to have good edge grip, especially in the last bit with all the long right-handers.” Hayden starts this weekend ninth in the championship, but just twelve points from fourth-placed Cal Crutchlow. The #69 is also aiming to put two-days of private testing at Mugello to good use. “Luckily we got some good weather in Mugello and were able to test a few things with set-up, and I look forward to taking them to a race to see if we've really done any progress,” he said.