Nicky Hayden looking for his place among the top MotoGP riders
We talked to the Repsol rider, who is facing his second season in the World Championship with firmness
Nicky Hayden’s arrival to the World Championship last year wasn’t easy at all. Despite arriving to the MotoGP class carrying the AMA Superbike title, starting with the strongest team and sharing the garage with the World No. 1, a rider capable of outshining anyone who would get close, and at the young age of 22, wasn’t, let’s say, the most discreet way to enter this highly contended world. The beginnings of young Hayden weren’t easy; his lap times were far from the top times, he didn’t know the circuits, he had to adapt to a very different life-sytle….. However, the rider from Kentucky never lost calm, he focussed on working with his people and bit by bit he managed to improve his times until clinching two podium finishes at the end of the season and the overall fifth place. One year later Nicky shows himself much more mature and ready to do big things in the Motorcycle World Championship. Time has come to claim a place among the best.This year’s Nicky Hayden has already a season of experience, he knows all the circuits, he’s been on the podium and he’s finished the season in fifth place. What are Nicky Hayden’s aspirations for 2004? ‘Last season was quite heavy but I’m very proud of the experience it meant to me. My aim for this season is to move on and to get to the next level: winning races and fighting for the championship. We just made some tests, which allowed us to improve a lot. This is the right way to follow.’Do you feel a lot more pressure or do you feel comfortable with the situation you’re facing this year? ‘I don’t feel especially under pressure, I feel very comfortable. I actually feel less pressure than last year, less than any other rider. I really don’t think that Biaggi, Gibernau and other riders that have been doing this for a lot more time feel much more pressure.’Does this mean an advantage for you, even over your team-mate? ‘Yes, I think it does.’Rossi’s absence and Barros’ presence as your new team-mate; is it something positive or negative for Nicky Hayden? ‘I really like Alex, he seems to be a nice guy, but I wouldn’t want to despise Valentino. He’s been a good companion, even when we had to fight. I respect him a lot, especially since he decided to accept the challenge of leaving Honda and moving to Yamaha, but I’m happy that he changed the team. It’s no secret that he was the team’s number one, therefore he had priority and I didn’t get neither the best pieces nor anything. Things have changed now, for me it’s much better since Valentino is gone.’Which are Nicky Hayden’s strongest points and what does he have to continue working on? ‘I think that we have improved all aspects, I don’t think that there’s any special area where we are weak. We got more speed and consistency. I think that we’re working much better with the team and there’s a lot more understanding, but there are still things to be improved.’This season you’ll be racing on circuits you already know, except for Qatar; does this mean a great difference with respect to last year? ‘Sure. last year I spent the Championship learning the circuits, so I always got to the races with a disadvantage. Although the problem wasn’t really racing on new circuits. The biggest problem was racing on tracks with completely different features to those I was used to. Circuits are different in Europe compared to the U.S.. Tracks are narrower, more twisty and with a lot of unevenness there.’Does the 2004 Repsol Honda RC211V have important improvements with regard to the 2003 version? ‘There are no big changes. They are always working at Honda. They started with a good bike and now it’s even better. Better engine, better chassis… it’s much better in general, I like it.’Part of the bike’s evolution will surely be in your charge. Are you ready for it? How do you feel facing such a big responsibility? ‘I’m excited with the idea. Being in the best team and feeling so well surrounded and supported by my team technicians and mechanics. I hope to be able to rise to the occasion, to be capable of giving good information to the team and I think I can do it. Working together we’ll be able to make great things.’Will you have the same technicians as last year? ‘I’ll basically have the same people. I’m very happy because we worked very well together. This season will be easier in principle because we understand each other very well and there will be little difference with regard to last season.’Who do you think will be the leader, the number one of the Repsol Honda Team?’I think it’s very even. I really don’t think that there is number one or two, but who knows…’What do you think will happen in South Africa this year? ‘I’m no fortune-teller but I think it’ll be fantastic, we’ll have a lot of fun. I hope it’ll be as exciting and funny as the rest of the season. Last year was very hard but I enjoyed it a lot. This year I feel much more relaxed and I think that it’ll be real fun. I enjoy everything the World Championship has to offer: the atmosphere is incredible and the fans treat me very well. I hope to do good races for them. But there isn’t much I can say about South Africa, if you want, we can speak again on Sunday after the race…’Main rivals in 2004? ‘Right now, Valentino Rossi is still the man to be beaten, but you cannot look for a single MotoGP rider, because this is the best championship of the world and this is where the best riders of the planet are. That’s probably the best, this class is so contended. I think that this year we’ll have a good show every Sunday.’Which riders have you seen stronger and faster here, in Malaysia? ‘As I already told you, until anybody else proves the contrary, Valentino Rossi is the strongest. Max Biaggi, Sete Gibernau, Alex Barros… they’re very experienced riders with good bikes and I’m sure that they feel that this is their big chance to make it.’The Rossi effect, an illusion or is it something serious… because your team-mate Barros was already riding fast during the 2003 preseason with Yamaha and then… Do you think Valentino will be able to win races from the beginning? ‘Who knows. I cannot waste my time worrying about others. I have to worry about myself and about my team and about being ready to be strong on the track and give it all. That’s what my team, the sponsors and the fans expect from me.’
