Nicky Haden, who is currently going into his 11th Moto GP year and his 5th with the Ducati team, spoke at the Red Bull Indianapolis GP teleconference last week where he outlined what has been happening with Ducati recently and what fans can expect in 2013. In many ways this year is mean't to be big for the Italian outfit given their disappointing showing in 2011 and 2012 and supporters have pinned their hopes on the likes of Hayden to deliver in 2013 however it is a bigger ask than they think. The first Ducati testing in Sepang earlier this year did not get off to the best start given that Hayden and his partner Andrea Dovizioso struggled massively on the Malaysian circuit. Both ended at the back end of the top 10 and this was not something that Ducati were expecting given that this year was supposed to be a break from the past in some ways. While the second testing went slightly better the fact still remained that it was not as successful as it could or should have been. Well, unfortunately I would say there wasn't a huge breakthrough [a Sepang] ... It is clear that we still have a lot of work to do, but we left there feeling a little bit more positive with some of the new things that we tested. It was stuff that we tried, we kind of hit on a couple things, so it was nice to find direction. If I am honest, the flight home after the first test was pretty rough. - Nicky Hayden That being said, fans who were expecting a massive revolution in Ducati's set up will be disappointed this season according to Hayden. This should be seen as a year of evolution or transition as opposed to one where everything changes quickly according to the Kentucky native. The new ownership by Audi and the new management haven't shaken this up as much as they might have and this is a good thing according to the Ducati rider. No, I would say inside the team there is not huge changes. Most of my core guys are pretty much the same. A lot of the same engineers that we have had and of course on Dovi's side there are a lot of new faces. But for me there hasn't been too much change in that regard. Of course, a new management style and a little bit of a different approach, but I would say they haven't come in and turned things upside down at the moment. -Nicky Hayden Hayden also went into detail about the changes of technology he was witnessed over the years when it comes to the bikes that he rides. The electronics are the biggest change he has witnessed over the years. Furthermore, he is also looking forward to kicking off the season with team mate Andrea Dovizioso. While he admitted that himself and Valentino Rossi, who spent 2 barren years at the Italian outfit, got on well, Hayden admits that working alongside such a big name was a challenge and the prospect of having a season away from the pressure is welcomed even if Rossi did bring some benefits to the side. Well, I really feel like we need to move on past the two years with Valentino and we didn't get the results that we wanted. Some of it there was a lot of pressure on the teams and the engineers and at times maybe we tried too hard and tried to make progress too quick. Probably maybe even took a few steps backward without even making any real progress. But then again, it had a lot of benefits. When he talked, people listened, and he did get stuff done in a hurry. So I would say it went both ways with us. - Nicky Hayden The issue of the integration of the satellite team and the official Ducati racing team was also discussed. The 2006 Moto GP winner explained that, traditionally, there has also been a close link between Ducati and its satellite team and this is no different after the Audi takeover with Ben Spies and Andrea Iannone taking full advantage of everything that the Ducati team can offer. Indeed, they worked together at Sepang and this was particularly useful for Iannone who has no Moto GP background to speak off coming, as he has, from the Grand Prix. Finally, the issue of the 2013 bike that the team will be laying their hopes on this year was discussed and while it is considered a step forward by Hayden there was one drawback: That [front end feel] is something that we have been fighting for a couple of years now so we need to solve that before we can look at the other stuff. I mean we have a couple of different little issues. The front-end feel, front end turning it is more or less I would say goes under the same category, and I would say goes under the same issues. - Nicky Hayden The conference presented a good insight into the 2013 year for Ducati and showed that while progress has undoubtedly been made so far especially since the Audi takeover there is still some way to go before Ducati is back. However, with the dedicated and enthusiasm of Hayden and the partnership that he seems to be making with Dovizioso then the comeback should happen sooner rather than later.
