Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/188118
INTERVIEW P56 NICKY HAYDEN " I STILL GOT AN ITCH TO TRY TO GET THAT DIRT TRACK WIN, THOUGH. " know a lot better in MotoGP, and was definitely able to ride through a lot of problems. But we went backwards since then. People ask me: 'Could Stoner still be winning on this bike?' In my opinion, no. In 2010 when he won a couple of races – he won at Aragon and I was third, he won again at Phillip Island and I was fourth when Rossi beat me on the last lap. So he has got more out of this bike than anyone I've ever seen, but when we were teammates there and he did win, it wasn't like I was 10th, 40 seconds back, like it is now. So I don't think he would be able to make up that gap, but I'm sure he could get it closer to the podium than we're doing. But I don't think he would win on it, in my opinion. Looks like you'll be riding an Aprilia next year. Yeah – nothing official. Still a couple of things to be worked out to get it done, but it's looking really close on that. Don't want to speak about it too much until we have it all done. I wondered what you expect. - Nicky Hayden Andrea Dovizioso said in Germany that Aleix Espargaro's Aprilia was quicker round the corners than his Ducati, and faster at the bottom end. It's true, you can see the chassis works well with him. He is getting a lot out of that bike. The chassis works really good in the corner; turns in well, and is able to keep the line. That'll be a nice change for you. Yeah… I said before I hate to leave Ducati with no results and realize that this dream is over, but on the other hand I'm ready to try something different and see what I can still do on a different bike. You know, there's still five races left. This is rider-talk I know, but it is true – I want to do my best. We know our best chance might be in mixed conditions, a flag-to-flag, and in Phillip Island and Malaysia there's still a lot of possibilities left. It'd be great to steal some kind of good result before it's over. What is your greatest pleasure on a MotoGP bike – phys- ical, mental or just the result? I think it's the result – leaving satisfied, knowing you did the best with that bike, did your job well. The bikes are fun to ride, but it's not just the riding. For me it's more about for me the achievement. I like the work, I like to be a grinder, to put in the process, and when it all comes together seeing it pay off. There's times when the bike's working good, and you think the lap might be a low 32 and it's a high 31, things are clicking, and that feels pretty good. But I haven't really felt that in a while, so… Did you ever imagine as a kid that you could make this kind of living just riding a motorcycle? I did dream that when I was a kid. I thought: 'I love this sport, I want to make a living out of it.' I seen my heroes racing at these tracks in front of these crowds, and thought: 'yeah, that's what I want to do.' But it's probably given me more than I expected; I got to see more than I imagined. But I had big dreams. I didn't dream that I wanted to be the fastest rider in Kentucky, and not make enough money to eat. What's the worst thing about the job? It's a frustrating game sometimes, when you feel you're doing all you can and the team is putting everything in and the results don't come. It's really frustrating. If you're putting in 80 percent