By Larry Lawrence

Nicky Hayden recently re-signed with Ducati for the 2013 season. The announcement ended considerable speculation on where the 2006 MotoGP World Champion might surface. Some speculation focused on a possible link to World Superbike. While Hayden gave no specifics on teams or series he considered for next season, he did say he had one thing in mind all along.

“My main objective was always to stay in MotoGP,” Hayden said. “It is the pinnacle of our sport, and that is where I wanted to be and hang in there and hopefully get back to the front. So, of course, I wasn’t ready and I didn’t know how negotiations were going to go and did have a bit of interest from some other series. But it was nothing that excited me. It was something that I would consider if it got down to it, but I was going to ride something and I wasn’t just going to come home and ride the couch just yet. I wanted to do everything possible to stay in MotoGP and it had to get worked out.”

In spite of challenges Ducati has faced this year – which undoubtedly cost them the services of Valentino Rossi, who is heading back to Yamaha – Hayden still believes Ducati has the elements in place to produce a championship-winning motorcycle in 2013.

“Of course I believe that, or I certainly wouldn’t have agreed to come back for another year,” Hayden explained. “I believe we have the pieces and the resources and certainly this year we just haven’t made it happen. I see a lot of effort going in, but Laguna wasn’t a great weekend for us. We struggled a lot going in, and before that we came from Mugello, where I would say me and Valentino, I would say we as a team had out best dry race that we have had in two years. So that was really encouraging.

“Every now and then, we catch a little hope and see a little light, and we think now things are going in that direction. Right now, there isn’t a lot that we can do, but after summer break we have a test in Misano after the Czech Republic race, and there we are going to try a few things. And we have some difference chassis parts coming in later in the season, and I certainly believe in this team and believe in this bike. And I think they have done it before, and there is no reason why they can’t do it again. We have been off a bit, but if everything comes right, certainly there is no reason why Ducati can’t be completely competitive in MotoGP or in any series.”

Hayden went on to say that Ducati’s new owner, automaker Audi, should give the MotoGP effort an even better shot at doing well in 2013.

“Audi is a great partner for Ducati, both financially and technically,” he said. “If you have to be partnered with somebody, I see a strong company and something new and fresh, and that is one of the reasons I was so excited about coming back for another year and see what we can do. How quick it is going to change? I don’t know, really. That takes time, and that isn’t something that just a couple of engineers are going to show up and whatever. Like anything, it is going to take real work and real time, and I see it as a big positive for Ducati, for a race team, for everything.”

Indy’s MotoGP is coming up next weekend and Hayden considers it his home race and has been the main spokesperson for the race since it inaugurated in 2008. He says he’s happy to be the pitchman for the race and says he tries to keep the race in perspective even though it’s the one where it seems nearly half of his hometown of Owensboro is in attendance.

“MotoGP promotes itself. It is the show, not me,” Hayden explained. “But it is my home race. Laguna is an American round, but my true home race, I have to consider Indy. It is only three hours away, just across the bridge, so a lot more of my friends and family come to the race, and I grew up racing a lot in Indiana. Dirt tracks and even road racing there, so I consider it much more my home. I do enjoy and I do feel some obligation to promote the race and give back to here and there. But once I get there, it is business as usual, and I cannot change my routine too much.”