Nicky Hayden is looking to sign off in style as he races a factory Ducati in Italy for the final time in MotoGP this weekend. The American hasn’t had the best of luck at Misano in his career but after a test there earlier this year, he hopes to be in a better position to challenge this time.
“Misano will be a bit bittersweet this year, as it’s my last GP in Italy for the Ducati Team. I can’t say I exactly love the track as I haven’t had great results there, but the atmosphere is great. It’s quite a difficult track because it’s pretty bumpy with average grip. We had a test there a couple months back, and maybe we can start the weekend off closer to the rest.”
Teammate Andrea Dovizioso saw his 100% finishing streak end at Silverstone last time out but like Hayden, the Italian also enters this weekend with added optimism.
“We did a couple of days of testing there one month ago so we should be able to start with a good base and I think we can make a good race there. Misano is quite a slow circuit for the MotoGP bikes, but I like this track because it’s special for me. I made my first race there after moving up from minibikes, it went in a different direction than now, but for me Misano is always Misano!”
