By Matthew Birt
Ducati believe new recruit Nicky Hayden is the man to prove that its factory V4 is not a bike only Casey Stoner can consistently fight for MotoGP wins on.
Only Stoner has managed to win consistently for the Bologna factory in the 800cc era while Loris Capirossi, Alex Barros and Marco Melandri have all floundered on the GP7 and GP8.
But factory team boss Livio Suppo reckons the Kentucky rider can buck the trend and he said: “I am sure he can adapt. I have always admired his never give up attitude. He has always pushed very hard and he is a rider that has proven to be able to adapt to different situations and to manage the stress. He won a world championship with consistency and I believe he is the perfect team-mate for Casey.”
Suppo said he recognised that Hayden was taking a risk, given the Ducati’s reputation for being a bike only Aussie Stoner has so far tamed.
“When you leave HRC, in theory it is a risk because that used to be the place everybody wanted to go. Now I think things are different with us winning the title. The days of everybody thinking to win you need a Honda are long gone", said Suppo.
Suppo said he had not needed to give Hayden the hard sell on his move away from Honda after the Japanese factory axed him earlier in late June.
“I have known Nicky for a long time and he knows we have a lot of respect for him and I felt like he was happy to join us from the beginning", said Suppo, who had consulted with Stoner before making a formal approach for Hayden.
“Casey thinks like me and he believes Nicky is the best team-mate possible", the Italian told MCN.
Source:
http://www.motorcyclenews.com