According to Nicky his crash got made worse when he was sliding into the trackside gravel trap with a high speed. As soon as Nicky hit the gravel he flipped into the air and suffered his injury as a results.

Nicky Hayden compared his crash with the ones of Alex Barros at the end of 2005 and Valentino Rossi’s crash in Assen last year. Both suffered injuries after being flipped into the air once they hit the gravel.

Nicky Hayden told MCN:

“I’m not complaining but I think we can improve the safety a little bit with the gravel traps. The gravel honestly is still a little bit thick.

I’ve talked to some guys about it. If you look at Barros in Phillip Island, Rossi in Assen and now me in Le Mans, you hit it and just go flipping.

You definitely need it there, especially in the rain because I picked up speed when I started sliding in the first little bit in Le Mans.”

Jerez (Spain): “Jerez is a circuit I know quite well because we’ve done a lot of winter testing there. It’s a circuit where it’s hard to find the limit but it is also has one of the best layouts of the championship. The atmosphere during the grand prix is incredible; the Spanish fans see the race as a big party and it’s always impressive to see the grandstands packed with people.”

Istanbul (Turkey): “Turkey doesn’t remind me of any other track. It’s got a lot of elevation changes which means you’ve got to get a good suspension set-up – something that’s going to work in the flat corners but also be ok for the uphill and downhill corners too. Probably the favourite part for me is turn 11. It’s the fastest corner on the calendar – fifth gear with the throttle almost wide open. If you like fast corners it doesn’t get a whole lot better than that. The last little bit of the circuit I don’t like much because it’s a bit too tight for MotoGP – first gear and really go-kartish.”

Shanghai (China): “My favourite thing about China is that I really like the surface. I’m sure the layout is great for Formula One car racing but for motorcycles it’s too much of a stop-and-go track. It’s got some sections that are really cool though. The long right-hander heading onto the back straightaway is probably my favourite part. And the back straightaway goes on for ages, even at 200mph. It just goes and goes and goes, before you hit the hardest braking point on the circuit. It’s also a wide track so there are definitely some different lines you can take. The facility is amazing – it’s ridiculous how much those cats have spent on the place.”

Le Mans (France): “It’s a very hard track, probably one of the hardest of the championship. The asphalt is in bad condition, it’s very slippery and it gets worse when it rains. The layout isn’t bad, but the surface is probably the worst of the championship.”

Mugello (Italy): “It was a very difficult track for me to learn, but it’s one of the most incredible circuits I’ve ever seen. It’s built on an impressive site, on top of a hill, and it needs a very good set-up. I always look forward to racing at Mugello.”

Catalunya (Spain): “It’s a track that combines a lot of things. It has two completely different parts: first a bumpy section, which was repaved not long ago, and another section in the middle that feels totally different to ride. The set-up of the bike is very important; you need to find a balance to make it work on both sections. Like Mugello, it’s one of the circuits where you hit a really high top speed.”

Donington Park (Great Britain): “It’s a very narrow circuit and really bumpy; it remains me of American tracks. It’s a track where technique is very important because of the blind corners. You have to ride with confidence and push hard, and you don’t get chance to relax.”

Assen (Holland): “This is one of my favourite circuits on the calendar. It’s fun to ride, very fast and completely different to any other MotoGP circuit. It’s a special place that you need time to get used to. It was too bad that they made the changes last year, because they took away some of the beauty of the place.”

Sachsenring (Germany): “It’s a left-hand track and with my dirt track experience riding on the left-hand side is pretty easy. It’s also a track with two different parts. It’s very narrow at the beginning but then it becomes wider towards the end of the lap. Overtaking is quite difficult, especially at the beginning of the lap, so you need to start high on the grid and make a good start to avoid falling behind.”

Laguna Seca (USA): “I think Laguna’s the best track on the calendar for me – it’s a real rider’s track. There are parts where you’ve got to be really smooth but there are also spots where you’ve got to be very aggressive too. Turn One and the Corkscrew are the ones that everybody talks about – those take a lot of guts. I like it because it’s different. There isn’t another track in the world that’s got a Corkscrew like that – the drop away is so big. It’s a tough track, some people find it a little bit bumpy and it’s not the widest so it’s pretty tight on a MotoGP bike. It’s no secret they need to work on the safety a bit, but they’ve been working really hard to make it safer since we went there.”

Brno (Czech Republic): “One of the best circuits on the world championship. It’s a wide and flowing track, ideal for racing and it’s difficult to break away. It’s a great place to make up places, because there are quite a few good braking points that are perfect for overtaking.”

Misano (San Marino): “I’ve never raced there before, just like most of the world championship riders. They’ve also changed the track direction and are still making changes now, so we’re all going to go there with a level playing field. Fortunately the guys from the Superbike World Championship are going to race there before we do, so we’ll get to learn something about the track from their two races.”

Estoril (Portugal): “It’s quite a hard track. It has a lot of unevenness and the layout is a bit different, with ups and downs and very tight corners. I crashed a couple of times there last year. It’s not an easy circuit.”

Motegi (Japan): “It has a lot of hard braking points and the surface is unusual. I like the tunnels and bridges a lot, they make it more fun. The final section is good as well; there are a series of difficult cambers where you have to brake hard.”

Phillip Island (Australia): “It’s my favourite circuit. The atmosphere and the location on top of a hill, surrounded by the ocean, are fantastic. Its main problem is the wind and the seagulls. Two years ago I hit one of them and it was really dangerous.”

Sepang (Malaysia): “I’ve done a lot of laps on this circuit because we’ve spent several days testing here. It isn’t an easy circuit because it’s really long and wide. It was hard to get used to at first but, in general, I think that it’s a good circuit because it has a bit of everything. Tight corners, fast sections… The grip level is very important because the track temperature increases a lot in the afternoon.”

Ricardo Tormo (Valencia): “I also like this track because somehow it reminds me of the American tracks, narrow and twisty. I think that it’s one of those tracks that needs a more aggressive riding style. I like the layout because it makes for close racing, although overtaking isn’t easy.”

Source: Crash.net

Nicky Hayden’s brother Tommy has been trying to help the world champion adapt to riding his 800cc bike after his difficult start to the season.

The American is already 28 points behind Valentino Rossi in the standings after just two races, and his brother, who races in the AMA Superbike series in America, visited him at the post-event test in Spain last week.

“I have to say a big thanks to Tommy for coming over and trying to help me adjust to the new style needed to ride the 800.

To have somebody to talk to about a few things, there’s nobody better than my big brother.”

Hayden also praised his Repsol Honda team, and said that he feels they are completely behind him as he tries to get back to the front of the field.

“I really believe that the team and HRC are behind me. They want results just as bad as me, and we’re going to get things straight.”

American cable television network MTV is to make a series of programmes following Nicky Hayden’s championship defence throughout the 2007 season.Following a successful pilot programme made over the winter, MTV bosses gave the green light for a further run of programmes.

A crew was present at the Estoril and Valencia races last season – ironically the most emotional of races for the Honda/Hayden combination – and it is this drama that MTV hope to capture throughout the season.

Cameras are expected to follow Hayden not just at the race track, but at home in Kentucky and at promotional appearances all over the world.

It is expected that the show will air in the latter part of the year.

America’s TV presence is growing with the Red Bull US Grand Prix being aired live on the FOX channel this year after a new deal was recently announced.

I’d love to say ‘hey! I’m so great and everything’s perfect!’ but it’s been a tough off season, recovering from my shoulder operation, but I’m excited to go racing.

Question:
How much has changed since the final race of 2006?

It’s been a big change. I’ve really liked riding the 800 more and more – the more I’ve ridden it the more I’ve liked it – so I’m excited to find out what it’s really about when the lights go out in Qatar.

Question:
Can you tell us about the development and evolution of the new RC212V since the first time you got on the bike?

The bike has changed quite a lot – or not so much really; I think we’re just riding them differently. We’ve now got a better understanding of how to ride them, but we’ll really find out when the racing starts.

Question:
Was the Qatar test the lowest moment for you during the off-season?

Yeah, I feel a lot better than I did in Qatar. That was tough, but this ain’t an easy game. It’s never easy. There’s definitely gonna be hard days along the way but you just gotta keep your head up, keep positive and keep fighting.

Question:
So who do you think your main rivals will be this year?

You know, MotoGP – there’s no sleepers. It’s a tough paddock all the way down. I think maybe some of the people on the outside don’t realise that, but these guys are all really tough. Just looking at this [Jerez] test, Dani and Valentino are obviously looking really strong, but you never know – anybody can surprise you on any given Sunday.

Question:
Presumably, your aim this season is for nothing less than another world championship?

Yeah, definitely. That title took everything I had to win and I know to keep it is going to be even harder, but that’s my target. That’s priority number one. And to have fun, that’s when I ride my best. I’m a lucky dude, I get paid to race a motorcycle – it could be a lot worse. So I’m going to try to have fun this year and keep improving.

Question:
It seems that the 2006 championship only finished yesterday, but now we’re just about to start the new season…

Yeah, it’s time to go racing. I’m ready.

Source: Crash.net

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