Hayden sees progress at Ducati Jerez test

Hayden sees progress at Ducati Jerez test

American handles bulk of three days’ testing after Dovisioso pulls out on first day due to aggravating neck injury

Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden made progress during three days of testing at the rain-hit Jerez circuit, with the Kentuckian carrying the bulk of the development load after new teammate Andrea Dovizioso aggravated a previous injury early on the first day.

The test was an important one for the Bologna factory which is looking to bounce back from two years of misery for riders Hayden and Valentino Rossi. The 2012 season was the first one in which Hayden didn’t score a podium since moving to the MotoGP World Championship in 2003. The season ended with both riders acknowledging that progress had been minimal over the past two seasons, which was evident from the results.

Ducati and new owner Audi recently revamped the MotoGP team, bringing in old hand Paolo Ciabbatti to run the show starting in January, while giving engineer Filippo Preziosi a lateral move. The Jerez tests were meant to serve as the basis for a new motorcycle which is meant to debut at the first test of 2013 in Sepang, Malaysia in early February.

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