Nicky Hayden is eyeing further progress with Honda's newly introduced pneumatic-valve RCV engine following an encouraging debut in the British Grand Prix as
MotoGP heads east to the Netherlands for the Dutch Grand Prix.
Seventh place at
Donington Park marked one of Hayden's best results of the season as the long awaited engine proved largely competitive and reliable in the hands of the former champion
It means Hayden is confident as he heads to Assen, a circuit he labels as one of his favourites. Indeed, the American believes the invaluable data on fuel consumption and tyre life collected under race conditions will help them progress further this weekend.
“I'm feeling pretty positive going into Assen,” he said. “We learned a lot about the new engine last weekend – fuel consumption, tyre life and so on – that we hope we will be able to put to good use at Assen.
“I've had some good results there in the past. It's certainly been one of my better tracks and it's always been a good Michelin track. You need a little bit of everything from the bike there, but the one thing that stands out is all the banked corners.”
