"Everything changed with the incident in Portugal, where Dani made a mistake during the race and apologised for it afterwards," said Puig. "Nicky eventually won the title and Dani did what he had to do in Valencia, which was to help him. But from that point - even if Hayden denies it - all he's been doing has been talking about how Dani was 'weird' and bringing the people around Pedrosa into the subject. He shouldn't act like a hypocrite and say that he doesn't have a problem with Dani, because since that incident in Portugal I think he has talked to him about twice. He shouldn't involve Dani's manager in this just because he's jealous of another rider."
But Puig played down any rivalry between Pedrosa and Hayden, since Hayden 'was always behind him'.
"Honestly, and without trying to offend anyone, there was never a rivalry in the garage," he said. "Nicky won the title when Dani was in his first
MotoGP season, and since then there was no rivalry because he [Hayden] didn't get the results. On his own, Dani gained experience in this class and Nicky was always behind him, so Nicky has never been a serious rival."
Although Hayden hasn't won a race since 2006, he remains Honda's most recent MotoGP champion, with Pedrosa finishing second in 2007 and currently third in the 2008 standings with two rounds to go.
Hayden will switch to Ducati next season when Pedrosa, Honda's only MotoGP race winner since 2006 with four victories on the RC212V, will be partnered by
Andrea Dovizioso. Puig admitted that Pedrosa is under pressure to secure the title.
