I'm looking forward to this end part of the season, ... Riding the bike in Japan for a factory Honda rider is a real honour. We left Brno two weeks ago after the race and tests in pretty good spirits. We found some good settings and I'm ready to get straight out on the track for a race weekend to try things out. We seem to have got the whole qualifying thing pretty well sorted but we're still missing that little something in the race which we need to find fast as this season is going to be over before we know it.

Nicky Hayden