The Ducati Marlboro Team completed their final test of 2008 yesterday with Nicky Hayden fifth fastest at the end of a day that saw a particularly late start to the action on track.

Despite slightly warmer temperatures than Wednesday, overnight rain made for a damp track surface until the early afternoon.

Hayden took to the track shortly before 2pm and he steadily improved his pace with each outing. The American worked calmly and methodically despite the limited time available as he continued to get comfortable with the Ducati and Bridgestone tyres. Both the rider and the team were satisfied with his progress.

"We've made a big improvement today. It was important to have back-to-back days with similar conditions because at Valencia we only had one dry day and we weren't able to check that the changes we made to the bike overnight had worked. Today my feeling with the bike was much better from the first run and it is important that we've taken over a second and a half off my best time from yesterday”, he said. “We are still a second off the top guys and I know the last second is the most difficult to find but at the same time we're less than a tenth off third fastest and the team is working well, I feel more and more comfortable with the bike and tyres and I can head home with a clear mind. I was pleased that Casey wanted to be here at the test. It has been useful to speak with him and Filippo (Preziosi) and it shows how tight the team is and how well everybody wants to do next season! I just want to finish by saying 'Happy Thanksgiving' to everybody in America!"

The next on-track appointment for the Ducati Marlboro Team is a three-day test from 5th-7th February 2009 at the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia.

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