"We'll come out swinging."

Even MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden knows that the successful defense of his World Championship crown may well prove to be more difficult than winning the title last year. In the second part of our interview, Nicky talks about his fiercest rivals, about Dani Pedrosa and the Red Bull Rookies Cup.

Your team mate Dani Pedrosa has been ahead of you in testing a few times. How do you intend to turn the battle between team mates to both your advantages in 2007 and avoid mistakes such as Estoril 2006?

Me and Dani, we’re cool. I mean we aren’t hanging out and riding supermotard together but we’re team mates and I think in some ways, even though our styles are pretty different, he and I need to work together and get these Repsol Hondas finishing one-two where they belong.

Will there be team orders this season if one of you is clearly ahead after the first few races, or do you and Dani have equal status within the team?

Yeah, me and Dani, we have equal status within the team and I think that’s healthy. It’s too early to make predictions about what happens if this or that situation arises. That’s one of the things I love about racing – you just can’t predict how it’s going to turn out until the chequered flag.

Whom do you regard as your fiercest rival this season in your bid to defend your crown?

Obviously Rossi’s going to be strong – that dude’s record speaks for itself and I’ve made him mad by stealing his crown so he’s definitely going to come out fighting. But there are a lot of riders that could be a threat – there are no sleepers in MotoGP and the field is so deep. My team mate Dani Pedrosa will be strong too and some of the other teams have been going well in testing, so it looks like being another tight season.

The new season also sees the start of the Red Bull Rookies Cup at MotoGP events. What do you think of the concept?

I think it’s great that Red Bull is supporting young riders and giving them a path into racing.

How much of an advantage do you think the Red Bull Rookies will have against other young riders?

Any guidance and help that rookie riders can get when they’re starting out is really valuable – and it’s not just with the bikes and the riding – the sponsors, media and fitness training are really important too.

Would you also have liked to participate in such a series if you'd had the opportunity?

I got a lot of crucial support and help from my family when I was starting out and I still do now, but the Red Bull Rookies programme is definitely something I would have loved to be involved with when I was younger.

To finish, tell us how you rate your own chances and give us three reasons why you will become World Champion again in 2007!

Well, I’m going to give it my best shot, you can be sure of that. I believe in my skills and winning the World Championship has given me a lot of confidence. I know it’s not going to be easy and keeping the crown could be harder than winning it in the first place – that’s life. But I’ve got a great team behind me, and me and my boys are working really well together. We’re going to be ready for that first race in Qatar and we’ll come out swinging.