French tyre manufacturer Michelin's tyre selection for Laguna Seca was too hard for conditions, leaving its runners struggling to generate enough heat and grip over the weekend.
And although Hayden's chances of challenging at the front on home soil were dashed by Michelin's troubles, the American is at least thankful for the lessons it taught him about the handling of his Repsol Honda machine.
"Obviously at my home race I'd hoped to be able to put up a better fight than that," he said. "It was certainly a tough weekend, we struggled a bit with the tyres we had available.
"We really had only two race tyres. The one I used in practice I kept using again and again. I used it Friday, Saturday and again on race morning. By the end it had 35 laps on it.
"I think I learned a good lesson, as we set up the bike on quite old tyres. In the race when we put on a grippy new race tyre, the balance of the bike changed a lot. It was pushing the front in a lot of places.
"I would've liked to have been closer to the front but I think we learned a good lesson. Now we've got a few weeks off, so we'll regroup and try to finish the year strong."
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