The Repsol Honda rider eventually finishing a distant fifth having started third, and had to fend off a queue of riders in the closing stages.
"I got a pretty good start and was certainly in the mix there for a couple of laps but they just had a little bit more pace everywhere," said Hayden.
"I tried to make up for it a few times on the brakes, but I just didn't have the pace."
Hayden had suspected that his qualifying performance might have been a false dawn, but hoped he could tag on to the lead pack on race day.
"I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but I had high expectations, I thought maybe we could get in there and find something extra for the race," said the American.
"We rode about as hard as we could and it got harder as the tyres went away."
He then successfully fended off Loris Capirossi, Colin Edwards, Shinya Nakano and Andrea Dovizioso in a tense battle in the closing stages.
"That pack was coming for me," said Hayden.
"I just tried to not make any mistakes, keep my rhythm and hold them off. I knew there was a couple of guys chasing but I didn't know there was that many coming for me."
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