"I don't want to go back into having a cat and fight with words, back and forth with this guy and defend everything he said. I'm not even sure what I said once it got translated. I think I said something just about the fact that Puig basically runs our team, runs HRC at the moment. I really believe that,” Hayden said according to crash.net.
Moreover, the 27-year-old rider explained that his comments where incorrectly translated and what he was actually trying to say is that Puig did a very good job as a team manager.
“I do think Yamano has done a great job as a team manager - and that guy is in a tough, tough spot! I know he's got a lot of heat coming at him from all directions! That's basically what I said... I need to quit being a hypocrite I guess!” the American rider explained.
Talking about Puig's accusations that Hayden copied Pedrosa's bike settings, the 27-year-old rider denied the manager's comments and explained that he has never seen the Spanish rider's configuration.
“The stuff he said about sharing data is a joke and that's why I'm mad. I haven't seen Pedrosa's data for a long time. The truth is he sees everybody's data. Let's be clear about that. If it's me fastest or Dovizioso fastest, he sees everything,” Hayden concluded.
Nicky Hayden is currently sixth in the overall world championship table with 131 points, 78 points behind his teammate Dani Pedrosa who comes in third after Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner.
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