Hayden: Honestly, it wasn't going to work...

MotoGP World Championship leader Nicky Hayden scored his second premier-class victory - and Honda's 200th - under the most dramatic of circumstances at Assen on Saturday.

Hayden's breakthrough win was secured after a breathtaking duel with fellow American Colin Edwards, which saw both riders run off at the last corner of the famous 4.555km Dutch track.

The 24-year-old had stalked Edwards for the entire race, at first fighting just to keep in touch, but then "changed lines a little bit" to find extra pace that allowed him to catch the Camel Yamaha rider - and take the lead with less than two laps to go.

The Repsol Honda rider's inside lunge had unintentionally forced Edwards down an escape road and the Texan rejoined 1.2secs back - but, against the odds, was able to vaporise that Kentuckian's advantage within a lap, before retaking the lead with just a few corners to go.

However - despite his championship position - Hayden had no intention of settling for yet another second place and launched a last-gasp around-the-outside out-braking manoeuvre into the final chicane. The audacious attempt, which Nicky later admitted "wasn't going to work" caused him to run straight on after he hit a false neutral, but Edwards also over-cooked it and fell as he clipped the grass, leaving Nicky to collect his first victory outside of the USA.

The win, combined with damage limitation rides from the injured Valentino Rossi and Loris Capirossi, has extended Hayden's lead in the riders' championship to 42 points - now over team-mate Dani Pedrosa - while the former AMA Superbike champion has also scored Honda's 200th victory in the top class of grand prix racing.

"It was a wild one today and I definitely enjoyed it - it's just a really good day for me," smiled Nicky after the podium celebrations. "I'm proud to win for Repsol Honda and really proud to score Honda's 200th win in the top class of grand prix too.

"My start wasn't the best and I saw Colin up there and thought I've really got to try and get on the back of him because his race pace has been so good all weekend. I was just holding on for the whole race and knew I had to do something different. So I changed my lines a little bit in the middle part of the track that made a huge difference.

"At the end of the race I felt really good and really strong. Going into the last chicane he was going in so deep so I used a move I used on Hopkins earlier in the race," revealed Hayden, before admitting: "Honestly, it wasn't going to work and I caught neutral, but he ran off the track too. Huge thanks to my team and everyone working around me at Repsol Honda, and also to Michelin. I've been wearing my tyre on the rear pretty hard this weekend, but in the race they came through perfectly for me."

"It was a fantastic race and the excitement has left me elated and exhausted!" gasped Repsol Honda team manager Makoto Tanaka. "Since we arrived in Assen it has not been easy for us, but Nicky really focussed this weekend and worked to improve his race set-up until the last minute. He has been very patient for this first win of the season and nobody can say he didn't deserve it.

"I'd like to take this opportunity to again say congratulations and thank you to Nicky. Also, Honda achieved 200 premium class GP victories today and this gives us good momentum for Donington, which can be quite a difficult track, and we need to use this energy to make us strong there," he concluded.

The British Grand Prix at Donington Park, round nine of seventeen, takes place next weekend.