"... 150 per cent for my friends and my team."

The inaugural Red Bull Indianapolis GP will take place on September 14. Nicky Hayden, 2006 World Champion, talks about the MotoGP race on America's most legendary circuit, losing with class and why he has no ambitions to be a male model.

The current edition of Men’s Vogue has you posing in an 800-dollar outfit in front of the Honda Test Track in Corona, California. How interested in fashion are you, Nicky?

I'm not. Music and sport are my life. To be honest, I felt pretty awkward in front of the camera.

At the Red Bull Indianapolis GP there won't just be one camera pointing at you, but 133 television cameras – a new MotoGP record. What kind of show are you intending to put on?

I realise that after such a botched season I shouldn't really have any great expectations. But I intend to give 150 per cent to bring home a good result: For my friends who'll be there, for my family, for the incredible team behind me and, of course, for myself as well.

Injury forced you to sit out the Grand Prix in Brno. Are you fully fit again now?

My foot isn't yet perfect, but it's okay. I'd hoped that the healing process would be much quicker, but you don't always get everything you want in life.

You christened the new Indianapolis circuit in spring. What are the key areas we should be looking out for on TV?

Certainly the famous Brickyard, which symbolises the significant history of the place. The circuit itself isn't challenging, it's relatively flat. But what makes Indianapolis so tricky are the different track surfaces. Adapting from one surface to another is the biggest challenge.

Indianapolis is also renowned for its charming traditions: the winner of the Indy 500 is given a glass of milk. The winner of the Brickyard 400 gets to kiss the bricks. What tradition would you introduce as winner of the MotoGP?

The playing of the national anthem would be enough for me. But I don't really want to think about things like that. Right now it would be way too presumptuous to think about possible victory.

Who do you think has what it takes to win in Indianapolis?

One of the top three in the rankings. Rossi is capable of winning anywhere, Stoner is incredibly quick and dangerous, and Dani is in with a good chance as well.

Theoretically he could even still win the World Championship. Do you think he can do it?

I think Dani's World Championship campaign is over. But of course, the craziest things can happen in motorsport.

Last season was full of disappointments. When do you learn most about your sport: in the year you win the World Championship, or in a year when nothing goes as you had hoped?

A tough question. I tend to think that it's the others who have learned something: you learn more about a champion when he loses than when he wins. When you're right at the top it's easy to show class. How somebody behaves when he loses says more about his character.

At the end of the season you will leave Honda after six years. According to rumours, you'll be riding for Ducati in 2009 – a motorbike which, the experts say, suits your style better than the Honda. How much can you tell us at this stage?

I can't reveal anything yet. And anyway, 2009 is still a long way off. What's important right now is Indianapolis. I only ever focus on the next GP.