Whoever is bringing the pallet of celebratory donuts to the media center at Misano for the fourth estate to feed upon after the official announcement that Nick Hayden will be joining Ducati in 2009 is made might want to see if they can stall the baker.

There will not be any kind of official announcement regarding a Hayden acquisition on Ducati's part at Misano, say top Ducati sources.

Moreover factory HRC contracts are quite specific and very explicit about the silly-season period of an HRC rider's contract. Meaning even if Hayden is leaving Honda for Ducati his contract spells out when he can talk about it.

Might there be an informal announcement or "official leak"? Always a possibility.