Nicky Hayden
American MotoGP World Champion (2006)
Nicholas Patrick Hayden (July 30, 1981 – May 22, 2017), nicknamed "the Kentucky Kid", was an American professional motorcycle racer who won the MotoGP World Championship in 2006.
Quick Facts
- Nationality
- American (Kentucky)
- Premier-class title
- 2006 (500cc, Repsol Honda)
- Teams
- Repsol Honda
- Ducati
- Honda
- Nickname
- The Kentucky Kid
- Status
- Retired (2017, following head injury)
Lore & Background
Hayden began racing motorcycles at a young age. He started his road racing career in the CMRA before progressing to the AMA Supersport Championship and then to the AMA Superbike Championship. He won the AMA title in 2002 and was approached by the Repsol Honda team to race for them in MotoGP in 2003. Hayden largely had mixed results in his first two seasons at Repsol Honda only getting four podiums. He then rallied in the 2005 season by scoring his first Grand Prix win at Laguna Seca, and finishing third in the standings at the end of the season. The next year, 2006, would be Hayden's best in motorcycle racing as he won the 2006 MotoGP world title, breaking Valentino Rossi's five-year consecutive streak. He remained with Honda for two more seasons without a win, before moving to Ducati for 2009. Hayden had five largely unsuccessful seasons at Ducati, with his highest championship position being a seventh place in 2010. He subsequently moved to the Honda Aspar team in 2014 where he raced for two seasons. Hayden moved to the Superbike World Championship with the Ten Kate Racing Honda team in 2016. He finished fifth in his first season in the Superbike World Championship with the highlight of his season being a win in Malaysia. For 2017 Hayden continued with the Red Bull Honda team (formerly Ten Kate Racing team). On May 17, 2017, Hayden was hit by a driver while riding his bicycle in Italy. He suffered a traumatic brain injury and died five days later in a local hospital. Hayden was posthumously inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2018.
Reader's Guide
Hayden was born in Owensboro, Kentucky. He started road racing with the CMRA, often against racers many times older. Hayden would often start races from the back of the grid because a family or crew member would have to hold his bike upright as his feet would not yet touch the ground. Later, at age 17, he was racing factory Honda RC45 superbikes while still in high school. In 1999, in just his second full season in the AMA Supersport Championship, Hayden won the title aboard a privateer Honda. In 2000 Hayden moved up to the AMA Superbike Championship, riding a Honda RC51 for the factory American Honda racing team. Despite it being his first full season on a 1000cc superbike, he finished second, losing out on the championship by only five points to multiple-time series champion Mat Mladin. In 2001, Hayden finished third, behind champion Mladin and runner-up Eric Bostrom. In the 2002 season, still riding the Honda RC51 superbike, he won the Daytona 200 en route to becoming the youngest ever AMA Superbike champion, defeating reigning triple champion Mladin, among others. He also entered the FIM World Superbike Championship round at Laguna Seca, earning a solid fourth-place finish in the first race before colliding with Noriyuki Haga in the second race, resulting in a 13th-place finish. Hayden was one of a long line of American road racers to come from the American dirt-track scene. In 1999, Hayden won his first Grand National Championship race (Hagerstown Half Mile) and took Rookie of the Year honors. He was also declared the AMA's athlete of the Year. In 2000, Hayden won the Springfield Short Track. In 2002, despite racing in just a handful of dirt-track events, Hayden won four races: Springfield Short Track (twice), Springfield TT, and Peoria TT. At the Springfield TT race, the three Hayden brothers took the first three places (Nicky first, Tommy second, and Roger Lee third). Hayden's win at the 2002 Peoria TT came after beating 13-time Peoria winner, Chris Carr, despite starting from the penalty line. Hayden only lacked a win at a mile track to join Dick Mann, Kenny Roberts, Bubba Shobert, and Doug Chandler in the prestigious 'Grand Slam Club.'
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