MOTOGP » Nakano to get factory Honda at Brno

"Nicky's only mistake in life has been to beat Valentino"

What utter nonesense!

Nicky Hayden is a great guy. As close to a gentleman as the majority of riders on the grid. he is a terrific rider, and as far as I am concerned him and Honda deserved the title in 2006. Rossi/Yamaha/Mitchelin didn't as they screwed up too much. We are talking TEAMS here, not just riders...

Nicky is more popular in the UK now than he has ever been... Why? Cos he is a trier, even when things go bad he doesn't blame people, he is utterly professional. Many of you will have noticed Lorenzo is getting like this. They are getting poor results, but they have REAL dignity... that's why so many respect them...

..."6 years and only 3 wins, you cannot call that bad luck, its beyond a joke
Posted by Prolific - Unregistered (7 hours ago)"...

Much the same as Pedrosa, only the other way around, 3 years and only 6 wins, both at the top of the spending team development in MotoGP. A total for Honda of 23 wins since Rossi left them in 2004, when he has 33 wins in the same period, and 66 so far in MotoGP.

I´m really only bashing Honda who has been kind of lost, just that it is they on the official bikes.

Honda totaly screwed up by abandoning Hayden in favor of Pedrosa. Look where they are now. Pedrosa will win some races but he will always do something stupid to take himself out of the championship. Hayden needs to leave HRC they have lost their way.

lets not forget until dani tried to fly in germany, honda were leading the drivers title with a handy little margin. so its not that bad.

nicky deserved his title cos he made the fewest mistakes that seasons. yeah he has been hit and miss since, but in 2006 he was class.

Nakano rode decent lately, but by no means deserve a factory bike than other Honda riders. He is Japanese thats why he gets a factory bike before Dovi. Hayden is really weak on the 800cc Honda, but I think any rider including Rossi and Stoner will not do very well on a bike deliberately developed for your team mate who is a gnome (fast gnome!!). I'm not sure about Hayden on a Ducati, as all others then mighty Stoner doesn't manage to race the beast (I hope he go to Ducati though), but put Hayden on a Tech3 and he would beat CE and JT. Hayden is too loyal to Honda, that is his weakness.

I like Nicky. Didn't always especially when he got the Honda gig over Edwards when they first came in but after seeing him in interviews along the way it's hard not to like the guy.

BUT.....

3 wins in 6 years isn't that good considering he's been on arguably the best bike and in the best team with the biggest budget the whole time. He's been consistent and that's what won him the championship but many other riders have "performed" much better than him.

BUT.....

He defintely deserves to be in MotoGP and on a good bike. He is a world champ afterall.

@ Why do all you Nicky haters hate so much. He has proved himself in MotoGP. Just because he's had a run of bad luck, you want him out of MotoGP?

Nopes, am not a Nicky hater Trust me he is better than Stoner in terms of respecting other riders. Check this out for the Nicky's interview.

videos dot motogp dot com/files/videos/podcast/after_the_flag_ep_08_2008.m4v

I was little surprised to see Nicky getting a raw deal from Honda And it's same story with Milandri riding Ducati (earlier Milandri won few GPs). Look at Lorenzo, did good with Yamaha but again he crashed many times (but Yamaha's fault). So, why only one rider gets such treatment in top teams

sorry - Look at Lorenzo, did good with Yamaha but again he crashed many times (but not Yamaha's fault).

Also, Hayden is probably the only teammate Rossi's ever had that actually looked decent in comparison. At least to my knowledge, but then I've only followed MotoGP in the 00's (used to prefer car racing, now prefer ALL racing ).

Anyway, Hayden's had a tough couple of seasons - flashes of brilliance but the consistency that won him the WC is gone without trace. In spite of that it's pretty clear to me that he won't have any trouble finding another ride should HRC drop him. I think pretty much everyone would want him except factory Yam. Also, MotoGP is obviously no popularity contest, but having a rider that can actually create a positive atmosphere in the team shouldn't be underestimated!