MOTOGP » NICKY HAYDEN
CAREER
For the second season in succession, Nicky Hayden struggled to replicate his world championship winning 990cc form on an 800cc Honda RC212V in 2008 - but his never-say-die attitude and sideways riding style won him continued support around the world and much is expected of his switch to the Ducati Marlboro Team for 2009.
From motorcycle racing stock, almost Nicky’s entire family are motorcycle racers with father Earl having been a dirt-track rider, and brother Tommy and Roger-Lee both professional riders in the US. Even mother Rose and sister Jenny have raced bikes.
Hayden joined the Repsol Honda Team during his debut 2003 MotoGP season, having demonstrated his immense talent in the United States by becoming the youngest ever AMA Superbike Champion at 21. Prior to that he had lifted the AMA Supersport title in 1999, but it’s his background in the tough world of dirt-track racing that imbued Nicky with the resilience and bike control that has taken him to the very top of the world.
Nicky's first MotoGP season, teamed with Valentino Rossi, saw him fend off the likes of Troy Bayliss and Colin Edwards to clinch the Rookie of the Year title as two podiums carried him to fifth in the points.
But 2004 was to be much tougher. Rossi (and his mechanics) had moved to Yamaha, leaving Hayden to inherit the role of team leader as HRC regrouped. Two podiums and eighth in the championship was way below expectations, but Nicky finally broke his duck with an emotional victory at his home US GP at Laguna Seca 2005 as he climbed back up to third in the standings.
2006 was one of the most extraordinary seasons of grand prix action ever seen and the 25-year-old displayed all his reserves of talent and determination to clinch the championship during a dramatic final round at Valencia. He is only the second rider in the history of the premier class to have taken the title having come into the last race behind on points – and behind Rossi no less.
During the first half of 2006 Hayden had built up a substantial lead in the standings by taking wins when they were available at Assen and Laguna Seca, and grinding out valuable points finishes when things weren’t going all his way. He made only one significant mistake - briefly running off the track at Donington Park - in an otherwise flawless season that saw his rivals’ performances ebb and flow. Ultimately it was Hayden’s consistency and dogged refusal to buckle under pressure that won him the crown, aided by Rossi's unexpected mistake at the season finale.
"This proves that good things happen to good people," Nicky declared after taking the title in Valencia. Hayden’s flood of emotions as he clinched that dramatic 2006 MotoGP crown will go down as one of the all-time memorable images of motorcycling.
2007 brought the fresh challenge of the 800cc era and a brand new machine in the shape of the RC212V. Ready to adapt his rear-wheel-steering style to the higher corner speeds and reduced power outputs, Hayden was determined to mount a robust defence of his title, but it wasn't to be.
During a year when Casey Stoner, Ducati and Bridgestone destroyed all before them, it took Hayden until mid-season to look comfortable on the Michelin-shod RC212V. Three podiums and one pole position followed, but the title was long gone.
Hayden had hoped that Honda and Michelin learnt from the painful lessons of 2007 and would "come out swinging" for 2008, but the pneumatic valve Honda engine proved troublesome during winter testing, forcing a switch back to the old valve-spring design for the start of the year.
Hayden never looked comfortable with that technical package and his attempts to return to the front of the field saw him take on the task of race-developing the problematic pneumatic from round eight at Donington Park - six rounds before team-mate Dani Pedrosa used it.
The American came within one corner of a podium next time out at Assen before finally claiming the pneumatic's first ever rostrum at Indianapolis, round 14. Nicky took a further podium at Phillip Island and qualified on the front row five times during his final season for Honda, but it was his off track 'battles' that arguably won him the most respect.
Long running rumours that Hayden has received second-class treatment at Honda since the arrival of Pedrosa seemed to be reinforced when the Spaniard made his shock switch from Michelin to the more successful Bridgestone tyres for the final five rounds - an option never even discussed with Hayden.
The subsequent attack by Pedrosa's manager Alberto Puig - in response to Hayden's claim that the former racer "runs HRC" - only seems to have increased Hayden's popularity, while the whole episode publically lifted the lid on the kind of political turmoil going on behind the scenes at Repsol Honda.
Despite such upheaval, Hayden scored 28 points more than last year - even though he missed both Misano and Brno due to injury - and finished two places above his 2007 championship ranking, in sixth.
Hayden’s first as a Ducati rider is to return to his 2006 form and, despite the nightmare season suffered by Marco Melandri alongside Stoner in 2008, many believe Hayden’s riding style will be suited to the powerful Desmosedici.
Career Highlights:- 1985 : First minibike dirt track race
- 1992 : First minibike roadrace
- 1997 : Winner Horizon dirt track award (Harley Davidson), First AMA National roadrace (Kawasaki)
- 1998 : 4th AMA 750 Supersport Series
- 1998 : 4th AMA 600 Supersport Series
- 1999 : AMA 600 Supersport Champion
- 1999 : 2nd AMA Formula Xtreme Series
- 1999 : AMA Dirt Track 'Rookie of the Year'
- 1999 : 'Speedvision Pro Athlete of the Year'
- 2000 : 2nd AMA Chevy Trucks Trucks Superbike Series
- 2000 : 4th AMA Pro Honda Oils 600 Supersport Series
- 2001 : 3rd AMA Superbike Series
- 2002 : AMA Superbike Champion
- 2003 : 5th MotoGP World Championship. MotoGP 'Rookie of the Year'
- 2004 : 8th MotoGP World Championship
- 2005 : 3rd MotoGP World Championship - race wins 1
- 2006 : MotoGP World Champion - race wins 2
- 2007 : 8th MotoGP World Championship
- 2008 : 6th MotoGP World Championship
