For little actual results? I think if you made a list of all the riders that ever had more than one win (like Dovi's one win in the rain) Nicky is probably one of the biggest bargains in MotoGP. And he did win a TITLE against what was then the only Alien. And wasn't Gibbernau in that title chase as well? And Pedrosa?
And that in spite of Pedrosa (Italian for low side?) taking him out in the penultimate race that year!
And Honda's all but trying to sabotage his run by constantly changing the bike to test parts for the next year's 800 - even when he was leading in the points, he was never the lead rider on that team.
...but Nicky is considered by many to be the shining example of humility and manners on the GP circuit.
Nicky never rode the 883 twins class as far as I know. He was too young. Ben and Eric Bostrom were the last two of the modern class to race them, I think. Aaron Yates' 883 is sitting in my garage in pieces. I don't have the original motor, but I'm told the front cyl was an 883 and the rear was a 1200.
Great guy , we met him @ V.I.R. his last year in SBK on the RC51. His hotel room was next to ours & didnt mind talking to us @ length. When we asked him where the partys were ? he said "Partys Hell? Wheres the Pussy ?" Got some good pics with him as well . He was / is the master of backing it in , a style of riding that really no longer exists in the top tier of racing. I know its not the fastest way around a racetrack but its sure fun to watch.
That was Ben Bostrom. He and his brother Eric spent the whole weekend sliding around in several inches of water. Whatta show!! I saw Nicky's first AMA 600 Supersport win at Sears Point. At victory circle he rode in and did a 180-degree burnout to park the bike. His mother waited until he got his helmet off, then went up and gave him hell for showing up DuHamel and Yates. Made him apologize, too. How can you not like a family like that?
^^Miss Rose is a treat She is in the Hayden Bros. General Store at the Indy Moto GP almost full time during race weekend. She takes time to make sure everyone who wants to visit gets some of her time. Earl is in there every once in a while and he is quite the character. Nick is lucky to have such a great family to keep him grounded. I've never met him but from what you can see in the media he seems genuine enough.
Nicky and the whole Hayden family are a class act! I can remember hanging out with my family at Mid-Ohio for the AMA races when we lived in Kentucky and Nicky and the whole family made us feel like an extended part of the family and always took the time to talk and sign autographs for the kids regardless of what was going on at the time. Here is a pic of my daughter getting an autograph from Nicky, time sure flies she is in her second year of college now!
That's interesting. If you google " Nicky Hayden is,,,," one of the most popular searches ends in "gay"
Not for me. Maybe Google is trying to predict your preference based on past searches. :eek1 Just kidding, btw.
Come on guys. If we're going to guess that any motogp rider is gay, it's gotta be Rossi right??? No girlfriend and his manservant Uccio is always there!
http://cyclenews.uberflip.com/i/106171/48 Above is a link to a Cycle World interview with Earl Hayden. I thought you guys would like it.
One thing he did that will go down in the history books is that he won the World Championship in 2006 all the while developing a new bike for Honda's golden boy for the following year. Oh yea, he also kicked Rossi's ass that year also. When you think about it he is more than just a force in the national scene, has been for years and doesn't cry.....
Has the Lap record at Phillips Island. Pretty big accomplishment considering Casey Stoner is "unstoppable" there!