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Nicky Hayden Profile |
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Birth Date: July 30, 1981
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Birth Place: Owensboro, Kentucky, USA
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Birth Name: Nicholas Patrick Hayden
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Height: 5'7"
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Biography |
Nicholas "Nicky" Patrick Hayden (born July 30, 1981 in
Owensboro, Kentucky), also known as The Kentucky Kid, is an
American professional motorcycle racer and 2006 MotoGP World
Champion.
As a youngster racing others twice his age in CMRA, Hayden
would start the race from the back of the starting grid
while a family or crew member held his bike upright because
he could not touch the ground. Later at age 17, he was
racing factory Honda RC45 superbikes while still in high
school. In 2001, his first full season as a AMA superbike
rider, he came within six points of winning the
championship. The 2002 season, however, would see Hayden
answering the bell: he won the Daytona 200 on a Honda
Superbike en route to becoming the youngest ever AMA
Superbike Champion, defeating Mat Mladin, among others.
Immediately after winning his AMA Superbike championship,
Hayden was tapped to join Honda's MotoGP racing efforts. In
his first season as a MotoGP rider Hayden became a rider for
what was arguably the premier team in MotoGP racing- Repsol
Honda. Hayden also became teammate to the defending series
champion Valentino Rossi, who many believe to be the
greatest motorcycle racer ever. Hayden was seemingly
unfazed, and in his first year of MotoGP racing (2003),
Hayden finished fifth in the championship points standings
while riding Honda's RC211V, an achievement that won him the
Rookie-of-the-Year award. In 2005, Hayden finished third in
the MotoGP championship points standings behind Marco
Melandri and series winner Valentino Rossi.
For 2006, Hayden was charged with spearheading Repsol
Honda's championship aspirations, and was the only rider to
be handed the full 2006 Honda bike during preseason testing.
He lead the championship from the third race and looked set
to break Valentino Rossi's championship-winning streak,
which had dated back to 2001. Capturing the championship was
not without peril: in the second to last round at Estoril in
Portugal, teammate Dani Pedrosa missed his braking point
while following Hayden. The resulting lowside accident took
out both bikes, with Rossi claiming second place in that
race, finishing 0.002 seconds behind Toni Elias. This left
Hayden eight points behind Rossi in the championship with
one race left to go. In the last race of the season on
October 29, 2006, the unexpected happened when Rossi fell
off his motorcycle on lap 5 trying to make up for a poor
start. Hayden, who was challenging for the race lead at the
time, was informed of Rossi's mistake and backed off his lap
times by nearly a second, winning the championship by
finishing a safe 3rd behind race winner Troy Bayliss and
Loris Capirossi. He thus won the 2006 championship, beating
Rossi 252 points to 247.
Nicky Hayden's Honda RC212V MotoGP bike for 2007 with his
new number "1"On September 22, 2006, Hayden signed a
two-year agreement that would allow him to race for and
develop with the factory Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) team
for the 2007 and 2008 MotoGP seasons. He has already begun
testing the new 800 cc Honda RC212V. His MotoGP racing
number changes from 69 to 1 for the 2007 season. |
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Other Information |
In his first full season as a AMA Superbike rider he came
within six points of winning the title which went to a
multi-time winner.
Former team-mate to 4 time 250GP Champion Max Biaggi
Races under the #69
Started racing at the age of six
2005 First Moto GP win was in Laguna Seca USA after an 11
year absence. It was a flag to flag victory, Started from
pole, lead every lap, then took the checkered flag
Was racing a factory ride (Professional Level) with Honda
while still in high school at 17
People magazine voted him one of the top 50 most eligible
bachelors, appeared on NBC's Today Show, and he appeared
with his brothers Tommy, and Roger Lee on the Tonight show
with Jay Leno in August of 2005.
Lists 7-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong as one of
his personal heroes
From 1998 to 2002 he was a team-mate of Miguel Duhamel - the
first Canadian to win the AMA Superbike Championship
In 2003 he was a team-mate of multi-time Moto GP World
Champion Valentino Rossi
After winning the 2002 AMA Superbike Championship Honda
released a 2004 autographed street legal 136 hp 1000cc
v-twin RC51 Replica
1999 AMA Supersport Champion - The youngest ever
2002 AMA Superbike Champion - The youngest ever
2006 World Moto GP Champion. |
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