Posted on Sunday, October 29, 2006 - 05:04 pm:

Nicky Hayden - 2006 MotoGP World Champion

Biography - Sunday 29th October

Born in Kentucky and from a family with a strong name in US racing, the 2002 AMA Superbike Champion was a wanted man with various teams at only 21 years of age but took the hottest seat in the paddock next to the reigning World Champion, jumping straight into the MotoGP deep-end as team-mate to Valentino Rossi in the Repsol Honda factory team. The friendly and happy-go-lucky American took some time to find his feet but towards the end of his debut campaign began to show his potential with some electrifying race performances and two podiums in the last four GPs lifting him to an excellent fifth overall.

Hayden scored two consecutive podiums in Brazil and Germany in 2004, but his lack of consistency saw him ending up in eighth position overall. In 2005 his move to become official HRC rider coincided with the return of the World Championship to Laguna Seca. Hayden didn't squander the opportunity and led the race from start to finish to earn himself his first MotoGP victory. After that brilliant triumph he assumed a much more active role in the Championship. In the following nine Grands Prix he stepped onto the podium on five occasions and closed the season in third position overall.

In 2006, Hayden quickly got into the stride of the championship, taking seven podiums in the first eight races. The seventh of these was his first victory outside of the US, when he took advantage of a crash on the final lap to snatch the win. He soon was winning again at home once more, and looked on course for his first World Championship. The major blow came however in round 16 in Estoril when his team-mate Pedrosa collided with him and left him eight points behind Rossi. However Hayden came back strong and the 16 points in the final round coupled with Rossi’s crash mean Hayden fulfilled his lifelong dream of success on an international scale in motorcycling’s elite event.



Birth date: 30/07/1981 (25 years)
Birth place: Owensboro, Kentucky (USA)
First Grand Prix: 2003 JPN MotoGP
First Pole Position: 2005 USA MotoGP
First Podium: 2003 MOT MotoGP
First GP Victory: 2005 USA MotoGP
Grand Prix Starts: 65
Grand Prix Victories: 3
Podiums: 20
Pole Positions: 4
Race Fastest Lap: 4
World Championship Win: 1 - 2006 250cc
Total Points 2006: 252

*all data correct at 10/29/2006


MotoGP Career

2003: MotoGP World Championship, 5th position, Repsol Honda, Honda - 16 starts, 130 points
2004: MotoGP World Championship, 8th position, Repsol Honda Team, Honda - 15 starts, 117 points
2005: MotoGP World Championship, 3rd position, Repsol Honda Team, Honda - 17 starts, 206 points
2006: MotoGP World Championship, 1st position, Repsol Honda Team, Honda - 17 starts, 252 points



Some facts about Hayden's achievement

- With the rules changing for next year Nicky Hayden goes into the record books as the only rider other than Rossi to win a title riding a 990cc four-stroke MotoGP bike.

- Nicky Hayden is the seventh rider from the USA to win the premier-class title, joining: Kenny Roberts, Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz, and Kenny Roberts Jnr.

- He is only the second rider to have won the title having arrived at the final race of the year not leading the points table. The previous occasion was 1992 when Wayne Rainey arrived at the final race two points behind Mick Doohan who was still far from fully fit following a crash earlier in the year at Assen.

- He is the first rider since Mick Doohan to have won the premier-class title having not previously raced in the 250cc class of Grand Prix racing.

Posted on Sunday, October 29, 2006 - 05:51 pm:

"Of course this is a big disappointment for me because to arrive at the final race with an eight-point advantage and then not win the title is a disaster. Basically I made two mistakes today - one was at the start and then the second one was the crash. It has been a very emotional season, with some great moments, some bad luck and now some mistakes. But this is racing.

All I can say now is a big 'congratulations' to Nicky because he is a great guy, a great rider and he is the World Champion because he has been the best this year. I have known him a long time, I know his family well and even though I am disappointed I am also very happy for them. It has been a great fight with him this year - not like in the past with other riders when there have always been some polemics - and we have great respect for each other. I want to say a huge thank you to Yamaha, to all my team and engineers and to everyone else involved, they've done an amazing job this year and now I am looking forward to working towards next season with the 800; I am sure it will be another exciting season and another big battle!"

Valentino Rossi (13th; +38.546)

Posted on Sunday, October 29, 2006 - 05:58 pm:

Honda (main release)

HONDA RACING INFORMATION
Grand Prix of Valencia
Sunday October 29, 2006

HAYDEN TAKES TITLE AS PRESSURE TELLS ON ROSSI:

One of the closest MotoGP title fights ended in victory for Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) here at Valencia today as the American cruised home in third behind Ducati riders Troy Bayliss (winner) and second-placed Loris
Capirossi. It was enough for the Kentucky Kid to end the reign of Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) who fell on lap five.

The tension was palpable as this all-or-nothing 30-lap contest got underway in front of a capacity 130,000 crowd in bright sunshine with a hotter than expected 43-degree track temperature and a 32-degree ambient temperature.
The scene was set for an epic World Championship decider.

Bayliss led into turn one from the lights with his team-mate Capirossi tucked close behind him and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC211V) third. But further back Hayden, who'd sped away from slot five on the grid clouted Rossi who'd had made a sluggish getaway from pole. Hayden lay sixth at turn one on lap one.

Nicky, in the space of three turns was fourth, Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda RC211V) deprived Rossi of sixth, and Dani was then in second after stealing past Capirossi. There was plenty of intent from Honda riders intent on maximizing their own chances of end of season glory. Melandri was vying for third in the World Championship with Capirossi.

The opening laps were a hard-fought demonstration of what makes MotoGP such a compelling sport. Nicky went to third on lap two, then almost snatched the lead from Bayliss at the end of the straight on lap four, with Melandri now third. Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) was working on Rossi for sixth. Rossi was perhaps biding his time, waiting to establish a rhythm, before making progress up the field shadowing the flying Hayden.

Hayden, for what it was worth, had changed the design of his leathers for this all-or-nothing race. Gone was the Kentucky Kid logo across the seat of the suit in favour of a deck of cards with the facing card a question mark - and a stack of gambling chips, with the slogan 'All In' laid over the top. He was riding all out - no question.

On lap five, the lap that decided the direction of the 2006 World MotoGP Championship, Nicky lay 0.3 seconds behind the inspired Troy Bayliss. And as Rossi hit the mid-point of the left-hand turn one, his machine slid from
under him. The Italian and his Yamaha ended in the dirt, his title chances effectively over. He remounted in 20th place with a mountain to climb.

The order was Bayliss, Capirossi, Hayden, Melandri, Pedrosa, Stoner and Vermeulen. Rossi had too much to do and as long as Hayden could maintain station in third while Rossi lay lower than eighth, he could, against all pre-race odds lay claim to the title in a series in which he had scored in every round and won two races.

As mid-race rolled by Rossi had climbed to 16th, but he was a full 28 seconds behind race leader Bayliss. Then Vermeulen crashed and the thought loomed that sheer attrition might gift Rossi the places he needed to eat into Hayden's chances.

As the laps ran down to the flag Hayden hung close to Capirossi ready to steal a place on the Italian if he needed to, but then as it became clear Rossi had too much to do, Nicky merely reeled off the laps he needed to clinch the biggest prize on two wheels.

With three laps to go Rossi was nine seconds shy of Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V) in 12th and barring cruel luck the crown was Nicky's. Sure enough Mister Consistency, the 'All-in' Kentucky Kid, was not going
throw away a lifetime's dream and the product of four hard years dedicated to this particular task. But Mister World Champion is who he now undoubtedly is.

Finishing with 252 points to Rossi's 247, Nicky said, "I'm so blessed. When you dedicate your life to something and it comes true it means so much. I have to thank the people around me who never stopped believing: Honda, my team, Michelin, my friends and family. It just goes to show when you keep fighting to the end and never give up then good things happen to you. I can't really say just how much this means to me right now."

Dani, who finished fourth, said, "I'm very happy for this result - for myself, for Nicky and for the team. The team has won every title this year - the riders' title, the constructors, the Team title and the Rookie of the year so this is very good for us. I think we did a good job today. I made a good start and I was waiting until Nicky was behind me. When they showed me that Nicky was third and I was second I let him past and showed him with my foot where he should pass me. Then I slowed down quite a lot to give Nicky some space in second place. I didn't push for the last five laps and brought it home."

Melandri in fifth, and fourth overall, said, "I'm disappointed to have lost third in the championship by a single point. I had a good feeling with the bike and I was sure I would have a good race. I was really fast over the first few laps but when the tyres heated up, it got tough. I was racing hard because I wanted third in the championship and I put a lot of stress on the left of the tyre. I couldn't ride as I wanted to and just had to focus on finishing the race as high as possible. My compliments to Nicky, he was great, well done."

His team-mate Toni Elias (Fortuna Honda RC211V), sixth, said, "I am happy because I made a good comeback from 13th to sixth. At the start I found it tough but as the laps went by I got a good rhythm together. I made a mistake on the 20th lap but other than that I am satisfied. I have to thank my team, Fausto Gresini, my chief mechanic Cecchini and all the guys. And my compliments too to Nicky Hayden for the title."

Kenny Roberts (Roberts KR211V) was eighth. He said, "I'd like to congratulate Nicky, and I feel for Valentino. Nicky and I have the same language, and we talk, but I'm also close to Valentino - we've worked with the riders' safety committee for five years. He's a champion whether he wins or loses... we all know that. He's going to come back strong next year. Nicky rode well all year, and consistently, and he deserves to be up there to win the championship. So it was a fun year, and we look forward to
improving."

Tamada, 12th, said, "For this race I could not get a good qualifying time and had to start from the fifth row. It was a difficult race today. I didn't get a good start and I didn't have good grip from the front or rear tyres. This was my last race for the Konica Minolta Honda team and I wanted a good result, so 12th place is very disappointing. I just wish to thank all the people in the Konica Minolta team who have helped me during my stay with the team and also all our sponsors."

Casey Stoner (LCR Honda RC211V) crashed out on lap 25. He said, "Today I really wanted to get a nice result for myself and the LCR team. But it's strange, I don't know what is happening - so many times recently we are fast in practice and have the perfect race set-up, the perfect tyre and then the bike feels nothing like it does in practice. Today it just wouldn't turn like it did in practice. I'm really disappointed, after everything was so sweet at the start of the season. But I want give a big thanks to the whole LCR team who gave me this opportunity and stuck with me this year."

Posted on Monday, October 30, 2006 - 12:26 pm:

Subject: American Wins World Championship! Deserves Invite to WH.

Dear President Bush,

American Nicky Hayden hailing from Owensboro, Kentucky has just won the 2006 World Championship in the world's premiere motorcycle roadracing series, MotoGP. The MotoGP championship is one of the few truly worlwide elite motorsports events and is incredibly popular with fans the world over.

Mr. Hayden is the first competitor in six years to defeat Italian phenom Valentino Rossi, the man who is to MotoGP what Michael Jordon is to basketball or Tiger Woods is to Golf, arguably the best ever.

On Sunday 10/29/2006, Nicky Hayden in the season's last race of 17 total in 2006, overcame a deficit in both championship points and starting position to defeat Velentino Rossi and win the World Championship.

If any world class championship athlete is deserving of the honor and recognition of an invite to the White House, young Mr. Hayden surely is. He is a class act all the way and does America proud.

Please on behalf of all proud American motorsports enthusiasts extend to Mr. Hayden the honor and national recognition of an invite to the White House.

Nicky Hayden's Official Agent and Media Relations contact information follow:

Steve Dicterow
International Racers, Inc.
1-949-910-1112
steve@nickyhayden.com (official business only)

More information about Nicky Hayden and his World Championship victory has been conveniently gathered and posted online at...

http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/158664/237766.html

Thank you for your consideration,

Name
Address
Email Address
Telephone #

Posted on Monday, October 30, 2006 - 01:27 pm:

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quote:

I got a good start and I was just fighting to get to the front in the first few laps. I saw some marks on the track and then I came round and my pit-board said “Rossi P19”. Then it went to P17, P15 and P14 and it was a tough situation because I knew there was probably going to be a couple of riders pull over for him. And I knew that you can never count Valentino out – if his bike was ok then he can make up a lot of positions in a hurry. I didn’t know if I was going to have to fight the guys ahead of me because if you get in a dogfight with Loris and Troy you know you’re going to take some chances. But I stayed close enough that I felt like I was going to be able to go for it if I needed to. Then I saw “P3 OK” on my pit-board and I had faith in my team that they had figured it out that I was safe. Then I just tried to be smooth and ride safe.

From http://www.nickyhayden.com/site/press.php?pr=274

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