Recently crowned AMA Superbike champion Nicky Hayden, as you probably know by now, will race in the MotoGP series next year on a factory Honda V-5 . . . just like Valentino Rossi’s. The rider Gary Nixon calls “the best I have ever seen” will leave at the tender age of 21 to take on the World and, perhaps, the greatest rider in GP history (Rossi, of course).
Although we have opined more than once that Nicky belongs precisely where he is going, the first year will have its difficulties, no doubt. Learning new tracks and a new bike (the transition from a V-twin to a V-5 will not be easy), while being away from friends and family for the first time, will test our young hero.
Able to dominate the most prestigious roadracing championship in the United States and, when his time and inclination permit, win a Grand National flat track race on the spare weekend, he is one of those rare guys who, regardless of the circumstances, expects to battle for the win (and typically does).
His presence in MotoGP next year, on machinery equal to Rossi’s, will dramatically increase U.S. interest in the series. We wish him the best.
