Aside from the occasional flash of brilliance, Nicky Hayden still is not showing the potential many American roadracing enthusiasts saw when he moved to MotoGP in 2003.
Now entering his third year as a member of the top-tier Repsol Honda team, Hayden is familiar with the tracks and the European lifestyle but has still not become consistently quick.
Honda clearly continues to have high expectations, of course, as it kept Hayden on the Repsol squad rather than move him to a Honda satellite team for 2005. One has to wonder, however, whether his new teammate Max Biaggi will hinder Hayden’s progression.
Biaggi is known for a couple of traits. One of those is his unusual chassis setup, which emphasizes steering the bike with the front wheel – quite a bit different from the accomplished dirt tracker Nicky Hayden. Biaggi is also known to be unlikely to share information with his teammate, including information that could benefit the relatively inexperienced Hayden.
It is really quite difficult to imagine the amount of pressure placed on Hayden to perform next year. Frankly, with two years experience at the MotoGP level under his belt, and the best bike Honda has to offer under his butt, Nicky needs to start winning races. A tall order, but a fact dictated by his circumstances, nonetheless.
