YOSHIMURA SUZUKI FACTORY RACER ROGER HAYDEN
P92
INTERVIEW
"It's definitely a big deal for me at first. I
don't know if I saw it as that big a deal, but
when you see all the headlines like, 'End
of an Era' and 'The Last Hayden'—it's a big
name in our series. People love the name
and the family and people can relate,"
Roger says. "I'm 35 now. I want to have
kids. My wife, she's 35, too. If you follow
me on social media I'm constantly with
Tommy's kids, my sister's kids. I just love be-
ing around kids. I'm pretty healthy, so now is
probably the right time."
Hayden has been through a lot on the
past 18 months. The death of legendary
brother Nicky in a road cycling accident in
May of 2017 gave him pause for thought on
the frailty of life, and a series of crashes,
one particularly head-rocking one in race
one in Virginia earlier this season, planted
the seed in his mind that now might be a
good time to do something else.
"After I had that crash in Virginia and got
a concussion, I started thinking how many
of those I've had. A long time ago I never
(Left) The crash
that broke
Roger's resolve.
Hayden admits
this particularly
big get-off in race
one at VIR was
the catalyst for
thinking about
hanging up the
helmet.
(Below) His finest
hour: Hayden
sprays the
champagne after
winning race two
at Pittsburgh,
the race meeting
following his
brother Nicky's
passing.
