Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1544085
"There were a lot of people who said last year, after two years, send him back to Superbikes – maybe he doesn't have it." dad for a lap was really special." When the 2006 season came around, championship contender Nicky Hayden was the leader of the Honda team, joined by young Spaniard Dani Pedrosa. It was by no means easy. The Honda wasn't the best bike, his teammate was fast, and Valentino Rossi was… well, Valentino Rossi. Hayden had nine podium finishes in the first 10 races, including a victory in round eight at Assen. A seventh in England and another third in Germany and it was Laguna Seca time. And you all know what that means. Laguna Seca was the 11th round of the 2006 MotoGP series, and it again belonged to Nicky, though it wasn't as easy to come by as his 2005 victory. This time he started from the second row and wasn't even the fastest of the Americans in qualifying (that honor went to fifth-fastest qualifier John Hopkins). As Hayden had learned in a racing career that started in diapers, "qualifying don't pay points." On the 17th lap of the 32-lap race, Hayden took over the lead from Chris Vermeulen and took off, never looking back to win a second- straight Red Bull U.S. GP and extending his championship points lead in the process. The following races didn't go well as the Honda's faulty clutch continued to give Hayden grief. Nicky was ninth in the Czech Republic, fourth in Malaysia, fifth in Australia, and fifth in Japan. Still, he had a 12-point lead as the series went to its penul - timate round in Portugal. In 2004, Rossi gave the series a big wake-up call when he departed for Yamaha, leaving Honda to sign Alex Barros to lead the factory Honda team with Hayden on the second bike. Nicky ended up a disap - pointing eighth in the championship (again with two podiums) just a season after being named as MotoGP Rookie of the Year. The following year, 2005, Honda brought in Max Biaggi to lead the team with Nicky still in the shadow of a veteran teammate. Hayden, however, had been signed to a two-year contract extension going into the 2005 season, so somebody at Honda still recognized the talent. Hayden's 2005 season didn't start well, but on July 10, 2005, everything changed. The fairy tale came true with Nicky domi - nating the Red Bull U.S. GP at Laguna Seca, becoming the first American to win a MotoGP since Kenny Roberts Jr.'s victory in Motegi, Japan, five years earlier. Hayden beat fellow American Colin Edwards to the flag with Rossi third. It was a magical day for American race fans and one that won't ever be forgotten. It also proved the naysayers wrong: Nicky Hayden did belong in MotoGP. "I'd like to thank my team, Honda, and everybody else for believing in me, sticking behind me," Hayden said after a post-race lap with his father, Earl, riding shotgun. "There were a lot of people who said last year, after two years, send him back to Superbikes – maybe he doesn't have it. And Honda, a lot of people, believed in me and my friends and family, and just taking my Nicky Hayden Nicky Hayden