VOL. 54 ISSUE 20 MAY 23, 2017 P125
scoring second and third. It was
the first time in AMA Grand Na-
tional history that three brothers
swept the podium.
Also in 2002, Nicky became
the youngest rider ever to win the
AMA Superbike Championship.
From there his MotoGP career
began in 2003 with the factory
Honda team. He scored a debut
podium at Phillip Island that year
and in 2005 broke through to
score his first MotoGP victory,
an emotional victory on home
soil at Laguna Seca Raceway in
Monterey, California.
In 2006 Hayden won a rivet-
ing MotoGP title over Valentino
Rossi. It was one of the closest
and most exciting championship
battles in series history. He was
the last American to win the Mo-
toGP title and it made him one
of the most popular American
motorcycle racers of all time.
Hayden earned 28-career
podiums during his 13-year
MotoGP career, including three
wins and five poles.
For the last two racing
seasons, he raced for Honda
in the World Superbike Cham-
pionship. He won race two in
Malaysia last year.
In 2015, at the MotoGP sea-
son finale in Valencia, Spain,
where Hayden rode his last Mo-
toGP race as a full-time series
rider, he was honored by Dorna
as a MotoGP Legend.
"It is really is a great honor
to receive this," Hayden said at
the time. "I do not take it lightly;
I know there are people in this
club with more illustrious careers
and who have obviously won
more than me, but regardless, I got
in there! I am very happy. I mean
for 13 years it was eat, breathe and
sleep MotoGP. It's been an amazing
ride. Of course these last two years
have been tough, but I've enjoyed
every minute of it, worked with
some great teams and rode some
great bikes.
"I'd just like to thank everybody
who has supported me through
it all, my teams and my family,
I appreciate it all. Thanks also
to Carmelo; I think MotoGP—as
much as the last weeks have been
a little negative—is in a great place.
The sport is bigger and better than
(Below) At four-years-old, Hayden
said he wanted to be World
Champion. In this shot, the emotion
of that dream come true hits home.
(Left) Hayden's MotoGP Ducati years
were peppered with the odd podium
finish, but he never reached the same
heights he did with Honda. Regardless,
Hayden was still the most successful
of any Ducati rider during his tenure
with the Bologna manufacturer from
2009-2012.
