The 2006 MotoGP world champion Nicholas "Nicky" Patrick Hayden, who had switched to the World Superbike Championship from last year, has passed away today after injuries sustained in a bicycle crash on the Rimmi coastline in Italy when a motorist crashed into the 35-year-old on Wednesday, May 17.
He had been admitted to the intensive care unit of the Maurizio Bufalini Hospital in Cesena. The Kentucky born Hayden had suffered serious cerebral damage and the hospital had earlier issued a statement saying that he had multiple traumatic injuries.
A local newspaper reported that Police in Italy are still currently investigating the crash after they found footage of the incident from a resident's surveillance camera. It has been speculated that Hayden had negotiated the road junction without looking at which point he was hit by the motorist. Investigators have even found an iPod with headphones attatched to it, raising suspicion that Hayden could have been listening to music when the crash occurred.
THE 'KENTUCKY KID'
Hayden, who would have been 36 years old on 30th July this year, was the last American rider to win a premier class title in MotoGP. He did so in dramatic circumstances in 2006, as a factory Honda rider, when title rival Valentino Rossi slid off the Valencia circuit and finished 13th in the final race of the season.
The 16 points Hayden gained were sufficient for him to win the title by a margin of just five points over the Yamaha rider.
Hayden won just three races in MotoGP over his 13 full seasons in the premier class but was a consistent rider, which also allowed him to take third in the points standings the year prior to his title triumph.
From his debut in 2003 until 2008, Hayden remained a factory Honda rider until making a switch to Ducati in 2009 where he stayed until 2013. In 2014 and 2015 he was back on a Honda but with the privateer outfit Aspar.
He had already switched to the World Superbike Championship last season, when he took his first WSBK win, but was asked to ride for Honda in MotoGP for two races.
He placed fifth in the WSBK standings last year and was 13th this year prior to his fatal accident.
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