RIP Nicky Hayden

[hpiguy]

Professional motorcycle racer, and former Moto GP world champion Nicky Hayden, a.k.a. the Kentucky Kid passed away earlier today. He died after succumbing to injuries suffered on May 17th, when he was struck by a car while riding his bicycle in Italy. He and his brothers are some of my all time favorite motorcycle racers, and were widely known to be incredibly humble, approachable, and down to earth people. Very rare at that level of talent. Here's hoping all your track days in the afterlife are under perfect conditions Nicky, RIP.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GDbWSkTwJdk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[JatoTheRipper]

Very sad news. This one bummed me out. Extremely talented and hard working guy yet still as nice and down to Earth as can be. Sometimes to good do die young.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[wings_of_fire]

Life is so fragile.

RIP

 

[mikemcE]

RIP. NH

You will be missed


Hang up and Drive

 

[Ballistic17]

RIP Nicky

 

[EeePee]

A real shame. Almost like, you got to be kidding me!?

A bummer.

 

[hpiguy]

A real shame. Almost like, you got to be kidding me!?

A bummer.

I know right? I mean the guy flirted with 200mph on a regular basis, no telling how many moto crashes he's had, and gets killed on a bicycle. Just further proof that Kenny Stabler was right; "You cannot predict your final day, so go hard for the good times while you can."

 

[MAXXMASHER]

Yeah, I've been a little bummed out since it all happened. I've been following him from the beginning of his career. My Dad and I used to go to flat track races almost every weekend somewhere while I was growing up in the as a teen in the eighties. We started noticing this group of Hayden kids showing up and dominating the novices and later amateur ranks. They were all younger than all the rest in these races, and half the time, they'd be battling each other for the top spots. Nicky, Tommy, and Roger also had a sister, Kathy, I think, who raced along with the for awhile. I remember at first, Nicky being too short to reach the ground, and his Dad would hold his bike up at the starts or sometimes he used a milk crate for balance! Usually he was racing kids almost twice his age and he usually won.

We knew they were all going to be something special, especially Nicky. Couldn't have been more correct. He was the youngest to win a Supersport title, a Superbike title, and the youngest Daytona winner ever. I wish I could have seen him win at Laguna Seca; he was so proud to win the USGP! Just so sad to see him go out this way...

I am also an avid model builder when not tinkering with RC's and I happened to have an RC211V Repsol Honda kit in my stash. Time to start building....

These kits are so detailed. Much better than the usual car kit. Even sprung for a super detail kit to go along with it.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[EeePee]

The last two pictures are fantastic.

 

[Shoei1]

During my time in the industry I got the pleasure to work with the Hayden family and they were great people. Most of my work was with Nicky's dad Earl but I did get to meet Nicky a few times when he came to Laguna Seca for MotoGP and I am grateful for that. He was definitely taken from us to soon.

 

[MAXXMASHER]

Got my new hat in the mail today! I'll be wearing it as I cheer on his brother Roger at Pittsburgh Raceway in the MotoAmerica Superbike race!!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[cmbscx10]

NH Repsol Honda was one of the reasons I got this instead of a static model. So sad to see him go. Wheelie on."thumbsup"