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Post by truenorth on May 22, 2018 9:13:16 GMT -8
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Post by truenorth on May 22, 2018 9:16:06 GMT -8
Ryder Notes: My Images of Our Nick “Where I come from, you don’t put your hands on a woman …” Julian RyderRyder Notes By Julian Ryder Monday, May 22, 2017 The abiding image I have of Nicky Hayden is set in the press room of the Valencia circuit. It’s a big room and it was packed as Nicky came in and sat down after becoming world champion. You remember the pictures; the flag, the tears. He looked up, just about in control of his emotions and was greeted with the longest sustained round of applause I have heard. No whooping or hollering, just a profound expression of admiration from the people who’d watched him struggle against the odds to a championship that will look better and better as history and time put it in perspective. To win on what was a development bike, different from every other Honda, with rookie crew chief Pete Benson against Valentino Rossi was a great, great achievement. I know this because Valentino Rossi said so, I know this because Kenny Roberts said so. There’s another image, from the Indianapolis Mile when Nicky did a few laps on a Duke-engined dirt-tracker. He was very quick, obviously, but when he stopped and pulled off his helmet there was the face of a man who had just been reunited with his first love. He once told me the only race that keeps him awake at night is the Mile he lost by half a wheel to, I think, Scott Parker. I got the impression in recent years that that one had stopped itching, though. One more image. Nicky liked lefthanded circuits such as Phillip Island and Valencia, and no-one, but no-one rode Ricardo Tormo’s Turn 13, the penultimate lefthander, drifting over the crest flat in third at more than 125mph, like Nicky. I hope the circuit names it for him. Just one more. When Honda were trying out lots of different chassis, I understood that Sete Gibernau had received a new frame. I asked him, Sete said he hadn’t. I reported this to Nick. He looked at me quizzically, his mouth twitched and, just surprising that grin, he said “Sete should go to church more.” Then there was the time I introduced him on stage for Day of Champions at Donington. He got a great reception but it was a strange high-pitched noise I took a long time to identify – hey, it’s been a while. It was teenage girls getting rather excited. Lots of them; very excited. My co-presenter Suzi Perry then whispered in my ear “Not just teenage girls.” Nicky was unfailingly polite and professional no matter what, he was to us Europeans a fine example of what we took to be the best expression of true American values, and believe me we need reminding of them right now. I only saw him angry twice. One was obviously in the gravel trap at Estoril, the other was outside the press office at Assen. An over-officious security guard had tried to stop his mum going in to the press conference and had pushed her. I strolled up to find a red-faced Nicky wagging a finger in the face of a man about a foot taller and wider than him, yelling “Where I come from, you don’t put your hands on a woman.” Only the early and calming intervention of the circuit’s well-respected press officer stopped things escalating. As for Portugal, Nicky let it be known afterwards that Dani could make things right by helping him at Valencia. Dani did his duty, Nicky said “I am a man of my word” and to my knowledge let the whole thing go. That is a measure of the man, not just a great racer but the only universally respected, and loved, man to have lit up the Grand Prix paddock.
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Post by truenorth on May 22, 2018 9:17:05 GMT -8
Steve Day By the age of 35, if you have touched as many people’s hearts as Nicky Hayden did, you are winning at life. #RideOnKentuckyKid
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Post by truenorth on May 22, 2018 9:21:34 GMT -8
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Post by truenorth on May 22, 2018 10:15:37 GMT -8
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Post by truenorth on May 22, 2018 10:24:01 GMT -8
Matthew Birt “Racing motorcycles is just a way of life for me. It’s what I know, it’s what I’ve always done, my family does it, my friends do it, and it really is more than just a job. It’s a passion. Bikes are a way of life for me.” #RideOnKentuckyKid
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Post by truenorth on May 22, 2018 10:59:53 GMT -8
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Post by truenorth on May 22, 2018 11:04:19 GMT -8
Marco Melandri Allready an year without you mate! #KentuckyKid
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Post by truenorth on May 22, 2018 11:09:34 GMT -8
Angel Nieto Team MotoGP Gone, but never forgotten 😇 Already a year without you, Legend 💔 #RideOnKentuckyKid
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Post by truenorth on May 22, 2018 13:57:56 GMT -8
Nicky Hayden, one year on A year has passed since the passing of the 'Kentucky Kid', with tributes to and memories of the American continuing to flood in Tags MotoGP, 2018, #RideOnKentuckyKid One year ago, MotoGP™ Legend Nicky Hayden sadly succumbed to injuries sustained in a cycling crash near Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. Then, as now, the shockwaves are felt – and the tributes and memories continue to pour in. MotoGP™ Legend, 2006 World Champion, WorldSBK race winner, fiancé, uncle, brother, son, friend and the “Kentucky Kid” who rose from American dirt track to the absolute pinnacle of his sport, Hayden was known for many things to many people, and put his name to an astounding number of achievements both within racing and beyond its limits. One year on, there are many ways in which Hayden has been and will continue to be remembered. Misano have commissioned the Nicky Hayden Memorial Garden near the location of the accident, overseen by Hayden’s friend and former mechanic, Denis Pazzaglini. The Circuit of the Americas have named Turn 18 ‘Hayden Hill’, and photographer Mirco Lazzarri has an exhibition at the Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari di Imola featuring 69 photos of the number 69. In addition, his hometown of Owensboro, KY, will be unveiling a sculpture of Hayden in early June. The statue recreates the American’s celebratory lap of Laguna Seca following his Championship-year victory there on July 23, 2006, and his likeness will hold aloft an actual American flag. The work will be unveiled on June 8 at 5:30 p.m. on the front lawn of the Owensboro Convention Center. Mayor Tom Watson will then read a proclamation declaring the following day – June 9, or 6/9 – Nicky Hayden Day, an incredible way to remember – and celebrate – the life of one of MotoGP™’s true greats, “the nicest man in Grand Prix racing.” Ride on, Kentucky Kid.
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Post by truenorth on May 22, 2018 14:23:54 GMT -8
Casey Stoner I can’t believe it’s been a year already, miss you buddy. #RideOnKentuckyKid
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Post by truenorth on May 22, 2018 14:24:54 GMT -8
cal Crutchlow There is still no one even close to how genuine Nicky was on and off the track. One year without the 69 but still in everyone’s thoughts
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Post by truenorth on May 22, 2018 14:42:45 GMT -8
Takumi Takahashi
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Post by truenorth on May 22, 2018 14:44:57 GMT -8
May 22, 2018 R.I.P. Nicky Hayden: Remembering A True Racer © 2018, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. by Michael Gougis Nicky Hayden (R.I.P.) on the MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO Honda CBR1000RR during the Suzuka 8-Hours race in 2016. Photo by Michael Gougis. Once A Racer, Always A Racer - Nicky Hayden, R.I.P. (A version of this tribute was first published on motorbikeroadracing.com on May 22, 2017. It has been adapted and posted here with permission.) By Michael Gougis Nicky Hayden's 2016-2017 contract with Honda could have been the start of a long-term transition into a career after racing. He was already a brand ambassador in leathers, a racing representative of the company for which he'd won the 2006 MotoGP World Championship, the 2002 AMA Pro Superbike Championship, countless races and the admiration of race fans around the world. The contract could have been the start of a victory lap, so to speak, a time to receive the accolades for a job well done. But Hayden wasn't interested in taking it easy. He still wanted to win races and knew he could still be competitive. It was near the halfway point of the 2017 World Superbike season when he suffered fatal injuries in a car-bicycle collision while training in Italy. But he was already starting negotiations for 2018 and beyond, looking for more support from HRC and a more competitive motorcycle. The proof that Hayden wasn't mailing it in came in a wet-but-drying 2016 Superbike World Championship race in Sepang. As Hayden said afterward, he wasn't in title contention, so it was time to take some risks. Hayden pushed his way to the front in the tricky conditions, managed the gap and gave the aging CBR1000RR and Ten Kate Honda their first win in nearly two seasons. I ran into Hayden at the 2016 Suzuka-8 Hours, where he was riding for the MuSASHi RT HARC-PRO factory-backed Honda squad. Hayden was racing royalty there. Honda executives took selfies with their family members and Hayden. An interview with Hayden was featured in the official program for the race. Hayden's schedule was packed, but he took a few moments for a brief interview with me on Saturday after practice and qualifying. We talked about the technology on the bike, the challenge of riding long stints in the brutal Japanese summer heat and humidity, and the team's chances in the race. Sunday morning, I got up, got to the track and logged on to my e-mail in the press room. And there was a text message from Hayden, sent to a senior Honda P.R. executive, who forwarded it to me. It read, verbatim: "Will you tell the guy I did the interview with the other hard part was being third rider with tire limit that I didn't get new tires for qualifing.... Can u tell him? Thx" Hayden was battling a bike he was unfamiliar with, settings that were a compromise with two other riders, a huge fuel tank and the aforementioned suffocating heat and humidity. Hayden was a MotoGP legend. He had absolutely nothing to prove to anyone. And he still wanted me to know that the real reason his teammates were faster than he was on Saturday afternoon was only because he didn't get a crack at a fast lap on fresh tires. Hayden was, by all accounts, a genuinely nice human being. But at his core, he was a racer, and the desire to be the best burned as brightly in him as it did - and does - in every champion. And it still burned brightly. When Nicky Hayden's faceshield snapped down, he was a racer and he was in it to win it. God speed, Nicky. Thank you for everything.
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Post by truenorth on May 22, 2018 15:45:24 GMT -8
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Post by truenorth on May 22, 2018 15:46:22 GMT -8
valeyellow46Already one year without Nicky We miss you a lot #69 💔 #RideOnNicky
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Post by truenorth on May 22, 2018 19:31:45 GMT -8
Ana Carrasco #RideOnKentuckyKid ❤️
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Post by truenorth on May 22, 2018 19:33:22 GMT -8
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca We lost Nicky Hayden one year ago today. He gave us so many wonderful memories both with his talent on his bike and off the track with his sincerity and infectious smile. He will never be forgotten.
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Post by truenorth on May 23, 2018 2:43:13 GMT -8
Jules Danilo 1 Year today. We don’t forget you Nicky // 1 an aujourd’hui, on t’oublie pas Nicky
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Post by truenorth on May 23, 2018 3:12:28 GMT -8
Kathleen Hayden Thank you for the kind messages, not only the past week, but this past year! We are very appreciative of all the support. As sad and broken hearted as I feel.. I’m so proud that Nicky’s legacy will continue on for many years to come.. #GoneButNeverForgotten
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