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World Superbike
MOTOGP: Hayden Doesn’t Want To Live Like A Refugee
When he appeared to be on the outs with Ducati, World Superbike wanted Nicky Hayden. But did Nicky Hayden ever want World Superbike?
(Photo: Ducati Corse)
Valentino Rossi's exit from Ducati offered something of a new lease on life for American Nicky Hayden -- and not just because it opened up an opportunity to stake his claim as a #1 rider for the first time in several seasons.
Had Rossi accepted Audi/Ducati's midseason push to resign the multi-time world champion, Hayden might have found himself on the outside looking in with strong rumors at the time pointing to a projected Rossi/Cal Crutchlow pairing. However, Rossi's return to Yamaha meant that Hayden suddenly became more valuable to a team looking to retain some continuity, while Crutchlow's value arguably dipped with Ducati perhaps motivated to field a top-flight Italian rider in one of the two seats.
Had things gone the other way, it's difficult to say exactly where Hayden might have ended up. Most of the prime (to semi-prime) seats looked to be going elsewhere and a 'Nicky Hayden to World Superbike' headline didn't seem like such a long shot in July.
History shows that there are precious few rides in MotoGP that offer a legitimate shot of winning races, let alone titles, and once you lose one, it's almost impossible to claw your way back.
In some ways Hayden seems to be the ideal WSBK-bound GP refugee. The sister series has benefitted greatly due to the influx of superstar Grand Prix pilots who lost career traction and went production-bike racing to rehabilitate their careers and reputations… and win races and titles once again after being shut off from the good stuff in GP. The ex-MotoGP aces also inject name power and sheer talent into WSBK and their results speak for themselves.
Riders like Max Biaggi, Carlos Checa, and Marco Melandri have not just done well for themselves, they've completely dominated World Superbike in recent years. And none of them were so perfectly suited to ride a Superbike as the dirt-track (and Superbike) raised American. He also happens to boast a pedigree as a MotoGP World Champion matched by none of the GP-to-WSBK hotshots, who enjoyed relatively seamless transitions nonetheless.
Hayden wouldn't have been an overnight contender had he landed a leading seat in World Superbike, he would have been an instant title favorite.
Had Rossi accepted Audi/Ducati's midseason push to resign the multi-time world champion, Hayden might have found himself on the outside looking in with strong rumors at the time pointing to a projected Rossi/Cal Crutchlow pairing. However, Rossi's return to Yamaha meant that Hayden suddenly became more valuable to a team looking to retain some continuity, while Crutchlow's value arguably dipped with Ducati perhaps motivated to field a top-flight Italian rider in one of the two seats.
Had things gone the other way, it's difficult to say exactly where Hayden might have ended up. Most of the prime (to semi-prime) seats looked to be going elsewhere and a 'Nicky Hayden to World Superbike' headline didn't seem like such a long shot in July.
History shows that there are precious few rides in MotoGP that offer a legitimate shot of winning races, let alone titles, and once you lose one, it's almost impossible to claw your way back.
In some ways Hayden seems to be the ideal WSBK-bound GP refugee. The sister series has benefitted greatly due to the influx of superstar Grand Prix pilots who lost career traction and went production-bike racing to rehabilitate their careers and reputations… and win races and titles once again after being shut off from the good stuff in GP. The ex-MotoGP aces also inject name power and sheer talent into WSBK and their results speak for themselves.
Riders like Max Biaggi, Carlos Checa, and Marco Melandri have not just done well for themselves, they've completely dominated World Superbike in recent years. And none of them were so perfectly suited to ride a Superbike as the dirt-track (and Superbike) raised American. He also happens to boast a pedigree as a MotoGP World Champion matched by none of the GP-to-WSBK hotshots, who enjoyed relatively seamless transitions nonetheless.
Hayden wouldn't have been an overnight contender had he landed a leading seat in World Superbike, he would have been an instant title favorite.
WSBK: Monza Race 0513
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