I seriously doubt he has lost the thirst for the win. Honestly I look at it like this, he is competing at the highest level of the sport possible on machinery that is the most advanced and unique. Stepping down just to dominate a lower level of racing is not only boring to him on a personal level I would bet, but also beneath him. As a stretch it would be equivalent to a WERA racer who is and has been an expert, who has also won a championship, going back down to race in the amateur field because he hadent won in a while. Now, based on previous threads here we all know the general consensus of sandbagging the amateur class, so why is that what is desired for Nicky to do? That's my 2c anyway.
I was wearing a Hayden Repsol shirt at Laguna in 07, and out of no where, Earl came up and tapped me on the shoulder and said "nice shirt." Seemed like a nice guy. MM, to say Nicky is "satisfied" with battling for 14th doesn't seem accurate to me. He's trying as hard as he can, to finish as best as he can.
. . . American Honda wants him there... I took a pic of Nicky at Road Atlanta (turn 10) in 2002 after doubling up on Mladin on his way to the title, burning the rear tire off of the RC51 with fist pumping in the air. He was a hero to me then and still is today regardless of where he is finishing in the GP's :up: :up: Pretty sure he was slated to do the last one if it wasn't for him still healing-up the bionic wrist...
Hey man, I have the same exact Nicky RC51 burnout pic from Road Atl!...THAT was a good weekend. :up: Ah, OK, the wrist surgery slipped my mind.....I hope he makes it and gives Marquez a run for his money.
I agree. And I think questioning that is just ridiculous. He didn't get to where he is in life simply because he kinda likes it. He is a competitor just like any of us. Many of us train like freaks and lay everything on the line just to have a chance at winning a Club race, because it is in our nature. To think he wouldn't be the same way racing on the World stage is silly.
I see he as being the kind of guy that has an attitude of "I'm going to do everything I can to help the team. It may not be during my time, but if my work helps the next guy then I've done my job."
Why would anyone walk away from the best job on earth? As I sit at my desk every day, I day dream of battling for 14th in Motogp!
I didn't read much of this bs, besides the original post, but I hear this crap all the time and it's painfully stupid. Riding a motorcycle is his job, and he's going to work to make a living just like everyone else. I think it's funny that anyone believes he should walk away from millions of dollars to sit on the couch because a dozen or so riders in the world are going faster than him.
Agreed! And we may still see him in WSBK at some point. I hope we do. It's quite possible tho, that the challenge of taking a top 10 in MotoGP is greater than winning in WSBK.
Well, when theres 22-24 riders out there its never going to be a 20-something rider battle for the lead. There needs to be some backfilling of the field. I guess what upsets everyone is that its a former world champions that's doing it in this case. None of the MotoGP world champs since Nicky did it in 2006 have been in this situation. Vale/Jorge/Marquez are all still battling up front and Casey retired whilst still on top. So really Nicky is the first former champion in a long long time that we've had to watch slowly and painfully drop down the order.......and it does suck to watch. I would venture that Vale wouldn't do this, his ego likely could not handle it.
I just get the feeling that, in his mind, the want for that mile dirt track win, is more than the want to compete in World Superbike. Just a feeling.
MotoGP is a powerful drug. A year ago, Randy DePuniet felt that WSBK was beneath him and that he would retire before lowering himself to doing that. And he hasn't accomplished 1/10 of what Nicky Hayden has done in MotoGP. It's not all that surprising that Hayden has no interest in superbikes.
I'm sure when he's 35 + in age that he'll still be able to win a mile, so unless he gets hurt again I think we'll see him line up at a mile. I think it's hard to walk away from that money even though he know's he is riding a turd. Also, for me it's hard to see someone be a company man to the T and not have the ability to have better equipment.
great weekend! its hard not to be a fan of anyone ending the Mladin streak at Rd. Atl. I remember tellin' him earlier that day that it was his turn to win the Big Kahuna, I was sick of Mladin making it look so easy (and other reasons) that I had to say something to somebody that had a chance at it. LOL Niki just happened to be the one riding my favorite color machinery. hes a class act that one and I mean beyond all the racing skill & talent. "I" think he can still win at that level. I base that thought on how well he did along side 46 all that time on the Ducatis. seem to recall he came out on top most of the time between the two of them on the same equipment or almost the same but since it was the italian brand, we can be fairly certain the italian rider had the upper hand on equipment. I think politics got in the way first and then health with the wrist but neither has stopped him. when it comes right down to it though, doesnt matter what anyone else thinks does it? post up the Burnout and other pics!
I'm just wondering what his career would have looked like had he signed with Yamaha as intended in winter of 02/03. I feel like he's a bad dude on a bike but even if he did have an equal bike to Val and the rest he wouldn't have been pulling Rainey or Lawson stats.
