Hate to say but he is now one of the elders at the pinnacle of the sport. Just read the article in Sport Rider (gonna subscribe) and he sez he will stay put in MotoGP til he's done. "I love MotoGP because it's the deep waters, and it is the highest level." If I was him, and knowing that dollars are not a concern, I'd bolt for WSB and try to add another championship to the crown before I was done. I'd also get that AMA mile win and complete the hat trick. Why? Will never get a competitive ride in MotoGP again His US home fans get no race/riding coverage Risks it all to lose 10th place by a tenth He's experienced the glitz long enough; he will never get back the years he is spending. 32 yrs old Don't fade away at the rear like CE. Hell, WSB has plenty of glitz and is more approachable to the average fan. He still can ride his ass off and needs to be in a position to be competitive for at least a podium. I've been a huge fan of the Hayden bros ever since they passed me at Rd Atlanta on their 125s coming out of T7. I was on a Yammie SRX. One of those memories you never forget. A WERA race I believe (not CCS) Opinions please! Do I have it wrong? What would you do in his leathers?
Whatever is making him the happiest - be it a challenge of riding an underpowered bike fast or chilling with a hot chick on a Caribbean island.
Keep pushing in MotoGP. Keep bashing the pile Honda he has. If he and Aspar can get Honda to give them the bike Bautista clearly doesn't want, Nicky would be up there in the 5-9 fight easy. Still not a serious podium / win contender, but having a lot more fun.
Maybe GP just feels like family at this point, and riders there really do see it as a huge step down to go to WSB, even though many of us fans don't see it that way. We're upset that our icons are fading away at the back when they surely* have a shot at a title if they went to WSB. So I can understand wanting to stay. I don't like it, but I understand it.
2 chicks at the same time. But really, if he's enjoying the riding, and the pay is decent, what else is there? Nicky has "World Champion" before his name in the premier class. I wouldn't fault him if that means more to him than adding WSBK or AMA accolades. That said, I'm a homebody. I would come back to the US and enjoy every AMA round with my family and my fans, doing flat-track events on the side. If I finished mid-pack in the AMA rounds, people would talk about how washed up I am, blah blah blah. But if i'm enjoying it, why do I care?
Seems he's not very interested in WSBK, so keep doing what you want if the ride is there and the paycheck. I think there's a side we don't often get a complete understanding of also with regard to their future. How much is he making and how much could WSBK pay? He's in his young 30s, younger than Rossi and about a decade you get than Biaggi/Checa. There's still plenty of time and options to consider changes 5+ years down the road.
I dont understand why he wouldnt just start a WERA national program. He's probably got a pretty good shot.
He should stick around until he doesn't feel like it. I don't see a dude like Nick going to WSB. He was THE World Champion for fuck's sake. Nicky would do at least as well as Crutchlow did on an M1 or RC213V. Give him Bautista's bike and he'd be a solid top 5 - 7. Nicky probably doesn't need the money, why would he go to WSB unless it was for shits and giggles? I could see Rossi doing that, but not Hayden.
I wish he would've stayed with Ducati and accepted the WSBK ride. Hope to see him on any bike in WSBK!
He can always step "down" from GP -> WSBK. You don't seem to get to go back to GP once you do, however. Stay in GP until he tires of it.