Former MotoGP champion and rider, Nicky Hayden, has died aged 35, five days after a cycling accident in Italy.
Nicky Hayden dies in hospital following cycling accident
Hayden, who competed for the Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team, collided with a car whilst cycling along the Rimini coastline in north-west Italy.
Since the accident, Hayden remained in intensive care at the Maurizio Bufalini Hospital after suffering ‘serious cerebral damage’.
Hayden was born on July 30th, 1981, in Kentucky and made his MotoGP debut in 2003 for Repsol Honda after becoming AMA Superbike champion. Despite driving for such a successful team in the series, Hayden did not secure his first win until 2005 at Laguna Seca.
Hayden became the MotoGP champion in 2006 whilst still racing for Repsol Honda, winning the championship in unexpected circumstances in the final round of the season after Valentino Rossi crashed out of the race, with a third place finish handing the title to Hayden.
In his time competing in the MotoGP World Championship, Hayden secured 131 race wins and a further 28 podiums in 218 starts, later going on to compete in the World Superbike Championship where he one win and four podiums in 38 races.
Hayden remains as the the last American racer to have won the MotoGP championship.
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