{"id":1417,"date":"2017-05-22T13:12:39","date_gmt":"2017-05-22T17:12:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonmotorsport.com\/?p=1417"},"modified":"2022-06-16T15:02:59","modified_gmt":"2022-06-16T19:02:59","slug":"nicky-hayden-dies-following-cycling-accident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2017\/05\/22\/nicky-hayden-dies-following-cycling-accident\/","title":{"rendered":"Nicky Hayden dies in hospital following cycling accident"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former MotoGP<\/strong> champion and rider, Nicky Hayden<\/strong>, has died aged 35, five days after a cycling accident in Italy.<\/p>\n

Nicky Hayden dies in hospital following cycling accident<\/h2>\n

Hayden, who competed for the Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team<\/strong>, collided with a car whilst cycling along the Rimini coastline in north-west Italy.<\/p>\n

Since the accident, Hayden remained in intensive care at the\u00a0Maurizio Bufalini Hospital after suffering ‘serious cerebral damage’.<\/p>\n

Hayden was born on July 30th, 1981, in Kentucky and made his MotoGP debut in 2003 for Repsol Honda<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

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<\/strong> crashed out of the race, with a third place finish handing the title to Hayden.<\/p>\n

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<\/strong> where he one win and four podiums in 38 races.<\/p>\n

Hayden remains as the the last American racer to have won the MotoGP championship.<\/p>\n

Main Photo<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n