2006 MotoGP Champion Nicky Hayden Has Passed Away

Two thousand six MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden has passed away. According to news reports, Hayden was in Italy, where he had remained after competing in the World Superbike Championship event there, when he was struck by a car while riding his bicycle as part of his training regimen last week. Hayden apparently biked into an intersection, where he was struck by the car as it passed through the intersection. Authorities mentioned that Hayden may have been listening to music that prevented him from hearing the oncoming car, though it’s not been determined if that was the cause of the incident.

Hayden was in the intensive care unit at the hospital for several days with multiple serious injuries, including cerebral damage, before succumbing. Several members of his family, including his mother, had flown from the States to be at his side as doctors and staff worked to save the 35 year old. He leaves behind his mother, two brothers and two sisters and his fiancé, Jackie Marin.

Hayden’s career began before he was even tall enough to hold his bike up on his own, with the youngster relying on a crewman to hold the bike up at the start of the race until he got rolling, at which time he would compete handlebar-to-handlebar with racers many years his senior. He would go on to become the MotoGP World Champion in 2006, ending Valentino Rossi’s five year stranglehold on the series. He ends his career with three wins and 28 podium finishes out of the 218 races he ran. Many fans, fellow riders and other athletes and celebrities took to social media to send their condolences to Hayden’s loved ones and share their fondest memories of and with Nicky.

Hayden will be deeply missed, and we here at Speed Society send our prayers and sincerest condolences to his family and loved ones.