Nicky Hayden was probably one of the best examples of someone who was born to race motorcycles.
The former MotoGP world champion, who has died aged 35 following a cycling accident in Italy, comes from a family famous for racing.
Born in Owensboro, Kentucky on July 30, 1981 he followed older brother Tommy on to the racetracks of America. Younger brother Roger Lee, mother Rose and sisters Jenny and Kathleen have also raced.
Nicky was by far the best of the Hayden bunch, graduating from the time-honoured school of American dirt track racing all the way to the top of the MotoGP world championship.
Known as the Kentucky Kid, he had his first race at the tender age of five. Throughout his club racing career he regularly had to start from the back of the grid as he was so short he needed someone to hold his bike upright as his feet could not touch the floor.
At 17 he moved up to racing a full factory Honda RC45 despite still being in high school. It was the beginning of a long association with the Japanese manufacturer which saw him become world champion in 2006, famously ending the five-year domination of the class by Valentino Rossi.
He went on to win the American Supersport title in 1999 and the Superbike crown three years later. He also won numerous dirt track races, leading home a Hayden one-two-three ahead of Tommy and Roger Lee at the Springfield TT. On his website Hayden described this moment as his best racing memory.
But as with many of the American racers who had risen to the top of their sport on home soil he moved to Europe to chase glory in the MotoGP world championship, the blue riband of motorcycle racing.
Hayden jumped straight in at the deep end when he signed for Repsol Honda, the top team in the series, to partner the all-conquering combination of Rossi and Honda's RC211V.
He appeared unfazed by the prospect, taking the rookie-of-the-year award by finishing fifth in the points standings, but a disappointing 2004 season followed and it was not until 2005 that he took his first MotoGP win in his home race at Laguna Seca, ending the series in third overall.
With Rossi having moved to Yamaha in 2004, it fell to Hayden to spearhead the Honda challenge in 2006 but his hopes of ending the Italian's winning streak at five world titles in a row looked to be over with one race remaining.
Having led the points standings from the third race, Hayden saw his hopes dealt a serious blow at the penultimate round at Estoril in Portugal when he was knocked off by team-mate Dani Pedrosa.
Hayden trailed Rossi by eight points but when the latter crashed trying to make up for a bad start at Valencia in Spain, he handed the advantage to his rival and Hayden claimed the crown by finishing third in the race. With Rossi finishing back in 13th the American's winning margin was five points.
Having reached the pinnacle of his chosen sport it wasn't going to get any better for Hayden.
He changed his distinctive racing number 69 for the number one plate but he could only finish eighth in 2007 without a single race win to his name. The following year he struggled again as Honda favoured team-mate Pedrosa and before the end of the year he agreed a move to Ducati, bringing an end to his 10-year association with the Japanese manufacturer.
Five years of struggle with the Italian marque were followed by a return to Honda and MotoGP via the Aspar team before he joined the company's World Superbike effort as part of the Ten Kate team in 2016, which became the Red Bull Honda team this year.
He won the second race at Sepang in Malaysia and also finished on the podium in Germany, America and Holland in 2016 as well as taking guest rides in the MotoGP for Honda teams as a replacement for injured riders.
Although his best years of racing were behind him, Hayden's death has robbed him of many years where he could have reflected on his status as an American world champion alongside such names as Kenny Roberts, Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson and Wayne Rainey.
His humble nature won him as many fans off the track as his racing exploits did on it.
He is survived by his parents, Earl and Rose.
Source: PA
