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By Sandra, May 27, 2007

After his crash in the GP of France that caused damaged cartilage in his ribcage, Nicky Hayden has called for a change to to trackside gravel traps to help protect riders betters when they crash.

According to Nicky his crash got made worse when he was sliding into the trackside gravel trap with a high speed. As soon as Nicky hit the gravel he flipped into the air and suffered his injury as a results.

Nicky Hayden compared his crash with the ones of Alex Barros at the end of 2005 and Valentino Rossi’s crash in Assen last year. Both suffered injuries after being flipped into the air once they hit the gravel.

Nicky Hayden told MCN:

“I’m not complaining but I think we can improve the safety a little bit with the gravel traps. The gravel honestly is still a little bit thick.

I’ve talked to some guys about it. If you look at Barros in Phillip Island, Rossi in Assen and now me in Le Mans, you hit it and just go flipping.

You definitely need it there, especially in the rain because I picked up speed when I started sliding in the first little bit in Le Mans.”

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By Sandra, April 13, 2007

Losail (Qatar): “I quite like this track. It’s got a couple of banked corners that are fun and there are some long, long right handers which are pretty cool. I’d say my favourite part is the first three corners: two banked corners followed by a fast right-hander. I’ve never seen a track with more run-off for safety. It’s kinda funky too because they don’t have grass, it’s all rocks or Astroturf. And because it’s in the desert the wind blows the sand in and gets the track dirty, so normally on Friday it’s slippery but by Sunday the grip gets better. It’s weird racing there though because there are hardly any spectators.”

Jerez (Spain): “Jerez is a circuit I know quite well because we’ve done a lot of winter testing there. It’s a circuit where it’s hard to find the limit but it is also has one of the best layouts of the championship. The atmosphere during the grand prix is incredible; the Spanish fans see the race as a big party and it’s always impressive to see the grandstands packed with people.”

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By Sandra, April 4, 2007

By Glenn Freeman

Nicky Hayden’s brother Tommy has been trying to help the world champion adapt to riding his 800cc bike after his difficult start to the season.

The American is already 28 points behind Valentino Rossi in the standings after just two races, and his brother, who races in the AMA Superbike series in America, visited him at the post-event test in Spain last week.

“I have to say a big thanks to Tommy for coming over and trying to help me adjust to the new style needed to ride the 800.

To have somebody to talk to about a few things, there’s nobody better than my big brother.”

Hayden also praised his Repsol Honda team, and said that he feels they are completely behind him as he tries to get back to the front of the field.

“I really believe that the team and HRC are behind me. They want results just as bad as me, and we’re going to get things straight.”

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By Sandra, March 14, 2007

By Toby Moody

American cable television network MTV is to make a series of programmes following Nicky Hayden’s championship defence throughout the 2007 season.Following a successful pilot programme made over the winter, MTV bosses gave the green light for a further run of programmes.

A crew was present at the Estoril and Valencia races last season – ironically the most emotional of races for the Honda/Hayden combination – and it is this drama that MTV hope to capture throughout the season.

Cameras are expected to follow Hayden not just at the race track, but at home in Kentucky and at promotional appearances all over the world.

It is expected that the show will air in the latter part of the year.

America’s TV presence is growing with the Red Bull US Grand Prix being aired live on the FOX channel this year after a new deal was recently announced.