PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE
MISANO, ITALY, SEPT. 12—With the announcement that the Indianapolis Grand Prix would be off the schedule for next year’s MotoGP championship, some of the riders expressed their disappointment to see the legendary circuit off the calendar. But no one would miss it more than Owensboro native Nicky Hayden.
“It was my home race, three hours from my house,” Hayden said. “It’s a shame. I think that Indy worked hard, a lot of fans really enjoyed it. I thought they did a good job with the whole downtown—the bikes on Meridian. They had the mile—this year it didn’t work on the same dates—but I thought it was a great event.
“But it’s tough for America to support two MotoGP races. I know that. The market there is not big enough to support two races I don’t guess. It’s a shame, I can’t say I’m surprised thou. It’s been a couple of years where they’ve been saying, ‘ah, is Indy coming back?’ Who knows, maybe it’s off next year, but maybe not for good. Because the track was better this year, I like the changes they made.”
In the end, Hayden might also be absent from the championship next year anyways. Rumors place Hayden in World Superbike after his tenure of 13 seasons in the Grand Prix paddock.
Hayden didn’t have anything to say about his plans for next season at this time, but was asked if he at least had some options in MotoGP.
“You know, I have some possibilities,” he said. “Some people waiting, things aren’t finalized. Yeah, maybe, we’ll see.”
With a lot of the other rides firmed up, could one of those be the Avintia team?
“You know how that is, a lot of talk, a few lines in the water, but nothing real solid,” he answered.
While Hayden does work in Misano, across the pond a championship is about to be decided in New Jersey as teammates Cameron Beaubier and Josh Hayes face off one final weekend for the MotoAmerica Superbike crown. So we put the former World Champion on the spot and asked who his pick to win was.
“Well, I would think Cameron [Beaubier] because he’s got 18 points,” Hayden said. “That’s a pretty good lead. Josh [Hayes] is in a position that he’s got to win; even winning both races might not be enough. I would always rather be in Cameron’s situation, but I don’t have a dog in the fight. Not too much to say.
“I think it’s nice that the championship’s coming down to the last race, or last round. It’s good for the series because they’ve had a long break, so it’s nice to keep some good interest with the championship up for grabs.”
And speaking of Beaubier, a lot have talk has the 23 year old as the next export, most likely World Superbike. Even though Beaubier has already spent time in this paddock—the Rookies Cup, the Red Bull Academy and the 125 Championship—it has been awhile, six years to be precise. So a lot of people over seas are curious about how he would fare.
“I think Cameron’s shown he has some real potential,” he said about Beaubier. “Does he have enough to make it on the world level? We haven’t really seen yet.”
