MotoGP: Hayden To Replace Miller For Aragon
Rennie Scaysbrook | September 19, 2016
World Superbike Championship rider Nicky Hayden will return to the MotoGP paddock this weekend for Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS in place of the injured Jack Miller.
Miller fractured his right hand in a high speed crash at the Red Bull Ring in Austria and will miss this weekend’s race as he attempts a longer recuperation prior to the grueling flyaway races starting next month in Japan.
American Hayden started 216 races between 2003 and 2015 and claimed three victories and 25 other podium finishes. The highlight of the 35-year-old’s career was undoubtedly his World Championship success in 2006 when he defeated Valentino Rossi in a nail-biting final round decider in Valencia.
“First of all I want to wish Jack a speedy recovery,” Nicky said. “He is a buddy of mine and he is a rider I believe in a lot, so I hope he can get healthy as quickly as possible to show the high potential we all know he has got. He just needs to get his body right so he can perform. This is an unusual experience for me because I’ve never been a stand-in rider before. But I have a good relationship with Honda and when the idea first came up they were behind it and Ten Kate gave me their blessing, so it is nice to go and help out another Honda team. For me it just a chance to go and have fun. I’d probably be riding motorbikes anyway and I would definitely be watching the race on TV, so I might as well show up and have some fun. I know MotoGP is not a place that’s always easy to have fun because the level is so high but I’ve got a lot to learn and it won’t be a walk in the park. I haven’t ridden the bike and there are different tires and electronics but I’ve got a lot of experience and I get another shot at MotoGP, which is great for me personally. I want to thank Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS for the opportunity and Ten Kate and my sponsors who all made it happen and I will try and do them all proud.”