Nicky Hayden

Nicky Hayden, nicknamed the Kentucky Kid, was an American professional motorcycle racer, born on 30 July 1981, who won the MotoGP World Championship in 2006. He came up through the CMRA, the AMA Supersport Championship and the AMA Superbike Championship, won the AMA title in 2002 and was then approached by Repsol Honda to race in MotoGP from 2003. After scoring his first Grand Prix win at Laguna Seca in 2005 he took the 2006 title, breaking Valentino Rossi's streak of five consecutive championships. He later rode for Ducati and Honda Aspar, moved to the Superbike World Championship in 2016, and died on 22 May 2017 after being hit by a driver while cycling in Italy.