Where have you gone Mr. Nicky Hayden?

[Jester]

Um...lose your sense of humor somewhere today? 

 

[ducpainter]

<snip>
then they went to stoner and got him for a song.

Do you suppose Casey is humming that tune now?

[mitt]

I think the season is still young, and Nicky will get far better if he keeps his head in it.  I think it is more mental at this point than physics of the bike or himself.  2 potentially lethal crashes in consecutive races has to crush the psyche of any racer, let alone one on a new team.

mitt

[The Don]

https://www.mynrma.com.au/cps/rde/xchg/mynrma/hs.xsl/rise_of_casey_stoner.htm
"Stoner was actually Ducati's third choice as a rider to partner Loris Capirossi this year. Its other 2006 rider, Spain's Sete Gibernau, put an unjustifiably high price on his services for 2007, while 2006 World Champion, Nicky Hayden, had already signed up again for Honda when Ducati approached him. So Stoner, unhappy at his Honda team and looking for an opportunity, found it when Ducati found him"

[The Don]

I think its way to early to say Nicky isn't up to the Ducati. I definatley think he will get on top of the problems that bike is giving him and make his way up the feild.
Don

[Jester]

You know, after stepping back from all of this, I have come to the point we've all been missing.  Nicky Hayden isn't a front runner no matter any which way you spin it.  He never has been since leaving AMA.  Say what you will about a half season string of good, but not great form in 2006 ( and the tail end of 2005).  Nicky is a US rider... so for that we should support him heavily, but acting as if he's ever going to win races or even podium on any frequent basis is just plain nuts.  Fact is, Nicky is a rider of good-but-not-great talent that practices his ass off harder than anyone else to stay competitive.  I applaud that and I like the kid, but he's never been spectacular at the MotoGP level and won't be.  He's better than the average midpack rider, but he's not good enough to be a regular front runner either.  Hard to classify the kid.

That said, I hate to see him wallow with Ducati at the back of the grid and I hope he puts something together, but that something isn't going to be terribly spectacular in my opinion anyway.  The title of this thread is "Where have you gone Mr. Nicky Hayden?", but its not like he was a former world champion or anything... oh wait.     The stirring of the pot goes round and round, round and round, round and round.

[Spidey]

I mostly agree, particularly with the top 4 we have right now (if Lorenzo learns how to stay on the bike) and given that they're on 800cc bikes that require a lot of electronics and technical development.  That said . . .

but acting as if he's ever going to win races or even podium on any frequent basis is just plain nuts. 

Hayden 2006

3d
2d
3d
2d
5th
3d
2d
1st
7th
3rd
1st
9th
4th
5th
5th
DNF
3rd

That's 10 podiums.  Even if Rossi hadn't had a dogshit season that year, Hayden was still a front runner and a constant threat to podium.

[Jester]

I mostly agree, particularly with the top 4 we have right now (if Lorenzo learns how to stay on the bike) and given that they're on 800cc bikes that require a lot of electronics and technical development.  That said . . .

Hayden 2006

3d
2d
3d
2d
5th
3d
2d
1st
7th
3rd
1st
9th
4th
5th
5th
DNF
3rd

That's 10 podiums.  Even if Rossi hadn't had a dogshit season that year, Hayden was still a front runner and a constant threat to podium.

Yes, but I did disclaim by saying "Say what you will about a half season string of good, but not great form in 2006 ( and the tail end of 2005)."  His first half of 2006 was good, but he tailed off that year falling back towards the results that have marked his entire GP career.  If you throw out that run of form, he's better than ordinary, but by no means any type of consistant threat for the crown.

[Spidey]

It's really hard to say.  He's been riding a bike for the last two years that was (a) made for a rider 50 lbs lighter than him and (b) designed for those who grew up on 125s and 250s.  Hard to say what he woulda been like in the last two years if he wasn't riding the Pedrosa 800.  And now he's jumped on the Ducati -- the bike that makes great riders into rank amateurs.

What do you think he'd be like today if he were on the M1?  He might end up be the third Yami on the grid most days, but he'd be top 5 pretty consistently.

[derby]

His first half of 2006 was good, but he tailed off that year falling back towards the results that have marked his entire GP career. 

you're forgetting honda trying to reinvent the wheel w/ nicky's bike post-laguna (*cough*sabotageclutch*cough*) .

[gm2]

what, a clutch in the middle of the engine gets super hot and doesn't work?  crazy talk!

[TiNi]

it's got to be frustrating as hell for him
but, he's not a quitter, so i'll still be cheering for him

GO NICKY!   [moto]

[tufty]

Hayden was still a front runner and a constant threat to podium.

But now Hayden is teh suxxor, w00t!!

[mikeb]

  I think it is more mental at this point than physics of the bike or himself. 

I have to disagree.  Nicky isn't a head case and doesn't get mental.  He needs seat time and a crazy amount of laps in testing to get issues sorted.  Lack of seat/race time has more to do with it than his head.

[RodeoClown]

Julian Ryder gives some good talk about Nicky on the newest SoupKast.

I am still behind him just a bit frustrated!