Nicky Hayden (July 30, 1981 – May 22, 2017) was a Grand Prix motorcycle racer and the 2006 MotoGP World Champion. Hayden was a full-time MotoGP rider from 2003 to 2015, with a total of three wins and 28 podiums.
MotoGP Career
After winning the AMA Superbike title in 2002, Hayden made his MotoGP debut with Repsol Honda the following season as Valentino Rossi‘s teammate. After two relatively quiet seasons, the Kentucky Kid took his first MotoGP win at Laguna Seca in 2005 and finished the season third overall. Hayden would spend two more seasons with Honda after winning the 2006 title before racing for the Ducati factory team from 2009 to 2013. The popular American spent the final two years of his Grand Prix career on satellite Honda machinery.
World Superbike and Bicycle Accident
Hayden made the switch from MotoGP to the Superbike World Championship in 2016, and immediately put himself on the short list of racers who have won races in both series. Several months into his second season in World Superbike, Hayden was hit by a car while riding his bicycle near Rimini, Italy. He succumbed to his injuries five days later on May 22, 2017.
Tissot
Hayden signed with Tissot in November of 2005, and his first watch with the brand was the T-Race Nicky Hayden Limited Edition 2006 (ref. T90487682). After winning the MotoGP title in 2006 and becoming the Swiss brand’s first ever World Champion ambassador, a World Champion edition T-Race Nicky Hayden Limited Edition chronograph (ref. T0114171720701) was released in 2007. Tissot continued to release a Nicky Hayden edition T-Race chronograph every year until his untimely passing in 2017.
Related Pages
References
https://livingwithgravity.com/nicky-hayden-tissot-watch-a-timeless-tribut/
https://www.horologii.com/watch-brands/luxury-watches/ambassadors-tissot-watches/
https://professionalwatches.com/tissot-t-race-mens-nicky-hayden/
https://www.europastar.com/news/1003316469-tissot-ambassador-nicky-hayden-becomes-the-2006.html