Nicky Hayden is testy. Just off a flight from Germany, where he came in dead last on his Repsol-sponsored Honda, the 2006 MotoGP world champion is weary and in a bit of a funk. "Man, it was a complete disaster," he says, and...whoa, whoa, what's with the accent?
Hayden, 27, who grew up in the Bluegrass State and is known as "the Kentucky Kid," has one of the wildest, most charmingly delirious Southern accents y'all ever did hear. Honestly, the kid makes Boss Hogg sound like Noël Coward.
In any event, it's been a long, frustrating season for Hayden, so much so that the paddock chatter in MotoGP — the two-wheel equivalent of Formula One, where races are won at speeds upward of 205 mph — has him defecting from his longtime team, Honda (he'll be a free agent at the end of the year). One thing's for sure: Hayden is a motorcycle prodigy, having won on everything he's ever thrown a leg over. At 18, he was Rookie of the Year in the AMA Grand National Championship. At 21, he was the youngest-ever AMA Superbike champion. By 25, he was MotoGP world champion, ending the four-year reign of Valentino Rossi, whom many consider the greatest road racer in the history of the sport.
All of which is to say that losing does not sit well with Hayden. Pretty much like it sat with the Confederates at Appomattox. "You know, there are times when you get hot and rolling," he says, "and then you have a few injuries or whatnot and get the ball against you. You got to be a hardheaded hard-ass."
As we speak, his brothers — Tommy and Roger Lee, stars in the AMA — are nearby, icing down various scrapes and broken bones they've received in combat. The three brothers share a house in Orange, California, where they train and get in some superŽmotard riding. Have his brothers' recent injuries made him think twice about racing? "Look, when you're hanging it out, you're going to crash — and when you go down, it hurts," he says. "This sport is real. But, you know, I chose this game."
Talking to Hayden, you get the feeling that he'd rather take a hard spill than climb back on a plane and return to Europe. Now in his sixth season and one of the few Americans in the sport, he confesses to not having taken much to Europe. He likes Barcelona O.K. but generally avoids Belgium, where the team is headquartered. "It rains all the time there," Hayden says. You can take the boy out of the country, as they say, but you can't get him to like escargots. And although he's not a fan of continental food, he no longer sneers at sparkling water. He also admits to a little frustration when Japanese fans constantly ask him about Kentucky's various contributions to world culture, such as its fried chicken. "All they know about Kentucky is KFC," he says, exasperated.
So why does Hayden stay in MotoGP, when he could choose — indeed, likely dominate — American road racing and be closer to center of the universe, Kentucky? "I like to go toe-to-toe with the baddest boys on the baddest bikes in the world," he says, which is also why he doesn't currently want the distraction of a girlfriend. "The tracks are better. There's more passion. MotoGP has got a bigger audience. I really enjoy racing in front of that audience."
He enjoys winning in front of it, too. "I remember when I won the world championship, I had the American flag on my shoulder and the national anthem playing and 120,000 fans cheering me," he says. "That motivates me every day to get up with the sun."
