Nicky Hayden, On His Rookie WSBK Season Thus Far

A win in Malaysia, three podiums, and sixth in the standings marks a solid start to any rookie campaign, but Nicky Hayden is no ordinary rookie.

As a MotoGP world champion, the flag bearer for the United States on the world stage, and one of the sports biggest stars, so much is expected of Hayden.

As World Superbike enters the summer break, Hayden has learned how to get the most from the Honda CBR1000RR, and has become a consistent top-six contender.

From the outside, it has been a solid campaign, but Hayden came to WorldSBK to have a chance to win, and even finishing on the podium isn’t quite enough for the Kentucky rider.

“We had two okay races at Laguna,” said Hayden after a podium and a top five finish at his home round. “Of course I’m disappointed with the result in Race 2 because during the first part of the race, before the red flag, I felt really good. I had just made my best lap time of the weekend with race tires when the red flag came out.”

“After the red flag I wasn’t able to do the same pace. We need to look at the data and understand why. At the end, two top fives here in Laguna is nothing I should be moping around and complaining about too much, but I was hoping today to do something better and do something a little bit special.”

“But nonetheless, Laguna is such always a great weekend and I love it here. I love the fans. I love the track. My family coming out supporting us is a lot of fun. I hope next year when I come back I’ll be better prepared and can put up a better fight.”

That better fight is likely to be decided by whether or not Honda provides a new machine for next year. The aging Fireblade is due for a new model, but nothing concrete has been planned yet.

Speaking to team members, some have said that in mid-November they will have a new model in the workshop, but it’s something that not even Hayden has been able to get definitive answers on.

“I signed a two-year deal because I wanted to come to World Superbike and to try and learn. I thought I needed two years to really be able to show what I could do and I’m not kidding anybody. I’m a 34 year old racer, so I know it’s tough to learn new things!

“Of course everybody knows we hope there’s a new bike next year. Sometimes when Honda comes up with a new bikes it can be a weapon! I’ve had a couple of them. My RC-51 in AMA, my 990 in MotoGP, and of course I’d love to get another one of those.”

“I was talking to my dad and told him that I qualified sixth here for this weekend, and he said that I started sixth in ‘06 too and won the race…but I told him the job was easier when you had one of the Honda 990s! Everything was a bit easier. So hopefully we have something new for next year.”

“I’m leaving for Suzuka in the morning so there’s no vacation for me, but I’m excited about Suzuka. I would love to win it because it would be something special, and I’ve been fortunate to win some big races but it’s going to be a lot of competition this year.

“To ride a factory bike there is also something special and hopefully maybe help our relationship with HRC.”