Nicky Hayden 69

Nicholas Patrick Hayden (July 30, 1981 – May 22, 2017) was a professional motorcycle racer who won the MotoGP World Championship in 2006. He began racing motorcycles at a young age and progressed from the CMRA to the AMA Supersport Championship and then to the AMA Superbike Championship. He won the AMA title in 2002 before being approached by Repsol Honda for a MotoGP ride in 2003.

Nicky Hayden largely had mixed results in his first two seasons at Repsol Honda, scoring only four podiums. However, he rallied in 2005 by winning his first Grand Prix win at Laguna Seca and finishing third in the standings at the end of the season. The next year (2006), would be Hayden's best in motorcycle racing as he won the 2006 MotoGP world title, breaking Valentino Rossi's five-year consecutive streak. He remained with Honda for two more seasons without a win before moving to Ducati in 2009. There he had five largely unsuccessful seasons, with his highest championship position being seventh place in 2010. He subsequently moved to the Honda Aspar team in 2014 where he raced for two seasons before retiring from racing altogether