Hayden race number retired from MotoGP

Hayden, aka the Kentucky Kid, raced with #69 in all bar one of his 13 full seasons in MotoGP; the exception being 2007, when he raced with #1 after winning the 2006 World Championship.

Hayden also raced with #69 in his time in AMA competition in the US prior to joining MotoGP in 2003 and continued to run the number when he moved to the Superbike World Championship (WSBK) in 2016. In May, 2017, partway through his second WSBK season, Hayden died following a cycling accident in Italy.

Hayden had already been inducted into the MotoGP World Championship Hall of Fame in 2015, but this new honour will ensure Hayden’s number “remains forever his”.

FIM President Jorge Viegas and Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta headed the ceremony at CotA, with current MotoGP riders also present, as well as Hayden’s family, including father Earl and brother Tommy, who explained the history and significance of the number 69 to the family.

Tommy Hayden: “The number 69 is a special number in our family. Before my brothers and sisters were even born, my dad raced with that number and there were other family members even before us that my dad helped and supported who always raced with the number 69. My sister raced when she was younger, my brother Roger, myself, always raced with the number 69 throughout our childhood years and growing up racing.

“Nicky carried the number through his whole career, it’s very special and it has a lot of meaning, so to have it retired from MotoGP, the pinnacle of the sport, as you can imagine…it means a lot to us.”

Hayden won three grands prix and took 28 podiums in his MotoGP career, 10 of which came in his 2006 Championship-winning season.

Dorna CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta: “Since we lost Nicky in Italy, we were thinking we must do something because he was something special for all of us during his time with us. He touched everything here, his relationship with all of us was fantastic.

“For us to have the honour to retire the number 69 is something very important and I’m very proud to do it.”