News
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Assen 2017
May 3 2017
Race 1; After a great start from tenth place, Nicky was forced wide following a coming together of two of his opponents at turn one and lost a handful of places. As the race progressed, the 35-year-old from Kentucky was able to make up some ground: he ran as high as tenth before having to reduce his pace in the final laps, when the grip level of his softer rear tyre decreased. Hayden will start race two from the thirteenth spot of the grid.
Race 2 ; Hayden got a great launch from 13th place on the grid and was already up to eighth place at the end of the opening lap. In the first half of the race, Nicky stayed in touch with the group fighting for sixth place on board his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 machine and, as the race entered its final part, he did his utmost to defend his position from a resurgent Jordi Torres, who overtook the American on the penultimate lap.
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Phillip Island 2017
Mar 8 2017
The Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team has contested the opening race of the 2017 FIM Superbike World Championship today at Phillip Island, with Nicky Hayden and Stefan Bradl finishing eleventh and fifteenth respectively.
Hayden launched from eleventh place on the grid and was immediately eighth on board his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 machine as the World Superbike field entered turn one. The 35-year-old from Owensboro, Kentucky, kept himself in the fight for eighth place until the final three laps when, after losing a bit of ground, he returned eleventh at the flag.
After launching from twelfth place, Hayden was able to maintain his position and spent the first part of the race in the fight for tenth. After setting his fastest time, on lap nine the 35-year-old American tucked the front at turn ten and crashed: despite remounting his Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SP2 and returning to the track, Hayden could not continue the race.
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Team launch Red Bull Honda Ten Kate
Feb 8 2017
The Honda Ten Kate World Superbike squad has officially launched its new Fireblade machine, which sports Red Bull backing for the new season.
Riders Nicky Hayden and Stefan Bradl were on hand at Red Bull's Hangar-7 base near Salzburg to show off the 2017 CBR1000RR SP2 in its new colours.
The bike, which is based on the latest iteration of the road-going Fireblade, made its track debut last month during a two-day test in Jerez, and was honed further in another test at Portimao.
Former MotoGP champion Hayden described the latter outing as "frustrating", as he struggled with the power delivery of the new machine around the Portuguese track.
The American rider nonetheless was upbeat about the 2017 season, his second in World Superbike, which begins later this month at Phillip Island.
"It's all happening," said Hayden. "A lot of new things going on, we're very excited and very motivated by a lot. The fans expect a lot of us, as we expect from ourselves also."
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