Motorcycle racing, by its very nature, breeds competitors that are selfish but, with a couple of notable exceptions, usually very pleasant. Of course, like all other human beings, they can be prickly and bad-tempered when you catch them at the wrong time.

Some riders in history are loved, some are treated with indifference, some are treated as gods. Nicky Hayden always lived up to the description given to him by other people: “The Nicest Man in Grand Prix Racing”.

I didn’t know Nicky Hayden. I was fortunate enough to chat with him a few times and interview him three times. Even once when I got the time difference wrong to Kentucky: ‘What is it with Brits and always being exactly on time?’ delivered with a grin that I couldn’t see but knew was there…

Always a gentleman, always polite, always funny and always with time for other people and their questions he had been asked 40 times already that day, Nicky Hayden was a Mid-West boy done good. Owensboro’ to World Champion via dirt-track and Superbikes, always with one thing on his mind.

“As a kid, I really had a big desire. That’s all I ever wanted. I never said, ‘When I get older, I’d like to be an astronaut or the president.’ I never had these crazy dreams as a kid. I wanted to be a GP racer. And people sometimes would ask my dad, ‘Did you have to make him practice and train?’ They laugh because, ‘No, I had to make him do his homework or make him brush his teeth, but never to ride with a motorcycle.’ It was just a love for it.”

Owensboro’ is a small town by American standards but the Hayden family – with brothers Tommy and Roger Lee – lived and breathed racing. And Nicky made it all the way to the top after dominating in domestic Superbikes.

The MotoGP culture shock was big and real.

“My jump to MotoGP was huge. I went from AMA and I came from a big family, from Kentucky, a small town. I grew up sharing a room with my brother and I look back now because at times I was so lost. I was just a kid who was really still a dirt tracker at heart, and got thrown into a very deep end, and I had a lot to learn.

“And if I’m completely honest, the step was bigger than I thought it was going to be. Not only did I have to learn a new bike, and the team, and the racing, but I had to learn the whole culture, the travel, and it was deep water and not easy in the beginning. But luckily I had a good bike – that really helps – and I was able to get good results and justify it.

“I was able to win Rookie of the Year that year, in 2003, and beat out (Troy) Bayliss and Colin (Edwards) and good riders to get that award. It was a steep learning curve, but I learned to swim just quick enough to stay on.”

Chapter, verse and tome have been written about Nicky’s 2006 championship where he beat Valentino Rossi despite a crash at Estoril which could have seen it slip away. Here is what he thinks:

“Well, for sure, in Portugal, that moment in the gravel trap, that thought of being World Champion just slipped through my hands. You never know how many times you’re going to be in that opportunity in life, but I gathered myself up, and after the race, maybe one hour after, I started to think of only Valencia. I looked at the points and realised I still had a chance. I know Valencia is a small track, many guys go fast there – maybe it’s not the best track for Valentino at that time.

“And I somehow, as crazy as it sounds – people ask me now – from about an hour after that race, I always believed I was still going to be World Champion. Going into the last race, I think 11 points down on arguably the greatest rider of all time, with all the momentum on his side, an injured shoulder. Not many people outside of my team and family gave me a chance, and for whatever reason, that whole season I believed it was going to be my year.

“And that’s what I said all along, is this is my year and I still think when they let off the yellow fireworks, I laughed, and I’ve seen the pictures because I guess I like being the underdog. I did have to chuckle and being on the podium and seeing the yellow fireworks was just something that was incredible for me.

“I would say that moment for me was what I lived all my life for and not just me, it wasn’t like a goal I felt I won. I felt my family won it, like we won it together, because my parents, and my sisters, and my brothers, they sacrificed so much to give us this opportunity at a young age and I felt like we won it.”

Rest in peace, Nicholas Patrick Hayden.