Wasn't he pursuing sponsorship through some big casinos at one time? I'm sure the gaming industry has taken it in the shorts with the soft economy, but in good times it seems like those places have money to burn.
I have seen it said that that is the same deal he is currently working on. Could see him running Yamahas with spec electronics. Of course, his main man, Warren Willing, just joined Ducati.
Anyone else having issues with the sound feed on Live Video on the GP site? I get ambient but can't access commentary on the live feed. I tried adjusting the sound mixer sliders but the only sound available is ambient. Commentary is fine on the saved videos.
They have only had commentary on the Moto GP sessions. Moto 2 and 3 are ambient only for FP. They will have commentary for QP.
Sounds awesome! Hope he stays. Really enjoyed watching FP3 with him in it. Not so sure I will enjoy MotoGP next year without him.
But for Hayden that would not be a prototype bike I believe. Still, a factory production bike from Honda is probably better than he's got now.
http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2013/Hayden+upbeat+with+second+row+slot Hayden also acknowledged the possibility as a potentially exciting prospect. “Well, that’s a very interesting opportunity, but at the moment I have a couple of good opportunities going so I am pretty excited,” continued the title winner of seven years ago. “There is definitely going to be a big change for me next year; there are some things that look very promising but still a lot of details to be worked out, so it’s still a long way off being close to any decision. “But it looks promising, so I’m quite excited about everything. We don’t really know the level of the ‘production racers’ for next year, so we don’t really know how much potential they will have, but there are some good things coming and I am looking forward to the future. However there is still a lot of racing to come this year and I want to finish with (Ducati Team) in absolutely the best way possible – and hopefully go off with something we can be proud of.” When asked whether he could confirm whether talks are ongoing with the LCR outfit, Hayden replied: “Yes, there has been some discussion. I’m not going to deny that.” Forward racing which will run the Yamaha production bikes is also in discussion with Hayden. Seeming pretty likely he'll stay in motogp. Hopefully it's on the Honda as they seem to be further along on their bike and maybe if he does really well he could take over from Flock of Seagulls at Gresini when his contract is up. Will be interesting to see how those bikes compare to the prototypes considering the different rules. Just when my wife has grasped the CRT concept now I'll have to explain this to her.
+1 I recall words to the effect that he was tired of spending his own money but that when he could step into a competitive package with someone else's money, he would be interested. Obviously he knows the game well enough and his Rolodex still has the important numbers in it, but I still wonder if he's pipe-dreaming. It always ends up sounding like he wants it on a platter.
Talked to a guy Named Edgar in the Paddock and he said it was a done deal for Hayden to go to LCR. If I could read his Business card(its in German) I would tell you exactly who he was, but he said he was a big deal in Germany, some sort of broadcaster. We asked him what the biggest secret in the paddock was, and that's what he said.
This dude? He's a German TV commentator. As I understand it, it's not a done deal yet. American Honda still needs to stump up some cash to get it done.
Go Nicky. It's not a stretch to imagine the production Honda should be a better ride than what he's had.