The Marc VDS MotoGP team have confirmed that 2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden will make his premier class return this weekend at the Aragon Grand Prix whilst Jack Miller continues his recovery from a hand fracture.
Hayden retired from MotoGP at the end of the 2015 season following several lacklustre years with the Aspar team aboard the open Honda RC213V-RS and RCV1000R. The American switched to the World Superbike Championship for this year with the factory-backed Ten Kate Honda squad, a move that has proved hugely successful already.
The Kentucky rider took his maiden podium finish in WorldSBK in Assen this season, following that up with his first win in the series at Sepang in Malaysia. He has gone on to secure two further rostrum appearances at Laguna Seca and in last weekend’s German round at the Lausitzring.
“First of all I want to wish Jack a speedy recovery. He is a buddy of mine and he is a rider I believe in a lot, so I hope he can get healthy as quickly as possible to show the high potential we all know he has got,” said Hayden, who’ll ride a factory RCV for the first time since 2008 in Aragon.
“He just needs to get his body right so he can perform. This is an unusual experience for me because I’ve never been a stand-in rider before. But I have a good relationship with Honda and when the idea first came up they were behind it and Ten Kate gave me their blessing, so it is nice to go and help out another Honda team. For me it just a chance to go and have fun. I’d probably be riding motorbikes anyway and I would definitely be watching the race on TV, so I might as well show up and have some fun.
“I know MotoGP is not a place that’s always easy to have fun because the level is so high but I’ve got a lot to learn and it won’t be a walk in the park. I haven’t ridden the bike and there are different tyres and electronics but I’ve got a lot of experience and I get another shot at MotoGP, which is great for me personally. I want to thank Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS for the opportunity and Ten Kate and my sponsors who all made it happen and I will try and do them all proud.”
Scans following the San Marino Grand Prix revealed that Miller had been riding with two fractures in his right hand, which forced him out of the race at Misano and has prompted HRC and Marc VDS to rest him up further. The team hope that the extra recovery time will allow him to be fit enough to ride in the gruelling flyaway leg of the season, where we’ll have three races in three weekends.
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