American MotoGP racer Nicky Hayden died on Monday of injuries suffered in a May 17 car-bicycle crash in Italy. Hayden, who was born in Owensboro, Kentucky, and nicknamed the "Kentucky Kid," was 35.

CESENA, Italy — American motorcycle racer Nicky Hayden died, the Maurizio Bufalini Hospital announced on Monday, five days after he was hit by a car while training on his bicycle. Hayden was 35.

The 33-year-old Hayden, also known as the Kentucky Kid, has a stringent practice and racing schedule and is best known for winning the MotoGP™ World Championship in 2006.

Former MotoGP rider James Toseland said there was "nobody better in the sport." "He has my complete respect," he said. "He was always the first on the track at every test, and the last off it.

Nicky Hayden has won the American MotoGP round at Laguna Seca for the second year in succession, and extended his championship lead at the same time. It was a dramatic GP, with Rizla Suzuki rider ...