autoevolution
 

AMA Horizon Award Renamed To Honor Nicky Hayden

Latest news from the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) inform that the Horizon Award, which annually recognizes amateur competitors poised for greatness in the professional ranks, has been renamed to honor Nicky Hayden who recently passed away in an unfortunate bicycle accident.
Nicky Hayden 1 photo
Photo: AMA
Nicky Hayden won the inaugural AMA Horizon Award in 1997 and subsequently achieved the 1999 AMA Supersport Championship, the 2002 AMA Superbike Championship, and the 2006 FIM MotoGP World Championship.

This season, Nicky was competing in the FIM Superbike World Championship. While training on his bicycle in Italy earlier in May, he was hit by a car and died in hospital as a result of his severe injuries.

Now, the Executive Committee of the AMA Board of Directors unanimously voted to rename the AMA Horizon Award in Nicky Hayden’s memory, in perpetuity.

“Nicky Hayden epitomized the spirit of the AMA Horizon Award,” said AMA Board of Directors Chair Maggie McNally-Bradshaw. “The award’s first recipient, Hayden was a true sportsman and a stellar representative of not just American motorcycling, but all Americans on the world stage. His ascent to the pinnacle of the sport was marked by the utmost character and class, and it all began on the same Midwestern ovals where today’s amateur dirt trackers race for experience and pride.”

The new Nicky Hayden AMA Horizon Awards will be presented annually to the top amateur racers in dirt track, motocross, and road racing. The recipients will also be recognized at the 2017 AMA Championship Banquet on January 20, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio.

The AMA will present the 2017 Nicky Hayden AMA Dirt Track Horizon Award on July 4 in Du Quoin, Ill., on the final day of the AMA Dirt Track Grand Championship.

Finally, the 2017 Nicky Hayden AMA Motocross Horizon Award will be presented on August 5 at the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, while the 2017 Nicky Hayden AMA Road Racing Horizon Award will be handed out on Nov. 5 following the AMA Road Race Grand Championship at Barber Motorsports Park.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories