He finished fifth in his first season in the Superbike World Championship with the highlight of his season being a win in Malaysia. Hayden moved to the Superbike World Championship with the Ten Kate Racing Honda team in 2016. He subsequently moved to the Honda Aspar team in 2014 where he raced for two seasons.

Hayden had five largely unsuccessful seasons at Ducati, with his highest championship position being a seventh place in 2010. He remained with Honda for two more seasons without a win, before moving to Ducati for 2009. The next year, 2006, would be Hayden's best in motorcycle racing as he won the 2006 MotoGP world title, breaking Valentino Rossi's five-year consecutive streak.

He then rallied in the 2005 season by scoring his first Grand Prix win at Laguna Seca, and finishing third in the standings at the end of the season. Hayden largely had mixed results in his first 2 seasons at Repsol Honda only getting 4 podiums. He won the AMA title in 2002 and was approached by the Repsol Honda team to race for them in MotoGP in 2003.

He began his road racing career in the CMRA before progressing to the AMA Supersport Championship and then to the AMA Superbike Championship. Hayden began racing motorcycles at a young age. Nicholas Patrick Hayden (J– May 22, 2017), nicknamed ' The Kentucky Kid', was an American professional motorcycle racer who won the MotoGP World Championship in 2006.

Don spence professional bike racer 1981