Nicky Hayden has agreed terms to ride for Ducati as teammate to world champion Casey Stoner in 2009 and a formal announcement is expected as early as next week.

Nicky was raised right, he respects talent and appreciates when his talent is respected. HRC hasn't treated Nicky well this year, he's right to move on. Everyone else better look out next year, Ducati will be unstoppable

the other thing is hayden is an excellent tester/developer, he has experience with big twins. For all pedrosa's posturing talk about hayden not being able to develop, well where is pedrosa now?

Nicky is also one of the hardest working guys in MotoGP; he consistently has spent more time testing then most of the other riders in MotoGP.

I think Nicky will be a strong rider for Ducati. I've heard so many folks dismiss Nicky like he is a crappy rider, someone who got #1 on his bike without paying his dues. Pure BS. When Nicky is on, he is among the fastest most consistent riders in MotoGP. Honda is indeed losing a valuable asset, but more then just the marketing side of things for sure.

I wish Hayden well in his new adventure.

SPEED tv screw your lil green ads! This crap that constantly pops up when i'm trying to read an artical!