Arai has released a special edition of its popular Corsair-X helmet emblazoned with the ‘Nicky Reset’ graphic to honour the late 2006 MotoGP World Champion’s birthday.
The ‘Kentucky Kid’ would have celebrated his 40th birthday on July 30th so to mark the occasion Arai has re-released the Corsair-X helmet with a special redesign worn by Hayden during the 2013 MotoGP test at Valencia.
Named ‘Nicky Reset’ it was a nod towards his move from the Ducati factory team to the Aspar Racing team for the 2014 MotoGP season which coincided with the introduction of the CRT (Claiming Rule Team) chassis, which used production-sourced engines.
According to Arai, ‘Nicky Reset’ symbolises his ‘need to reset himself’ for a fresh challenge.
“Sometime after Nicky’s passing, the family collectively agreed that we wanted to keep his memory and legacy alive to honor all that he had achieved and all the lives he had touched in such a short period of time,” reads a statement from the Hayden family.
“One of the most recognised things we thought that can be immediately connected to Nicky was his helmet replicas. Over the years Nicky had dozens of designs that fans around the world chose to wear while riding as a sign of loyalty and respect for him.
“It is for those fans that we chose to work with Arai to continue producing Nicky’s replicas. If it weren’t for the fans and their continued loyalty and desire for new Nicky’s designs, we wouldn’t continue. But the fans continue to ask for Nicky replicas, so we feel compelled to make them available.
“Since his passing, we have produced replicas Nicky wore in the heat of competition, and even brought back one of his all-time fan favorites – the Nicky Laguna. Now we find ourselves with a demand for a fan favorite that Nicky did wear, but was never offered as a replica.
“The Reset was a special one-off design that Nicky wore during off-season MotoGP testing, symbolizing his return to a familiar ride and visualized his need to reset himself for that challenge.
“At that time there was talk about making the Reset a replica, but for one reason or another, it just never happened.
“Now, as demand for a new design started to build, we worked with Arai to review fan feedback and found quite a bit for the Reset design. Then considering the current world situation, we thought the idea of the Reset was perfect timing.
“Therefore, the Hayden Family and Arai will again honor Nicky’s memory and keep his legacy alive with this latest Nicky Reset replica.
“We wish to thank all the fans who asked for this design and wear it proudly, keeping Nicky’s memory alive.”
Hayden passed away in 2017 after being critically injured in a road traffic accident while training on his bicycle in Italy.
