Nickys' nnumber is 69 right, so why do I see him sporting #1? I would think that it is because hes the champ right now, kinda like the yellow jersey, but that sounds retarded, or is it the new bikes? Confused.

 

Cuase he took the title last year. 69 was his dad's race number

 

hmm...Hayden changed his number from 69 to 1 for the '07 and '08 season. He's testing out a RC212V, an 800cc bike. If you look closely, you could see small 69's inside the number 1. Neat!

 

in racing, when you when a championship, you get the number 1 plate
some racers choose to keep their usual numbers for luck or just because they are closely identified by their number (Rossi = 46)
for example Mat Mladin did not win the AMA Superbike championship last year (Ben Spies did) so Mat had to go back to using his old number (66), while Spies is running the #1 plate

 

uhh small correction, Nicky would have to win the Championship again this year to keep the #1 plate for 2008. Now I'm not saying its impossible for him to win the championship this year but its not gonna happen... He's struggling to finish in the top 10 this year and Honda isn't exactly working their *** off to help him. Also, he's not "testing" the 212, he is racing it. All of the GP bikes are 800s this year, its kinda the rules...

 

Okie doke! that explains it. thanks guys.

 

Are they all on 800cc bikes? I thought some opted to do something different. MotoGP isn't like Nascar, the team can use different number of cylinders and so on... but I thought some didn't do the 800cc thing.

 

all GP bikes are 800's down from 990's last year. Also, the fuel tanks hold only 5.5 gallons as opposed to the 5.8 of last year. AND.. the minimum weight think is up like 10 pounds. it should be an interestig year, just read a kick *** article in Road Racer X magazine.

 

I was reading an interview with the champ in Road Racer X. He is sporting the #1 plate because he is the champ. He didn't get a chance to do it in AMA when he won, cause he then moved to MOTO GP. If you look at Rossi for the past few years he was sporting the 46 on his bike, but on his right should of his leathers he had the #1. I'm a big Hayden fan, but if things don't pick up he ain't gonna be sportin the #1 plate at the end of the season.

 

Even if Nicky doesn't get to pick up the #1 next year, 69 is the best number e'vah, so ... I digress, but yes, sporting the big "numero uno" is like wearing the yellow jersey in bicycling... it tells evryone you're the big, fat target to gun for.

Honda seems to be catering to Danny this year as the RC212 has been more custom fitted to his build/racing style etc...