Even judging from afar, it seems the young American has a level of charisma that any sponsor would be more than pleased to ride on the back of.

Many people, 'in the know', have suggested the presence of Mick Doohan at Laguna last weekend was, at least in part, to secure the services of Nicky Hayden for Honda in MotoGP next year.

'Camel' has even been suggested by some to be the sponsor.  Kevin Magee alluded to this during Foxtel's coverage of the event last weekend.

Nicky being courted by Honda for MotoGP would hardly come as a surprise.  Nicky is already an established superstar in the US and having him move to MotoGP would be another tentacle for MotoGP in to the American scene.

In the recently announced 2003 MotoGP calendar there still remains no US round of the MotoGP World Championship.  This does seem a rather strange situation considering the size of the US market.  One would imagine that the manufacturers would be pushing Dorna to have a US round of GP competition once again.

Securing Nicky's move to MotoGP would definitely give MotoGP more exposure in the US. 

However if Nicky was to move to World SuperBike, it would be another sign that the American's consider World SuperBike to be the premier category of motorcycle competition.

Either way, I for one am looking forward to Nicky's presence on the world stage so we can see more of this exciting young talent.