By Dean Adams
Nick Hayden’s long association with Red Bull entered a new era Monday when the Honda World Superbike team unveiled its 2017 CBR1000RR machines with primary sponsorship from the Austrian fizzmeisters.
Hayden and new teammate – and former MotoGP rival – Stefan Bradl pulled the covers off the Ten Kate Racing-run CBR1000RR-SP2 bike at Red Bull’s Hangar 7 headquarters in Salzburg, Austria.
The bike was run in plain black livery during testing this winter, but the blue, red and yellow colors of Red Bull are splashed all over the machine for the season.
Hayden has been a Red Bull athlete for more than a decade, with a brief interlude during some of his MotoGP years due to team sponsorship from a rival energy drink. He was instrumental in promoting the Red Bull Indianapolis GP from 2008-15 when he was affiliated with Red Bull, driving to Indy from Owensboro to perform many PR activities.
