Over the weekend, the MotoGP world honoured the memory of the late Nicky Hayden who died on May 22, 2017 after succumbing to injuries sustained from a bicycle accident in Italy.
The Mugello MotoGP held on Sunday, 4 June, was the first Grand Prix race since Hayden's passing. The GP began with 69 seconds of silence for Hayden - 69, the bike number the 35-year-old dubbed throughout his career.
Hayden's MotoGP brothers, along with Moto2 and Moto3 riders, engineers and mechanics gather on the Mugello straight to honour the memory of the great athlete with 69 seconds of silence which soon erupted into a round of applause well beyond the 69 second mark.
Hayden's MotoGP family honoured his memory by sporting his name, the american flag or his famed 69 on their helmets.
Valentino Rossi's '469' Helmet
Valentino Rossi's special one-off Mugello helmet paid tribute to his former teammate, Hayden, with Rossi's 46 merging into 69. At the back of helmet the number 58 can also be found, honouring the memory of the late Marco Simoncelli. Rossi and Hayden were teammates in 2003 at Repsol Honda and again from 2011 to 2012 at Ducati.
Andrea Iannone's 'Nicky' helmet
Andrea Iannone sported a spectacular 'Nicky' helmet honouring his late teammate. The word 'Nicky' can be seen across the top, while the American flag can be found at the back of the helmet and number 69 below the helmet visor on the right side. Iannone and Hayden were teammates at Ducati in 2013.
Elisa Espargaro's '69' helmet
Aprilia rider, Elisa Espargaro, swapped his 41 which usually sits on the top of his helmet for Hayden's 69.
The '69' stamp
Like many of the riders, Maverick Vinales, adopted the 69 on his helmet in a small stamp. Here, it can be seen incorporated into Vinales's number 25.
If Hayden's 69 wasn't spotted on a rider's helmet it was likely placed on their bike. Below you can see Marc Marquez with the 69 stamp near his front motorbike screen.
Hayden won the MotoGP World Championship in 2006 at the age of 25. He retired from MotoGP in 2015 and moved to the World Superbikes series. He was 13th in this season’s Superbike standings when he passed away. The late Hayden was often described as the nice guy of motorcycle racing, habitually parading a jubilant smile (for more on Hayden's life go here).