Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Repsol Honda factory MotoGP racer Nicky Hayden will miss a test scheduled for the second week of December at Valencia, Spain, following surgery to repair a torn ligament and a small fracture of his right thumb.

Hayden suffered the injury when he crashed out of third place during the final round of the 2003 MotoGP season at Valencia November 2. “It was such an easy crash,” Hayden told Roadracingworld.com Tuesday from his home in Owensboro, Kentucky. “I was riding pretty hard. I got in the corner hot, and I didn’t have my foot set on the footpeg where I normally like to. And I just touched the shifter with the tip of my toe and knocked it into second gear. It’s a first gear corner with pretty high rpm, and when I knocked it into second gear I immediately picked up speed because I was already back on the gas. It was just a dumb mistake, but I guess when you’re trying hard there’s no shame in making a mistake. Just a rookie move, I guess. I wasn’t happy about it, but that’s the way it goes.

“But (during the crash) I held onto the bike, and it kind of spun away from me. At the time, I didn’t think much of it, but it kind of bent my thumb back because I was holding so tight. It wasn’t real bad, but I remember thinking that night, because everybody was shaking hands and stuff, I realized then that my hand was a bit sore.

“When I came home I didn’t really do much. I had been gone so much I was just kind of hanging around the house and relaxing a little bit. It wasn’t hurting me doing any of that stuff. But then when I started back lifting weights and whatever it was starting to hurt a little bit. Then I went out to California and did a fair bit of mountain biking and dirt bike riding. I did realize it was getting a little bit worse and worse, so I thought something had to be wrong.

“I went and got X-rays and, sure enough, it’s what they call a ‘Gamekeeper’s Break.’ I hyper-extended my (right) thumb and it tore the ligament and broke the corner of the bone. I went to (orthopedic surgeon) Dr. (Arthur) Ting last week and those guys took care of me. I got it fixed. Right now it’s in a little half-cast, and I’m just trying to rest and let it heal up. Injuries are never good, but this time of the year, last race of the year, that’s good news, but I’m not real happy about it.”

The 2003 MotoGP Rookie of the Year said he was disappointed to lose the track time available at the Valencia test but pointed out that the test was mainly just to evaluate new tires. Hayden said he will be ready for the next test scheduled for mid-January at Sepang in Malaysia.