"Every guy wanted to be Nicky Hayden"

With the outpouring of emotion across the motorsport world after the passing of Nicky Hayden, the Donington Park World Superbike pre-event was held with a respectful tone with riders paying tribute in London.

After a host of MotoGP riders gave their messages of sadness and support to the Hayden family from the private Barcelona test, the World Superbike riders joined them by explaining their fondest memory of the 2006 MotoGP world champion in a show of support.

From asking the Haslam family for advice on how to find the most performance at Donington Park on his way to the MotoGP world title to donating a pair of signed knee sliders to Kyle Ryde's racing fund to keep him in World Supersport, Hayden's kindness, generosity and talents will be a tragic loss to the World Superbike paddock.

Updated with comments from Jonathan Rea and Chaz Davies on Thursday at Donington Park.

Jonathan Rea:

"I think as a whole Nicky touched everybody's life in a positive way whether it was inspiration or someone to look up to and to root for. He was a good guy in the paddock and over the last few years we've been on the safety commission together and sharing a lot of stories on track and off track. He was a fun-loving guy who was dedicated.

"He is not just a massive loss to his family and friend, who I am sure right now are suffering a lot, but he is a huge loss to sport in general. He was like a pin-up guy, every girl wanted to be with him and every guy wanted to be him. He was just fucking cool. I've seen the family are donating his organs which means someone is going to get a massive heart so it is nice to see after all this something positive has come from it even when he has gone."

Chaz Davies:

"When something like this happens it jogs your memory of the person. The one standout thing of Nicky was when I was in the GP paddock with him when he started in 2003 until I started in America at the start of 2007.

"In 2006 I didn't have a ride, felt washed out and had no prospects with not much light at the end of the tunnel for the future. Seeing Nicky, the power of him at Valencia to take the championship being the underdog and working so hard for everything he achieved. He still maintained that ethic up until his passing.

"It is a trait that you can't train, it was quite rare and either have that determination or you haven't. For me that was the standout memory of Nicky, getting to his dream and pinnacle of the sport."

Leon Haslam:
"You can see it on social media, everyone had the same opinion on Nicky, he was such a nice guy. I spent a lot of time with him in his early part of his career when I was in GPs and I also spent a lot of time with his brother when he came to World Superbikes. What he achieved on the track is undisputed and he was a nice and genuine guy.

"I'll never forget the year he won the championship, he made a big effort to come and see us at Donington Park and asked my dad's advice on points around the track. This was a guy who was going on to win the championship so someone of his calibre of rider and what he achieved to have that humbleness to come to myself or my dad to ask for advice or conditions, it was funny because we thought why was he asking us, surely it should be the other way around! That is the sort of guy Nicky was, full of dedication and a huge credit to his family."

Kyle Ryde:
"The first time I met him was this year in Thailand and he donated some knee sliders for me for my auction which he had signed which was so nice of him to do. It was touching he gave me them as he didn't have to and he had never met me before. Somebody paid for them and they are at their house and that money has gone towards my racing for this year."

Leon Camier:
"When I was growing up and watching him in the sport he is a legend, no doubt. Last year at Donington Park we had a really good race together, a few passes on each other and with a few laps to go I managed to pass him to take fourth place. I've had some really good battles with Nicky on track and was always one of the cleanest, safest and strongest riders. You knew you could trust him 100% on track there was never any sort of craziness from him. Off the track he was just such an amazing guy. He genuinely was one of the nicest guys you could come across in the paddock. He always wanted to know how you were getting on and understood the sport so well with everyone trying to do their best."

Tom Sykes:
"I've got a lot of memories of Nicky and most recently since he joined the series as we've been parking as next door neighbours in the motorhomes. It is still raw and fresh moment and I think it is a time for his close family and friends."

Alex Lowes:
"He was someone you couldn't help but love and admire growing up when he was in MotoGP sliding all the time. Then when he joined World Superbikes, I didn't know him personally before then, but I can say he was one of the guys I probably got on best with off of the bike. He was a proper good guy with a lot of respect for everyone.

"We spent a bit of time together at Suzuka last year as it was the first time I was doing it. He was a proper good guy who had a lot of respect for everyone. He was a legend and it is going to be such a loss to everyone because he was someone who was fantastic to race against and even if his package didn't allow him to ride at the front when you ride around with him on track you could tell you were with a class rider. I believe if he was on one of the bikes at the front this year he would have been one of the strongest in World Superbikes. There are no words that can justify how good a guy he was. I loved racing against him and he will be missed massively."