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Marco Lucchinelli, Mick Doohan, John Kocinski, Max Biaggi, Carlos Checa, Troy Bayliss, Chris Vermuelen, Ben Spies, Marco Melandri are all World Champions that have won races in WorldSBK and the premier class of Grand Prix racing. On Sunday Nicky Hayden added his name to that illustrious list at Sepang with a superbly judged victory in wet conditions.

It had been ten years since Hayden's last win but he showed no nerves, and when presented with the opportunity he took the honours of the first American winner in seven years. After the race Hayden said: “I know people say that you can’t win the race on the first lap but in wet races, you can.” Sunday certainly proved that point for the Kentucky Kid.

His aggressive riding on the opening lap saw him carve past rivals and force his way to the front. With this style of riding honed in Flat Track racing, Hayden was at his best in those early laps as he opened a commanding lead. Getting immediately down to speed in the wet, despite no prior track time in the conditions, Hayden opened a four second lead at one point.

While other riders thought that the American would falter due to a lack of experience of the Pirelli tyres in the wet, he managed the race to perfection. Even when Davide Giugliano was closing the gap by over a second a lap, Hayden looked in control in the closing stages.

Even so, the 2006 MotoGP Champion took nothing for granted until he crossed the finish line. With his racing ethos honed in Kentucky, Hayden said, “My father always made sure that all of us knew that nothing was finished in a race until the chequered flag!” Once the Honda rider crossed the line to take the flag, it opened a floodgate of emotions from both Nicky and the general racing world.

The American has a huge legion of supporters and his phone must have been constantly buzzing with notifications as the reactions from all walks of racing flooded in. Hayden has gone through some leaner years since claiming his MotoGP crown, and giveb a wrist injury in 2014 almost brought an end to his career, he has bounced back superbly.

The win was his first in ten years and Hayden is once again front page news. Perhaps more importantly than Hayden winning, the race also marked Honda's first win since the departure of Jonathan Rea. The success marked the culmination in the turn of fortunes enjoyed by the Ten Kate squad this year. While Michael van der Mark has been the stronger Honda rider on the balance of this year, Hayden has grown in confidence throughout the season. The Ten Kate teammates are a force to be reckoned with.

In Sepang, Hayden had the pace to be a front runner in the wet or the dry and that shows the potential for the second half of the season. The Honda is still progressing in a bid to challenge the Kawasaki and Ducati machines, but it is now in the ballpark. With a win under their belts, Hayden and Honda should not be underestimated. A good bet could see fairy tale success at Laguna Seca, the scene of Hayden's finest races in MotoGP.

It could take some luck for Hayden to repeat this success but given the form of the Honda in Australia, Thailand and Malaysia it's hard to imagine this as Honda's only success of 2016.