Hayden still in extremely serious condition

The American suffered brain damage and other injuries – including fractures – after he was hit by a car while out cycling with friends in Italy on Wednesday.

A morning bulletin from the Bufalini Hospital in Cesena where Hayden has been taken confirmed he remained in intensive care and that there had been no change in his condition.

"The situation is stable," said the brief statement issued by the hospital on Friday morning. "The clinical picture remains extremely serious and compared to the previous day there have been no changes."

Hayden was joined at his bedside on Thursday by his mother Rose and younger brother Tommy. His father Earl has had to remain in the United States because of heart problems.

Since the accident, Hayden's girlfriend Jackie and several members of the Honda World Superbike team that he currently races for have been with him too.

MotoGP riders paid homage to Hayden ahead of this weekend's French GP, with a sign being held up in the pre-event press conference on Thursday.

Valentino Rossi said: "It's a great shame because Nicky is a great rider for sure, a great talent, a world champion and always at the top, but especially a very good guy.

"Coming from a good family of racers, from his father to his two brothers, always a good guy, always smiling, so for sure it's very bad. I think the situation is very bad but everybody, we hope for the best."