Hayden, who only seriously started road racing nine months ago, snared second place at the National titles in Broadford Victoria recently, earning him a spot at the Festival of Champions in Valencia, Spain later this year.

Aboard his 70cc Metrakit mini missile, Hayden rode a clutch race in the last round of the weekend grabbing the silver position to make his dream come true.

“I’m really looking forward to going overseas, but I don’t know what to expect,” Hayden said. The Darlington Point daredevil is quickly learning success has other advantages, with the youngster getting the chance to rub shoulders with Casey Stoner, Chris Vermeulen and Valentino Rossi at the nationals.

“Chris was really good to me, he came out and talked to me and signed my helmet and fuel tank,” Hayden said.

But it’s on the race track where Hayden gets a chance to turn heads, with the local lad putting himself through a punishing schedule to book his ticket to the world titles.

Hayden set up his great weekend from the start, putting himself on the first row of the grid in second place, with a time only 0.8 seconds off the lap record.

After two days of practice and qualifying sessions on a bike capable of reaching 140kmh, Hayden then had to survive five, eight-lap races against the best riding talent of his age in the country.

“He knew he had to get second in the last race to get to Spain, and you could see he was really determined,” Hayden’s mother, Sally, said.

After his determination paid off and he crossed the line for second, Hayden punched the air as he became only the third Australia his age to be invited to the Festival of Champions, joining more than 150 other juniors riders – all with their eyes on a MotoGP team spot years down the track.

Adding to Hayden’s star power is the fact he has been identified as a potential world-beater by former Australian Superbike champion Craig Coxell, who has become part of the DeMamiel crew, offering Hayden advice on how to get the best out of himself and his bike.