Why aren't there any Americans left in MotoGP?

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Nicky Hayden was the last American to be crowned MotoGP champion, winning the title in 2006.In the 1970s, '80s and '90s, the United States ruled MotoGP.

Between 1978 and 1993, American riders won 13 of 16 world championships. Kenny Roberts won three in a row between 1978 and 1980; Freddie Spencer and Eddie Lawson traded titles between 1983 and 1986; and Lawson, Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz claimed six straight crowns between 1988 and 1993.

And since?

Kenny Roberts Jr. won the championship in 2000 and the late Nicky Hayden did the same in 2006. He was the last American champion, though.

No rider from the U.S. has won a MotoGP race since 2011. An American hasn't…