| Author | Message | ||
     Jaimec |
Dennis Noyes mentioned the nightmare scenario of Ducati hiring Dani Pedrosa to ride alongside Nicky... | ||
| Trojan |
Now that would be worth watching  | ||
| Simond |
Don't be too tough on Pedrosa, he's a shy introverted guy with a poor manager............... and can be prone to the odd unpopular mistake! Lorenzo on the other hand seems as worried about his image as anything else. I seem to remember that he hired some people to advise on what "image" he should be putting forward to the public. Which brand of lollipop perhaps, advice on post race celebrations...... all presumably in an effort to compete with a certain competitor's "personality". I find that harder to respect. (Message edited by SimonD on May 13, 2010) | ||
| Davegess |
I too wonder about the animosity toward Dani. Other than taking out Hayden, and that was the kind of stupid racing move many besides him have made, and being a little boring what has he done to deserve such hate. He made amends for taking out Hayden by covering his back in later races. | ||
| Jaimec |
Did he? There was only ONE other race after that one, and Vale basically handed the championship over to Nicky by pulling his own bone-headed move and crashing out. After that year, Dani made many subtle comments to the press on exactly what he thought of Nicky as a development rider. Although Dani had full access to Nicky's telemetry it was well-documented that Nicky had NO access to his. Was that Dani or Alberto? Doesn't matter... in my mind they're interchangeable. Nicky, always the gentlemen, never really said a word about the situation in the Repsol paddock. As I remember, only ONCE did he say anything, and that was the year Dani switched to Bridgestone and Honda erected the wall between the two garages. Nicky quipped "there's been a wall between the two garages for a long time anyway" (or words to that effect). Puig (rhymes with "spooge") wasted no time HAMMERING Nicky to the international press. Dani kept his mouth shut. Screw 'em both, they deserve one another. (Message edited by jaimec on May 13, 2010) | ||
| Trojan |
Although Dani had full access to Nicky's telemetry it was well-documented that Nicky had NO access to his. None of the Honda factory riders has access to the other rider data, and it has been this way since Doohan was there. There have been plenty of other far worse 'accidents' where riders have been taken out by either team mates or other competitors, so I can never understand why this particular one still rankles everyone. De Angelis pretty comprehensively took out Hayden and Edwards last year yet gets no flak at all? Capirossi deliberately (by his own admission) took out Harada a few years ago to win the 250 title, and did exactly the same thing to another rider the year after. | ||
| Jaimec |
Matt: De Angelis wasn't Hayden or Edwards' team mate!! | ||
| Gaesati |
it is an oft repeated maxim that your own team mate is the first person you have to beat! | ||
| Jaimec |
True, and although I wouldn't expect my team mate to HELP me, I wouldn't expect him to torpedo me in the middle of the race either. ESPECIALLY since Pedrosa had only an outside shot at the title that year (if Nicky and Vale were in a bus wreck together, Pedro MIGHT have had a shot). I don't expect "Team Orders" (though if Honda were serious about securing the title they would've had them at that round for sure), but I wouldn't expect my team mate to sabotage my chances either. It's been much publicized that Rossi and Lorenzo don't like each other... but in the years they've shared the paddock you've seen only clean racing and passing from either of them.  (Message edited by jaimec on May 14, 2010) | ||
| Simond |
I like that picture. It's not often you get a colour co-ordinated crash! | ||
| Vagelis46 |
"Did he? There was only ONE other race after that one, and Vale basically handed the championship over to Nicky by pulling his own bone-headed move and crashing out. " You have to really love these "Rossi fans"........ Every title is Rossi's , and he just has to hand it to someone..........The rest of the GP riders are just "useless" #@$!. | ||
| Trojan |
Racing stops being a 'team game' the minute the flag drops. Just because you wear the same colours doesn't mean you have to do them any favours on the track. The Hayden/Pedrosa accident was just that, and accident. Hayden was far slower through that corner than Pedrosa and it caught him out. Period. There was no conspiracy theory to investigate or discover and if it had happened at any other time it would have been forgotten before now. I am no fan of Pedrosa but I think people should give him a break over this incident by now. Every title is Rossi's , and he just has to hand it to someone.......... Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your view point), that is pretty much exactly how it works at the moment and has done for years since Rossi arrived in MotoGP/500GP. If Rossi has a trouble free year mechanically then he will win the title. if he suffers from a few breakdowns or unforced errors then somebody else will inherit the title. Nobody yet (with the possible exception of Stoner) has actually gone and beaten Rossi regularly on track to win a world title. | ||
| Jaimec |
And there are those that would argue that Stoner won the title in 2008 because Bridgestone seriously stepped up their game and Michelin torpedoed Rossi's (and everyone else on their tires) chances. And for Vagelis: I was simply pointing out how lucky Nicky got at that last race. It would've been tight anyway, but his team mate handed Rossi the title lead by torpedoing him at the penultimate round. Even Nicky said that Rossi isn't known for "blinking" when the pressure was on. Luckily for Nicky, this time he did. And Matt: It was a bone-headed move on Pedrosa's part. He dove in under Nicky and then lost the front AND was completely unapologetic about it to boot. Spooge (his manager) just made it worse. | ||
| Trojan |
And Matt: It was a bone-headed move on Pedrosa's part. He dove in under Nicky and then lost the front AND was completely unapologetic about it to boot. Spooge (his manager) just made it worse. I don't disagree with that (even though Nicky was very slow at that point on the circuit). My only question is why does it still make so many people angry after all this time? Hayden won the series that year so no real harm was done. I am not trying to cause an argument but do find it hard to understand this long standing antipathy against Pedrosa just for one 'racing incident' a few years ago. Dani isn't the most likable chap and his manager doesn't help with comments he has made, but hardly the stuff worthy of years of hatred surely? It is hardly in the same league as the Phil Read/Bill Ivy fall out back when they were Yamaha team mates that's for sure, and nobody died this time. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
Nicky Hayden is a great rider , and he has a big heart. He 100% deserved the 2006 title. He got to the last race in 2006 with less points than Rossi , and he did it. Hayden was not broken after 4 "crap" seasons , and he seems to have raised his game this season , with 2 4th places. Ducati seems to have faith in Hayden and given him a bike that suits him. Rossi is never prepared to settle for 2nd in a single race , let alone a entire championship. Noone is handed a race win , podium , title in motoGP. | ||
| 46champ |
Matt if it would have been just the accident it would have been forgiven and forgotten. But Nicky was completely deprived of the chance to become a repeat world champion with the release of the mini bike. It was so obviously that the bike was designed around Pedrosa that we feel Nicky was slighted big time. The ongoing tirades by his manager have kept the animosity going and now it is what it is. | ||
| Jaimec |
And for that I blame Honda. After Nicky gave them their first (and ONLY) World Title post-Rossi, Honda essentially abandoned him and put all of their eggs in the "Spanish Basket" with Spooge and Pedrosa. When Danny was injured during the pre-season and Nicky did all the development work, Danny wasted no time in interviews blaming his slow start on Nicky's development work. No one was happier than me that Nicky was let go by Honda. Pedrosa is my "Perfect Storm." My least favorite rider on my least favorite brand. Honda put all of their bets on their mini-rider and they've missed out on the title every single year since. Now that Nicky has figured out the Ducati, I'll repeat what I've said ever since he was let go by "The Evil Empire:" I don't care if Nicky wins the title, as long as he finishes higher than that midget I'm happy. Oh, and since the beginning of the 800cc era, Casey Stoner had one more race win than Valentino Rossi. They're all tied up now (I believe it's 20 apiece) since Qatar. Of course, Casey missed three rounds last year and Vale has never missed a start. And don't forget that in 2007, Casey had just an UNBELIEVABLE year. Now that we're on "Control Tires" Vale has been chipping away at Casey's armor. I really think Vale's biggest competitor going forward is on the other side of his garage, and not from another manufacturer. | ||
| Trojan |
Pedrosa wasn't to blame for Honda developing a bike around him. Honda had already decided that Dani was going to be their number one priority for 2007 even before Hayden won the title, so the blame must be laid squarely at the big H front door. hayden didn't do a great job of developing the bike during the off season, but that is hardly surprising when the bike was designed for Pedrosa rather than him, and Puig should not have made the comments he did in the press. However it is now a long time ago and it could be that Nicky finds himself back at Honda for 2011 (and even as Pedrosa's team mate again!), so surely better to bury hatchets now? I agree that Rossi's most threatening competitor is Lorenzo now, and even though Stoner may win a few races I thin his title aspirations are already gone. | ||
| Jaimec |
One more thing: The year Nicky won the title, he was on the "Development Bike." In other words, he was riding a bike with all new, untested parts. I remember him having CONSTANT problems with the clutch, but Honda refused to give him the same clutch everyone else was using. It's almost like they WANTED him to fail. Nicky's dogged determination was the only thing that got him through and won the title that year. If Honda was so sure they wanted Dani to carry the flag, why didn't they make HIM ride the development bike? | ||
| Vagelis46 |
I also think that Stoner has no chances for the title this year. I do not think that the Ducati bike can match the Yamaha or the Honda. A GP bike with no chassis ?? Ducati engineers are a joke. I think that Stoner-Ducati have lost the faith-love in each other..... Ducati has built a more conventional bike in the chassis stifness (ala Honda) this year , so that they can get results from Hayden , but at the same time Stoner has lost his edge. I would like to see Stoner at Honda. I do not like Honda , but with Stoner aboard , it will be a new different story for me. Lorenzo is great , but the moment he decided to stay at Yamaha instead of risking joining Honda or Ducati, it made it clear for me...........Riding a bike developed by Rossi-Burgess must be a racers dream , it makes you go faster and make you achieve more than you otherwise could . Lorenzo knows that . I just do not see how he could beat Rossi for the title on a bike designed to suit the Master himself. But , if he had the balls to go for Honda last year , I would think that he would have a chance for the title this year. | ||
| Trojan |
if he had the balls to go for Honda last year , I would think that he would have a chance for the title this year. I think it will take Honda more than one season to develop a bike that will win the series, regardless of who the rider will be. Lorenzo will have to start from scratch at Honda (without Rossi or Burgess' input) so it may not be that easy for him (and he obviously knows that too). I think that when the dust settles down after all the 2011 contract fuss we'll see that the top guys will actually still be where they are now The second riders at Ducati and Honda may well change vut it will be a brave manager who decides to sack one of the 'aliens' in favour of sonmeone new. | ||
| Jaimec |
I get the feeling Honda is losing faith in Pedrosa. He's been with them... what? Five years now? He hasn't won a title since he's moved to MotoGP. As the late Dale Earnhardt so succinctly put it: "Second place is just the first loser." | ||
| Jaimec |
For some STOOOOOPID reason, Speed is not broadcasting the race live this weekend. Instead, they're going to show it TUESDAY AFTERNOON at 2:00! WTF?? I'll have my DVR set, but there's no way I won't know who won by then. | ||
| Nittanyxt |
All NASCRAP,all the time! | ||
| Trojan |
I don't know what Yamaha have done to their bikes since Qatar, but they have gone from being teh slowest bikes through the speed traps to now being the fastest in FP1 in France. Quickest through the speed gun was: Ben Spies (Yamaha) 288.5kmh Marco Melandri (Honda) 286.2kmh Vale Rossi (Yamaha) 285 kmh Dovizioso (Honda) 283.9kmh De Puniet (Honda) 283.8kmh Lorenzo (Yamaha) 282.5 kmh lap times didn't reflect that so closely though and these are the results from FP1: 1 46 Valentino ROSSI Yamaha 285.0 1'34.402 2 27 Casey STONER Ducati 278.7 1'34.508 0.106 / 0.106 3 99 Jorge LORENZO Yamaha 282.5 1'34.542 0.140 / 0.034 4 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Honda 283.9 1'34.625 0.223 / 0.083 5 26 Dani PEDROSA Honda 272.4 1'34.989 0.587 / 0.364 6 5 Colin EDWARDS Yamaha 273.3 1'35.089 0.687 / 0.100 7 69 Nicky HAYDEN Ducati 274.1 1'35.223 0.821 / 0.134 8 11 Ben SPIES Yamaha 288.5 1'35.291 0.889 / 0.068 9 41 Aleix ESPARGARO Ducati 267.0 1'35.450 1.048 / 0.159 10 33 Marco MELANDRI Honda 286.2 1'35.643 1.241 / 0.193 11 65 Loris CAPIROSSI Suzuki 276.9 1'35.685 1.283 / 0.042 12 58 Marco SIMONCELLI Honda 273.3 1'35.959 1.557 / 0.274 13 40 Hector BARBERA Ducati 274.3 1'36.009 1.607 / 0.050 14 14 Randy DE PUNIET Honda 283.8 1'36.086 1.684 / 0.077 15 36 Mika KALLIO Ducati 276.3 1'36.292 1.890 / 0.206 16 7 Hiroshi AOYAMA Honda 276.6 1'36.798 2.396 / 0.506 17 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA Suzuki 269.5 1'37.525 3.123 / 0.727 | ||
| Amafan |
The Speed trap was in a breaking zone ,and since Ben Spies breaks the latest ,he had the best top speed . On one of the OTT TV videos ,Ben Spies said that the data should he was the latest breaker in MotoGP,but that hurt his corner speed on a 800 . (Message edited by amafan on May 21, 2010) | ||
| Vagelis46 |
Maybe this turns out to be Spies strongest point.......... overtaking! | ||
| Jaimec |
Unfortunately, Ben injured his foot in a high-side in FP2. He only qualified 12th after missing almost all of FP2. He plans on racing tomorrow. Speaking of the race, the SpeedTV website is now saying they'll be broadcasting the race LIVE tomorrow morning (8:00 AM EDT), but when I check my channel guide they're showing a two hour NASCRAP special at that time. I set my DVR to tape that, let's see what happens... otherwise I'll have to wait till Tuesday. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
Come on people !! Really. All you need is to pay 80Euros at www.motogp.com and then you have EVERYTHING live for the 2010 season. It is worth it ! Who needs speed TV ?? Lets hope Spies does better than 12th for this race. But anyway , Spies is the proof of how different the level of competition is between motoGP and WSBK. | ||
| Jaimec |
Vagelis, here's the question: Do I want to pay extra to watch the races on my 17" computer monitor, or would I rather see it on my 65" high definition, flat-screen TV with surround-sound using a service I'm already paying for? |
