| Author | Message | ||
     Jaimec |
Matt, please reread what you just wrote because it doesn't parse. When races are determined by FRACTIONS of a second, if being beaten by "A FEW SECONDS" isn't getting your arse kicked, I don't know WHAT is. | ||
| Trojan |
Matt, please reread what you just wrote because it doesn't parse. When races are determined by FRACTIONS of a second, if being beaten by "A FEW SECONDS" isn't getting your arse kicked, I don't know WHAT is. I stand by what i said. Rossi was running in that group before barabera punted him off track and lost him a whole bunch of time. After that he was running slightly faster times than the group Hayden was in, and finished just a few seconds behind them. Had he not run off track I think Rossi would have been fighting for 6th place too, but then that still isn't good enough for either Ducati factory rider is it? The fact is that the Yamahas and factory Hondas still kicked everyones arse  | ||
| Davegess |
Ducati seems completely lost. | ||
| Bigblock |
I think Hayden again proves himself the consummate veteran pro, and I don't believe Rossi has been the same since his shoulder injury, and won't be until he addresses that condition properly. And of course Ducati is having issues... | ||
| Bads1 |
Hayden started on the grid in 5th. He finished 6th. Thats not saying much. Rossi started 12th. He finished 10th. He also was knocked off and still had to come back from that. Neither looked good. Ducati has a long way to go. But does it trash the two Ducati riders carreer or future in Moto GP?? | ||
| Amafan |
Trojan, you are looking at things with Yellow tinted glasses again, Rossi had the slowest fastest lap of the race,out of the 12 prototype riders in MotoGP. Rossi barely ran wide when Barbera passed him,he lost time because he was thinking about quitting for a few seconds,and Barbera ran way off the track on the last lap trying to pass Hayden , and still easily finished ahead of Rossi. Hayden ,Barbera, Buutista ,and Bradl, were dicing for 6th place,and were messing up each others racing lines and braking markers, so of course they were not going as fast as they could. Hayden for instance went from 7th to 9th on 1 lap,and then went from 9th to 6th a few laps later. Rossi was riding all by himself ,so he should have been going as fast as he could . (Message edited by amafan on April 10, 2012) (Message edited by amafan on April 10, 2012) | ||
| Jaimec |
Exactly. And you can't overlook their times in practice nor their positions on the grid after qualifying. Hayden simply outclassed Rossi all weekend. | ||
| Trojan |
Trojan, you are looking at things with Yellow tinted glasses again, No I'm not. I responded to a post that stated that Hayden kicked Rossis arse last weekend, which was patently untrue. What I AM saying is that neither factory Ducati did very well at all. Hayden certainly didn't kick Rossi's arse or anyone elses for that matter. Being the best of a very poor bunch isn't something to crow about and being 30 seconds behind the winner (and finishing behind satellite teams) is extremely poor form for both riders regardless of eventual finishing position. Hayden didn't catch Bradl by being faster, Bradl just got slower as the race progressed and fell back to the following group. Likewise Bautista and Barbera are not exactly 'aliens' and all 3 riders should have been no problem for either Ducati factory rider to beat quite easily under normal circumstances. Yes, Hayden did a very slightly better job than Rossi did last weekend, but neither had anything to be pleased about and I'm sure there were no slaps on the back or wild parties at Bologna on Sunday night. Ducati are no closer to solving their problems than they have been since 2007, and don't seem to have any idea on which way to go in future either. Their biggest problem is that they seem unable to build a bike to suit more than one rider, and that has been their problem from day one. Either they need to re-examine their entire engine arrangement (to a narrower V angle) or they have to do something very radical chassis wise to make their bike more comptetitive. The fact that both factory bikes are only capable of running with the previous incarnation of Ducati after months of changes must tell them in 12 foot high neon letters that improvements are not being made fast enough. By the way, I see the Crutchlow bashers are being very quiet this week  | ||
| Jaimec |
I just know that Nicky seemed far more optimistic after this past weekend, whereas Vale was uncharacteristically critical of Ducati. I wonder if he watches Jorge and secretly smacks himself in the head at night thinking "that could've been ME!!" | ||
| Bads1 |
Nicky I'd say better be opimistic. This is his last ride on a factory ride. Rossi though I'd say will still be welcome in a factory camp. But then again he may just retire. Nothing to prove and he can go race Ferrari. Like he is in the coming very near future. | ||
| Jaimec |
I think we'll see Vale in WSBK before we see him in F1. He's been expressing a LOT of interest in that series of late (no doubt due to the fact that the Ducati superbike is a LOT more competitive in that series than the Desmosedici appears to be in MotoGP). | ||
| Bads1 |
Ummmm hes racing 4 wheels this month. http://www.foxsports.com.au/motor-sports/moto-gp/f ormer-motogp-world-champion-valentino-rossi-to-dri ve-ferrari-458-italia-in-endurance-race-at-monza-i taly/story-fn2ms4i4-1226322906423 | ||
| Jaimec |
He does that a lot. He is also enamored of the European Rally circuit, too. | ||
| Bads1 |
It shows that he has solid interest in going 4 wheel's. I know hes done this before and also Rally. I see Rossi retiring on 2 wheels but in MOTO GP. Not the Group B as he refer's to WSB. | ||
| Jaimec |
FWIW: http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/racing/valentino-r ossi-world-superbike-motogp/ http://www.twowheelsblog.com/post/6068/valentino-r ossi-hints-again-at-wsbk-switch http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2012/Apr/120409nott riedthis.htm | ||
| Bads1 |
And theres doubt he will. http://www.visordown.com/motorcycle-racing-news-ws b/bayliss-doubts-rossis-move-to-wsb/17496.html | ||
| Bads1 |
Superbike planet and Dean Adam's??? Thats like reading the Inquirer in the check out line at the Grocery store. All your links and mine are already 1 and 2 years old. I think he would have done it by now if he'd planned to. | ||
| Trojan |
I think Rossi will go to Rallying rather than F1, as he is simply too old to start a F1 career as a rookie and none of the big teams are likely to risk hiring him in a 2 car team over an established F1 star. If Ferrari could get permission to run a 3rd car then maybe, but I really don't see that happening. I think it is much more likely that he will either run his own MotoGP team using a 'customer' Yamaha next year, or will sign for Ducati in WSB to ride the Panigale (provided it looks competitive in Superstock and BSB this year). However I think that the love affair between Rossi and Ducati could well be over and acromonious by the end of this season, so he may not want to continue any association with the brand at all! The Italian press is full of rumour that he will run his own two bike MotoGP team next year using Yamaha machinery and with sponsorship from Coca Cola! They have some pretty wild stories but there is often a grain of truth in there too | ||
| Jaimec |
Why? He was on top of the world when he left Yamaha and signed a two-year contract with Ducati. He's essentially "trapped" now till the end of this year. | ||
| Trojan |
He's essentially "trapped" now till the end of this year. Unless he can negotiate some kind of sideways move to WSBK with Ducati, or if he buys the company of course I see Attack Performance are building their own CRT bike for wild card entries at Laguna and Indy this year. Hopefully this will lead to a full season in 2013. Good for them. This is exactly what the CRT class and MotoGP neds right now, and I wish them all the luck with their project. I can't see Steve Rapp worrying too many GP regulars, and he will have huge learning curve to get used to GP tyres and brakes. I think they should have gone for a rider with at least some GP experience or a younger rider that has time to learn, but you never know what will happen I suppose  | ||
| Walt221 |
I think the Attack bike will go pretty well at the two American rounds. Stanboli builds some great stuff and Rapp in my mind was a good choice. He works well with the Attack team and his development feedback will be critical to the new project. Plus, Steve has the ability to go fast on anything so I think he may surprise a few people - if he doesn't fall down. | ||
| Bads1 |
I'll never forget Rapp's accident on the Ducati in 2000. I was standing right there and watched all that unfold. My jaw dropped to see that he walked away on got on bike B and rode. | ||
| Bads1 |
I think it is much more likely that he will either run his own MotoGP team using a 'customer' Yamaha next year Its also been said by him that he'd like stay 2 more years in his latest interview ?? | ||
| Trojan |
I think the Attack bike will go pretty well at the two American rounds. Stanboli builds some great stuff and Rapp in my mind was a good choice. Their problem will be that they are really jumping in at the very deep end without a life belt. Having never built a complete chassis they are proposing to build, test and race a brand new chassis in a class they have no experience of and using tyres and brakes they have never used either (and with a rider who hasn't used them either). They are also using probably the worst the superbike engine to start a project with, as FTR have found out! The Kawasaki motor is very tall and needs a much larger chassis than the other CRT motors being used so far. FTR have had problems with ground clearance and other handling problems, in addition to having to develop a complete new electronics package for the ZX10 engine for MotoGP use. FTR have shown just how difficult it is to build a MotoGP chassis, and they have experience of building them in Moto2 and for the Kenny Roberts team in the past (and of course the current Ducati GL12 chassis). It would be nice to think that a team of enthusiastic newcomers could be competitive straight away, but I don't think it will be possible for them unless they run all season to gain experience and fine tune the chassis. I think they would probably have been better served to buy an ART or FTR chassis for the two wild card rounds, and then develop their own chassis from that starting point. They have decided to bite off a huge chunk of work for themselves with a very short time frame to work in, but good luck to them and I hope they can do it and get on the grid. Just qualifying will be a success for them. | ||
| Jaimec |
Very interesting article from Dennis Noyes regarding the current Rossi/Ducati situation: http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/article/motogp-noye s-notebook-he-said-red-said/ | ||
| Trojan |
Very succinctly put by Dennis as usual, although to be honest the Yamaha/Rossi rumours are so rife that you don't need to be a leading journalist to hear them I can't see him getting a ride at Tech 3 next year, simply because they are very much 'under the thumb' at Yamaha, and Yamaha don't want Rossi back in the family (but may be happy for him to buy/lease non factory bikes for his own team). Herve Poncheral needs the respect and co-operation of the Yamaha factory to keep him in business, so he will not do anything that Yamaha disagree with....... On the other hand, maybe Yamaha would accept Rossi back into Tech 3 to allow Poncheral to run a 3 bike team next year, but this then leaves either Crutchlow or Dovizioso out in the cold. Ironic as both have outridden Rossi recently and Bradley Smith is the only confirmed Tech 3 rider for the 2013 MotoGP class There may of course be another option (if Yamaha & Rossi can face the shame!) and that would be for Rossi to return to the factory Yamaha team in 2013 if Ben Spies doesn't improve this year. Ben is already under the gypsies warning and been told he has to win at least 2 races this year to keep his place. With the warm happy atmosphere fast evaporating on his side of the garage he needs to step up to keep his place. A return of Rossi to Yamaha would at least give them a good shot at the top 2 places. A very very outside possibility I admit, but at the moment who knows what will happen! | ||
| Jaimec |
Lorenzo has stated in the past that he liked having Rossi as a team mate. Not because he LIKED him, but he liked being able to tell people he kicked the GOAT's arse on equal equipment. | ||
| Simond |
I don't see much upside to Rossi returning to Yamaha. It was very close between the two of them before he left and I'm damn sure Lorenzo hasn't got any slower! Much as I love Rossi, I think the time has gone when he would be able to dominate even on the best bike. WSB would be tricky unless he could guarantee the machinery to beat Max. Perhaps Rossi's presence would be enough to push Biaggi into the mistakes that characterised his riding last year but it would be harsh on Checa if he were to walk into the number 1 Ducati ride. In fact, with Checa riding as well as he is would Rossi be faster? | ||
| Trojan |
WSB would be tricky unless he could guarantee the machinery to beat Max. Perhaps Rossi's presence would be enough to push Biaggi into the mistakes that characterised his riding last year but it would be harsh on Checa if he were to walk into the number 1 Ducati ride. In fact, with Checa riding as well as he is would Rossi be faster? I recently read somewhere that Rossi's MotoGP contract is actually more with Marlboro/Philip Morris than directly with Ducati. If this is the case then a simple sideways move to the Althea Ducati squad wouldn't be possible unless Rossi bought himself out of his current contract (which wouldn't be too much problem for a man of his means). Ducati will probably return to WSB with a full factory effort next year and it could be a good publicity move to put Rossi on the offical Panigale entry. Whether Rossi would want to risk entering WSB on a new bike, with all the associated pressure again would be another matter of course. Checa could either stay at Althea on a similar factory spec bike or move to the factory squad as an equal number one. Either way, I very much doubt if we will see Ducati in MotoGP for much longer in its current form. i.e. as a full factory team sponsored by Philip Morris I suspect they may follow Aprilia on the CRT route....although I can't see people lining up to buy a GP12 somehow. | ||
| Trojan |
Apparently Rossi was interviewed on Friday 13th April by a Spanish reported about his situation at Ducati. Rossi was at pains to point out that he will continue at Ducati until his job is finished............. If you believe that then I've got a 3 legged horse you may want to bet your house on |
