| Author | Message | ||
     Vagelis46 |
Good race . Honda failed miserably, it was the worst race for them, ever. Pedrosa tried to stay behind the M1 and crashed. Then Dovi crashed when he pushed to keep eith the leaders.Something wrong with their bikes. RCV is no match for the M1. Ducati is even worse. It takes Stoner's super abilities to get close, but the gap is really big now. The same situation as in 2007, but it was Ducatis HP then , now it is M1's chassis setup. What is wrong with Casey ?? He is trying too hard to keep up with the M1 ?? Or he has some serious illness like leuchemia ?? In any case he should go to the press comferance even if he had to throw up and dragged ..... Nicky is finished at Ducati, is he finished in motoGP ???? | ||
| Jaimec |
Nicky gets his first top ten finish and you say he's finished??? How many top ten finishes did Marco get last year? | ||
| 46champ |
Nicky's not going anywhere unless Nicky wants to. The US is too important of a market for Ducati and Nicky is too well liked here to throw the towel in now. Unfortunately for Ducati Casey Stoner doesn't set the general populace afire they need someone that plays in Peoria. As long as Nicky is showing improvement and he is running around 5th by the end of the year the job will be his as long as he wants it. | ||
| Jima4media |
I think Nicky will get into the top 5 at Laguna Seca next weekend, and wake everyone up again. He may even get ahead of Stoner. See you guys there! Jim | ||
| Blake |
Go Nick! Some of the bikers here sound like gossiping old women. Yuck! HTFU BadWeatherBikers! | ||
| Vagelis46 |
"Unfortunately for Ducati Casey Stoner doesn't set the general populace afire they need someone that plays in Peoria." You do not get it, do you ?? As soon as a rider beats or challenges Rossi, he gets hated. Remember all those Hayden haters in 2006 ?? Why ?? Because he got the title , and Rossi did not! As soon as Stoner started to beat Rossi he got hated. Now we have thousands of Stoner haters. Nowdays Hayden is not beating Rossi, so he is back to be liked again. I hope when Rossi retires, all those " Rossi hyper-fans" retire from watching motoGP. Back to the Hayden issue, he got beaten by : Kalio on a satelite Duc until his last lap crash DePuniet on a satelite Honda Toseland on a satelite M1 Capirossi and Elias until their incident If Repsol Hondas and Kalio did not crash and Capirossi and Elias had no incident, he would have been 13th. Is this OK for the 2006 champion?? I say it is s#&^%!! I think Hayden is a great rider. When I watched him in his first year at GP, I was really impressed, he was so bold and spectacular! Maybe he got the "Rossi hyper-fans" voodoo. It worked for Gibernau, Hayden and now Stoner. All this hate, bad critisism, and bad energy must have an effect to racers. What will be his next move? Does he want to stay in Ducati and fight for 13th position ?? Will he want to try another bike or WSBK? I think WSBK is no shame for him. Maybe he should talk to Bayliss about this carrer switch. Haga is badly injured. Maybe Ducati offers him a job in WSBK, this will also keep the American market happy. | ||
| Trojan |
I hope when Rossi retires, all those " Rossi hyper-fans" retire from watching motoGP. When he does retire, I suspect that most of the Rossi fans will continue to be avid supporters of the sport and appreciate those who come next just as they did before Rossi arrived. I will admit that I am a Rossi hyper-fan, and have been one since he burst onto teh 125 scene all those years ago. why? because he is simply the greatest motorcycle road racer of all time. The only man to have scored more GP wins ever is Agostini, and he had the massive advantages of racing in more than one class every week (350 & 500) and of riding a works MV against a bunch of worn out Manx Nortons mostly. Not only is Rossi a great racer, but he is also a larger than life flamboyant character who has been an ambassador for the sport and spread the word for motorcycle racing far beyond the usual followers. He is responsibel for the current upsurge of interest in bike racing, and unlike Stoner adn most of the others he doesn't moan or complain about other racers, nor does he make excuses when he loses. When Rossi eventually retires (and I don't think he will go until he has beaten the Ago record) it will be a very very sad day for motorcycle racing, and even the Rossi haters will come to realise what a big part of the sport has gone. As for Hayden,it doesn't matter if he wins at Laguna or for the rest of the races this season (more than unlikely) or how big the US market is to Ducati, he is history and he already knows it. If Ducati wanted him for next year they would have signed him already. Ducati should be signing Kallio for the works team in 2010 if they have any sense at all, as he seems to be the 'best of the rest' on the GP9. The only thing that Hayden has going for him at Ducati is that nobody else wants his job either at the moment! Hayden was indeed very fortunate to have picked up a top ten position this weekend, as was Toseland to have inherited 6th at the last corner, but that is racing and you take what you can get. With the 250 class ending this year there will be too many riders and not enough teams in MotoGP, and I think the likes of Bautista, Aoyama, Barbera, Pasini and others will be more attractive prospects to team managers than the 'old school' middle runners such as Hayden, Edwards (despite his 4th place), Toseland, Elias, De Angelis etc. I would expect a very silly, silly-season of contract negotiations and seat hopping to begin after Laguna, and Simoncelli has probably done the right thing by signing for Gresini early so he has ringside seats for the scrap to follow  I can even see a few MotoGP riders stepping down to the new Moto" class next year, as even WSB won't have enough empty seats to cater for all of the fall out from MotoGP at the end of 2009. | ||
| Duggram |
Speaking of WSBK, did anyone notice what happened at Donnington today? Wow! Would it be that much of a hit for Nicky to ride WSBK next year? | ||
| Duggram |
Colin Edwards was just on Wind Tunnel. He and Despain were joking about Team Texas (spies and edwards) next year on Tech3. Is that just daydreaming? | ||
| White79bu |
I hope Nicky stays at ducati. I think that with some testing he can be more competitive. Look at him this weekend. He should of had 6th but ran deep and then got booted by Elis. Plus I think Nicky is very valuable for Ducati in North America. Has far as Spies I don't care what he does. As long as he keeps riding a motorcycle. Part of me would like to see him go to motogp but I would like to see him get a factory ride. That way he has the equiptment to be competitive. Like Edwards said, his bikes are only 92%-95% of Rossi's bike. | ||
| Jaimec |
Unfortunately the only factory ride Spies could get in MotoGP would be with Suzuki thanks to a new ruling from Dorna. To let you know how that would work out, Spies was circulating the track at Donington on his Yamaha Superbike FASTER than he did last year on the Suzuki MotoGP bile. I think the only way Poncharal could afford Spies is if Yamaha pays the freight. That being the case, he'd probably demand a factory-spec bike as well. Doesn't matter... I see Ben sticking around in WSBK for at least one more year. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
"He is responsibel for the current upsurge of interest in bike racing, and unlike Stoner adn most of the others he doesn't moan or complain about other racers, nor does he make excuses when he loses. " Are you serious ?? Remember the commnents for Toni Elias riding ? Remember the Michelin complain issues ?? I bet you forget the Michelin overnight specials, too !! Remember the "I need more power from the M1" complain, or I leave Yamaha ?? Remember Rossi's attempt to stop factory Yamaha signing Lorenzo ?? Remember the wall in the Yamaha garage ?? Remember Rossi's reaction after Muggelo 2009 ?? Rossi is the greatest of all times, but he is also human, which is a good thing. Unfortunately his hyper-fans have given him a God status, and hate every poor racer that sometimes manages to beat him. | ||
| Trojan |
He and Despain were joking about Team Texas (spies and edwards) next year on Tech3. Is that just daydreaming? Wishful thinking I think. Rossi is the greatest of all times, but he is also human, which is a good thing. Unfortunately his hyper-fans have given him a God status, and hate every poor racer that sometimes manages to beat him. I can't see what reason anyone would have to hate Rossi as much as you do. He has been an incredible rider since he joined the GP circus, and has a record that beats every other MotoGP/GP500 rider EVER (except Agostini so far). How can you criticise him for that? As for comments about Elias' riding, Rossi wasn't moaning he was telling the truth! You only have to see the result of Elias' last lap suicide mission in Holland (again!) to see that the guy really does not deserve to be in MotoGP at all. To give him just a 20 second penalty was absurd and he really should be banned. Rossi's comments about both Michelin and Yamaha were designed for one thing alone..to improve his ride. Not to denegrate other riders or to make excuses for poor performances. The news that Rossi attempted to block Lorenzos move to Yamaha has no truth to it and was purely conjecture and rumour dreamed up by the press to try and start a rivalry and animosity between the two riders. The wall was there because they were running different tyres, and has been kept because Rossi prefers the setup like that and doesn't want to gift Lorenzo any setup information. What is wrong with that? It isn't a team sport on track and you don't get extra points for helping your 'team mate' beat you. This is completely unlike the wall at Tech 3, just because he has fallen out with Toseland. I don't hate people that beat Rossi at all. What I dislike unsportsmanlike riders who can't give credit when they get beaten, who come out with churlish, childish remarks and excuses, who refuse to shake hands after being beaten.......oh that'll be Stoner then | ||
| Vagelis46 |
You did not like Hayden back in 2006, right ?? Why ?? You were saying that he did not deserve the title, he was lucky, better bike, etc,etc.... How dare he get the title from Rossi in 2006 !!  | ||
| Jaimec |
Vagelis, the wall in the Yamaha garage was initially put there because Bridgestone and Michelin DEMANDED it. | ||
| Jaimec |
Hayden had a LOT of lucky breaks in 2006 and only won two races but he remained a consistent podium winner. In the end, Rossi went into the last race ahead, but threw it away in a rare error, gifting Hayden the championship. But who was one of the first people to congratulate Nicky on his championship? Oh... that would've been Valentino Rossi! | ||
| Trojan |
You did not like Hayden back in 2006, right ?? Why ?? You were saying that he did not deserve the title, he was lucky, better bike, etc,etc.... How dare he get the title from Rossi in 2006 !! I don't dislike Nicky Hayden at all. In fact I think he is a very nice guy. However, I think he won the 06 title because Rossi had problems rather than by winning more races, and since then he hasn't won another race. In 06 Nicky was probably riding the best bike in the field (incidentally one developed by Rossi/Burgess) but has struggled since on both Honda and Ducati. There have been various reasons cited for his lack of performance, but in the end you have to be able to win on what you are given to ride, and Hayden hasn't done that. Apart from Inianapolis last year he hasn't looked like getting close to the podium in all that time, and it is results that keep you at the top rather than being a nice guy. I think Lorenzo is a fantastic prospect, and will undoubtedly take over as the boss once Rossi decides he's had enough. There are also plenty of other riders that I really like such as Kallio, Simoncelli, Bautista and Aoyama, all of whom will brighten up the MotoGP field and inject some much needed new blood next year. There are also a lot of riders now in the top class that are not doing enough to justify their places, and they really need to be cleared out for next year. If someone beats Rossi in a straight race then of course they deserve to be praised, but if they moan like children every time they get beat (and even when they win sometimes) then they lose my respect quite quickly. The last vestige of respect that I had for Stoner evaporated at the post race antics at Laguna last year and he has done nothing since to make me feel any different about him. Stoner may be a great talent, but he should learn when to keep his mouth shut and be a bit more gracious in defeat rather than blaming everyone around him. His behaviour this weekend has been nothing short of childish, and there were not many people he didn't blame for some perceievd transgression or other during practice and qualifying. For a sportsman at his level that is just not professional, and it is certainly not behaviour that you would see either Rossi or Hayden exhibit without very good reason. | ||
| Duggram |
"I think the only way Poncharal could afford Spies is if Yamaha pays the freight. That being the case, he'd probably demand a factory-spec bike as well. Doesn't matter... I see Ben sticking around in WSBK for at least one more year." Jaime, did you hear Colin Edwards last night on Wind Tunnel? He said he was under contract to Yamaha and on loan to Tech3. It does make sense that if Yamaha is paying the bills Ben will be kept in WSBK for one more year. I agree with you, just look around at the pub they're getting from it. But when he does go to MotoGP wouldn't he have to go to Tech3 anyway because now by rule a rookie must start with a satellite team? I don't understand why the Europeans are working so hard to protect Rossi from Ben. I do understand that Rossi is the best ever, but why handicap the new guys? It's politics like this that taints a series. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
I do not know...Maybe Stoner is a bit of a psycho after all.....He rides the Ducati fast while the bike is moving like crazy under him, so there must be something wrong in his head. For sure, when he did not show up in the press conference, made even me a bit disappointed. No matter what, he should have gotten there, even if it meant that he would collapse. But I still think he is the absolute fastest in motoGP at the moment, and that Ducati has a problematic bike. Actually Ducati had problems from 2006 onwards. The only good thing they did was to sign Stoner and get the 800cc very fast from day1. It seems that the carbon fibre was the wrong direction. As far as Hayden, to get a motoGP title you need more than pure luck. I think Lorenzo has the same benefits that Hayden had in his first motoGP years. Riding a bike developed by Rossi/Burgess. Unless Ducati does something drastic, first they will lose Soner, then they will withdraw from motoGP, since they do not like loosing. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
"There have been various reasons cited for his lack of performance, but in the end you have to be able to win on what you are given to ride, and Hayden hasn't done that." That is why I like Stoner. | ||
| Jaimec |
I am willing to cut Stoner some slack for his post-race performance the last two races. The fact that he made the podium at all is amazing, but who wants to see someone practicing projectile emesis on television?? | ||
| Trojan |
I think Stoner may be suffering from an allergy to Ducati red, or a bad dose of Rossiitis, as he only gets ill on a weekend. He said that he felt bad at the last race, then felt fine all week until Friday when practice started. As soon as he got t the garage he felt sick again  | ||
| Vagelis46 |
I would be more than happy to see how gay-boy would perform on the Ducati red. | ||
| Trojan |
I don't understand why the Europeans are working so hard to protect Rossi from Ben. The new rules were brought in so that the factory teams don't just 'cherry pick' the best riders and leave the dregs to the 'privateer' or semi factory teams. Under the new rules the minor teams stand more chance of signing major talent (if only for one year) and will get more publicity and more sponsorship dollar hopefully. It has nothing to do with keeping Spies or anyone else from Rossi. Suzuki are exempt from the rule because they have no 'second tier' team to place riders into, so are allowed to sign newcomers straight into the factory squad. The rules are very easily circumvented though, as has been seen at the very first signing under the new structure. Simoncelli is contracted directly to (and paid by) HRC but is riding for the Gresini team. He will get exactly the same bike as Pedrosa and Dovizioso and will have factory technicians in the garage, so the only diference will be paintwork. If Yamaha wanted to have Spies on comparable machinery to Rossi they could do it very easily by placing him in the Tech 3 team. Last year Tech 3 enjoyed exactly the same spec bikes as the factory team, and have been picking up Edwards wages sinc ehe joined the team (but will not be doing so in 2010) so it can be done if they want it to happen. However, it seems that Yamaha are happy with their current factory lineup and are not in a hurry to bring in anyone who may upset the established order, at least until 2011. Spies was too greedy in his wage demands last year, which is why he didn't get a GP ride. Even if he wins the WSB crown this year he will probably have to temper his wage expectations in order to get a decent ride in MotoGP (unless he wants the Ducati poison chalice of course!). Even factory teams will be looking to cut costs in 2010, so any rider that can bring money to the team will be given a priority over pure talent. A good example is the Scot Honda signing of Gabor Talmacsi, who brings massive Eastern European oil money with him but is woefully short of experience and speed on the bigger bikes. With just 4 250 races to his name since moving up from 125 racing it has to be asked if he should even be allowed into the field at all. The same argument should be applied to Canepa, whose race experience before MotoGP was limited to Superstock machines, and Sete Gibernau who has been out of top class racing for 3 years. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
Spies is a big talent for either Yamaha or any other team to ignore. HRC is in bad shape. It would be a wise move to sign Spies at Gresini with a factory bike. there is no point keeping De Angelis or Elias. Maybe Spies could be the rider to start winning for Honda. I think that Spies has the ability to race against Lorenzo, Pedrosa, Stoner and beat them. Expecting Spies to beat Rossi, is too much. | ||
| Duggram |
Thanks to both of you for the explanations. This is interesting stuff. | ||
| Trojan |
HRC is in bad shape. It would be a wise move to sign Spies at Gresini with a factory bike. there is no point keeping De Angelis or Elias. Maybe Spies could be the rider to start winning for Honda. I think that Spies has quite high moral principles, and he has said that he is very happy at Yamaha. After all, he wanted to stay with Suzuki if he possibly could this year, but nothing was forthcoming from them. If that means another year in WSB for 2010 with a guarantee of Yamaha factory support in MotoGP in 2011 (which would tie in with Rossi's last year too) I think he will stick with them. HRC is in bad shape, but part of that is that they haven't had a good development rider for 3 years now and they have lost the plot a little. Rather then bring in a new rider from outside they need to get a good current MotoGP rider to develop their bike next winter. This could be a chance for Melandri to get back into the factory fold, or maybe a lifeline to Capirossi? If Repsol pull their money from Honda as rumoured it is likely that Dani Pedrosa won't be there much longer, so there will be room for an experienced somebody from the ranks of the current lineup to partner Dovi | ||
| Vagelis46 |
If HRC loses Pedrosa and replaces him with somebody like Capirossi or Melandri, it would be a total disaster. Pesrosa is their only hope at the moment. The only thing that HRC and Pedrosa should do is to stay away from injuries for the next 2 months, even if that means settling for 4th. Then when they are 100% fit they should start preparing for 2010. You need a fast rider to develop a fast bike and Capirossi is too old, while Melandri is still a big question mark. I still cannot bealive that as soon as Pedrosa tried to match Lorenzo's pace in Assen he crashed. The limit of the Honda is much less than the M1 at the moment. Lorenzo must be very happy at the moment. He rides a bike that makes him look like Superman. | ||
| Trojan |
You need a fast rider to develop a fast bike and Capirossi is too old, while Melandri is still a big question mark. I think either of the above would be a better development rider than Pedrosa has proved to be since he joined HRC. he is a naturally gifted rider but his light weight and lack of physical stature are not always the advantage that they apear to be. He seems incapable of handling the 800 MotoGP bike if it gets out of shape and seems to crash far more often than the other top guys. I don't think he is trying harder than they are either, he is simply slower. There are very few riders who have shown themselves to be capable of succesfully leading development of a GP bike in the current era. Rossi and Stoner are two who have steered their teams in the right direction and Capirossi must be considered the third contender as he has the experience and has led the development of the current Suzuki. I think that Honda would jump at the chance to get either him or Melandri back on board, and it is already rumoured that Melandri will be Simoncellis team mate in an all Italian Gresini squad next year. Capirossi may be going back to Ducati, but I think there will be competition for his services even at this late stage in his career. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
I have the feeling that sooner or later Stoner will end up in a Honda. Lately I hope tha he does it as soon as possible, hopefully next year. I think that all the moral principals (that he does not like Honda because they turned him down in 2007) is crap if they offer him big money. I think he earns 2.5 million Euros , compared to Rossi's 14 million Euros and Lorenzo's 2 million Euros. So what happens if HRC offers him 6 million, and a chance to beat Rossi for 2010, because I seriously doupt that Ducati is competitive any more ??? |
