| Author | Message | ||
     Bads1 |
lol, I respect the love you have for Rossi, no matter how over he is. So I guess Stoner will be racing cars which is the other thing Rossi attempted and failed! Ya know your so ill informed. Failed??? Umm he never failed he has the money to do it and does because he wants to. It was never attempted he still does Billy. | ||
| Trojan |
Check your facts Mr 1125r. Rossi has taken part in a few car races and rallies with great success, which so far is a lot more than Moaner has managed. Rossi lapped within a fraction of a second of a lap record in a 3 year old (i.e. anciant in F1 terms)Ferrari F1 car a couple of years ago, just playing at it. Lets see how far Stoner gets in his 4 wheel career before longing to return to bikes  | ||
| Bads1 |
Spies breaks a little silence with a Cycle World interview. http://www.cycleworld.com/2013/01/02/ben-spies-lea ves-yamaha-for-ducati/ | ||
| Jaimec |
I still want to know who at Yamaha could've been so much of a hammerhead to say something like that. Unbelievable. | ||
| Bads1 |
. A senior Yamaha employee—that’s as specific as I’m going to get—said to me, “We’ve invested a lot of money in you. Don’t come to Laguna Seca if you aren’t 100 percent.” Then, he added, “We’ve lost confidence in you.” I'm sorry but if hes getting paid millions to ride and your factory sponsor is possibly dissatisfied with your possible work ethics and performance he has a right to tell you. Ben is airing this out and to me its not very professional in a way. Sounds to me like there may be 2 sides to the story..... there always is. | ||
| Trojan |
+1. if you are paid to ride for a factory team and can't get into the top 5 on a regular basis they have a right to tell you to shape up or ship out I'm afraid. Ben was actually told before the season started that they expected him to win 3 races at least, so he can't say he didn't know what was expected of him. He did have his fair share of bad luck mechanically, but he also had some poor races all by himself last year. I see that Lorenzo has swapped helmet sponsor for 2013 and is wearing an HJC the same a Ben. I hope he doesn't start to get 'visor misting' problems too | ||
| Xb1125r |
trojan, I guess that is what Ducati told Rossi,lol | ||
| Bads1 |
Trojan do yourself a favor and don't answer this guy in this forum any longer. | ||
| Jaimec |
Always a good policy: "Don't feed the trolls." | ||
| Jaimec |
Just noticed something. Both Ducati teams are betting the farm on one American, and one Italian guy named "Andrea."  | ||
| Trojan |
I thnk the Ducati rider to watch may just be the new Italian guy on the block Andrea Iannone rather than the established 'stars'. He has nothing to prove and no pre-conceived ideas of what a GP bike 'should' be like to ride. Both Spies and Dovi come from the best handling bike in the paddock so will face a bit of a shock when riding the Duc, at least for a while, and Hayden has been there for long enought hat if he was going to win on it he would have done by now. Crazy Joe is the guy to watch methinks..... | ||
| Slaughter |
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| Davegess |
I think that the Audi money is either going to turn the Duc into a front runner and all the riders will be fast or become just more fuel for the out of control mess they have. In the later case Iannone MAY be fast once in a while but I suspect that this will be follwoed by horriific crashes. I am hoping the first case happens. | ||
| Jaimec |
Before they set off on their winning ways, both Stoner and Lorenzo had their share of crashes. Gotta exceed those limits once in awhile to find out what the limits really are I guess. The trick is not to suffer a career-ending injury in the process. | ||
| Trojan |
I think that the Audi money is either going to turn the Duc into a front runner and all the riders will be fast or become just more fuel for the out of control mess they have. Much as I would like to see the first option, I fear the second is more likely. Ducati have never suffered from lack of funding and pouring more money into the team isn't the answer really. They need a fundamemtal redesign of their engine and chassis in order to become competitive. Also Audi may have years of car racing experience, but that seldom tranlates into bike racing success (just look at Ilmor, Cosworth and other car racing concerns that have attempted it in the past). I hope that Ducati can turn the corner (literally) and become another competitive team just to relieve the monotony of the Yamaha/Honda race we now have in MotoGP. However it will be an uphill struggle for them, especially with three new riders. | ||
| Bads1 |
Looks like Rossi brought Monster Energy in house on the factory team as well as still sponsoring Tech 3. http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?artic le=50584 | ||
| Trojan |
It doesn't mention that Monster had to pay around US$4 million to buy Lorenzo out of his deal with Rockstar energy drinks! Originally they were going to amicably split the deal so that Monster sponsored Rossi and Rockstar supported Lorenzo, with different branding on each bike to suit. However it appears that Monster decided that they didn't want to share the stage with a rival after all..... The Monster branding will not be a complete paint job apparently (like Tech 3), but just a sticker to replace the Eunos stickers on last years livery. | ||
| Bads1 |
Matt, Can you see Rockstar pulling its Sponsorship though. I can't see them staying for long. | ||
| Jaimec |
Matt, from what I can tell, the Monster Livery will SHARE the bike with Eneos, NOT replace. The Eneos/Monster sponsorship (according to reports I've read here in the States) is worth $1,000,000US MORE than the FIAT sponsorship they had three years ago. Monster decided to buy out Lorenzo's contract on the off chance that the only winning Yamaha would have Rockstar livery on it... | ||
| Trojan |
From Superbiek Planet: Fiat reportedly paid 7 million euros per season to sponsor both Yamaha factory bikes, a deal helped along by Fiat's heir Lapo Elkann who is a Rossi pal and VR46 fan. While the Monster deal isn't considered at title sponsorship, Monster and existing associate sponsor Eneos - a Japanese oil company - supposedly are paying 4 million euros each to the team this season, lifting Yamaha to slightly greater loot levels than during the Fiat era. For that money I would want a permanent tattoo on the riders forehead!! | ||
| Bads1 |
(Message edited by bads1 on January 10, 2013) | ||
| Xb1125r |
I wonder what excuse will Rossi will come up when Dovi passes him this season,lol | ||
| Xb1125r |
if Spies or Dovi do better then Rossi. should Rossi retire? | ||
| Trojan |
if Spies or Dovi do better then Rossi. About as likely as me winning the lottery and suddenly discovering life on mars. The only way that ANY of the Ducatis will beat the factory Yamaha this year is if somebody falls off. Other than that the only Yamahas they will see all year will likely be the Tech 3 bikes (from the rear). | ||
| Xb1125r |
well the way crutchlow falls of the bike that should not be a problem,lol | ||
| Trojan |
Oh how I laughed!!! We'll see how the Ducatis go against Crutchlow this year shall we. As the new Ducati boss has already said, they are starting with exactly the same bike they finished last year with, so no new updates and 'evolution not revolution'. You can bet your bottom dollar that neither Honda nor Yamaha will have sat on their hands during the break, and will both wheel out improved versions of their 2012 test bikes for the first test of 2013. Rumour has it that Ducati also lost around 7 million Euros in sponsorship when they lost Rossi. So with the sam bike, less money and 3 new riders, somehow I don't see them being a factor in the 2013 championship race, but dream on  | ||
| Riohondohank |
http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/road-racing/2013 /01/16/blake-young-to-motogp/ | ||
| Davegess |
I'm thinkin' the 7 mill just about cover Rossi's salary so they are breaking even Audi will not care if the sponsorship dollars don't cover the bill; they have deep pockets and are used to winning. I suspect the "no new" is a little smoke. Audi has been racing and winning for a long time; they know hte game. Still a tough road for them. | ||
| Bads1 |
I think they will have a good bike... When??? To hard to speculate but it will happen. | ||
| Jaimec |
How can tiny little Ducati afford to run FOUR factory bikes, yet Kawasaki and Suzuki can't even afford ONE??? |
