| Author | Message | ||
     Trojan |
Rossi has renewed his contract to ride with Yamaha until the end of 2008  Is that the sound of Honda engineers falling on swords that I can hear? | ||
| Buell2001b |
this is not yamaha, and rossi does not ride Buell, so gtfo | ||
| Uwgriz |
Lighten up, Francis. | ||
| Jimidan |
buell2001b sez: this is not yamaha, and rossi does not ride Buell, so gtfo Does your Mommy know that you are playing on her 'puter? jimidan | ||
| Jimidan |
Uwgriz, do you actually know this Francis guy? What's up and why is he Dee-dee-deeing all over the place? jimidan | ||
| Jscott |
Buell2001b = wanker troll | ||
| Uwgriz |
No, don't know him. Even if I did, I'm not so sure I could explain it. | ||
| Davegess |
Buell2001b dude relax, this is a bike forum we like MotoGP racing | ||
| Ceejay |
Uw-better watch it or you'll get put on his list | ||
| Jscott |
His list will not be the only one I'm on.  | ||
| Blake |
Bill (Buell2001b), You are WAY out of line.  Blake - Chief Custodian BadWeatherBikers.com | ||
| Blake |
Matt, Why would they do that? They have the current champion and another very competitive prospect? If anything the heat is on Yamaha, they were the big losers in 2006. | ||
| Jackbequick |
I didn't see Rossi's name on the qualifying times down under, nor did I see any Yamahas mentioned in that list in that best qulaifying times thread. Did Rossi and/or Yamaha take a bye on that? Jack | ||
| Jimidan |
And all of this and they don't even have a major sponsor? How DO these people do it? Reckon they've been talking to the Worm... jimidan (Message edited by jimidan on February 01, 2007) | ||
| 12r |
Fiat have made an offer to sponsor Yamaha this year, but allegedly it includes some links to Rossi as well. Telefonica are also in the frame, as are outsiders A-Style. Yamaha have to appear at the official IRTA tests at the end of this month in their team colours, so we'll know by then. | ||
| Trojan |
Neither of the Yamaha teams tested at Philip Island, but will be testing at Sepang this week with Kawasaki and Ilmor. Blake, I really think the pressure is definitely on Honda rather than on Rossi. Valentino has won the title so many times that he has nothing to prove and is fired up for the season ahead, whereas the Honda win last year is still seen by many to have been the result of Rossi's bad luck rather than Hayden's better riding (I don't want to open that can of worms again, just stating the way a lot of people see it) and they NEED to prove that they can do it again. Honda are already on the back foot in testing, and although quickest at Philip Island it still leaves a lot of questions as to their readiness for the season, particularly as Yamaha decided to sit out that test. Every single Honda rider has complained about lack of power and handling issues on the new bike, and Hayden is waiting for larger fairings and bodywork to stop him being hung out in the breeze. Unless big H have something left up their corporate sleeve they will start the season with the same problems that Yamaha had last year. Look behind the headline fastest times (all set on sticky qualifying tyres) and concentrate on the race simulation times that people were doing at the previous test, and you'll see that Honda have a big hill to climb. Rossi was able to string 20+ consistentlaps together in the 2.02 bracket during the hottest part of the day, whereas the Hondas were all down in the 2.04 region and none of them did a 20 lap stint at all. This just shows that the Yamaha/Rossi combination works better in race conditions and with worn tyres than the others at this time. One thing is for sure though. This season will be very interesting and should give some very close racing | ||
| Vagelis46 |
I am dissapointed to find out that Rossi will stay with Yama one more year. I always wanted him to join Ducati and win the title. Italian bike and rider. It would be great to see him with Ducati, since Capi-T-Rex is 34 years old and close to his retirement. Maybe he will join Ducati when Loris retires in 1-2 years, and (I hope) there is a secret agreement between Vale-Loris-Ducati. I think this time the Evil Empires has totally blew it. Their theory that they can produce the best MotoGP bike with little feedback from a top rider&engineer is proving wrong.... They had problems keeping good pace over race distances in Australia + Qatar. Hayden is not happy. One super fast time with Q-tyres does not impress people, that follow the MotoGP. | ||
| 12r |
There's an interesting chapter in Vale's autobiography where he describes his visit to the Ducati factory in 2003, after he had decided to leave Honda but before he moved to Yamaha. Although the meeting was cordial, Ducati made it clear they would never employ a rider who would overshadow the Ducati name. | ||
| Jackbequick |
Fascinating discussion guys, I'm really looking forward to seeing how the season unfolds. On the Ducati/Rossi thing, the Ducati people were just saying silly things of the moment. And maybe laying the groundwork for haggling with Rossi over compensation. I'm willing to bet that, given the opportunity, a great Italian rider on a competitive Italian bike would smother everyone with massive and equal amounts of glory and be to the benefit of all. That Bayliss/Capirossi Ducati show in the season closer was a wonderful thing to see. Can that continue? I'd love to see Ducati drive a wedge into the dominance of the Evil Kingdom of the East. :>  Jack | ||
| Trojan |
There were some comments by Capirossi in last week's MCN to the effect that he would step aside for Rossi to come intot he team if required, and that even he would love to see Rossi on the Ducati. However now that Vale has signed for another year with Yamaha I can't see it happening, especially as Rossi also has Mitsubishi and Subura chasing him offering a drive in WRC if he wants it. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
I am not in Vale's head, but I do not think he will switch to WRC before he turns 32. So he has 3-4 seasons in MotoGP. I hope that eventually he will join DUCATI, and win a title with them. Italian Bike&Rider MotoGP champions after ..... 30 years (Ago&Agusta). That might be a good motivation for him. And a lot of glory&money too.... |
