Ducati Monster Forum

time for a new thread....

looks like capi is trying to keep ben from riding his bike:

http://www.cyclenews.com/ShowStory.asp?HeadlineID=12493

same dealio http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=32981

I see Ben's golden personality shone through at Donington, way to make an impression by keeping his movie star, mirrored shades on all weekend even inside the pits, thus assuring no eye contact with anyone.

He rode a hell of a race, but boy does he love himself.

Old Capirossi is sweating it for sure,  ....... must..... ride..... bike...... can't...... be.... kicked out!! [popcorn]

commentators made several comments about his work ethic, attitude, and how generally well received he was by the paddock.

Shhhhh! I'm provoking Derby  [evil]

[laugh]

Damn...that seems pretty hard core!  [thumbsup]

shiiiiiit... 2nd time on that bike, first time in any kind of race situation, carbon brakes, different tires, never seen the track before, it's raining, it's not raining, it might rain..

i might wear my helmet in the paddock.  keeping a gameface in that situation would be effin hard.

 ;D


john haner used to sit in his pit area with his helmet on and his eyes shut for like 10-15 minutes before a race. nobody dared walk up and talk to him at all.

I was talking to a friend yesterday about Cap not sitting out Assen, I don't think he can afford to.

motogp.com say Ben will be "supporting the team" at Assen.

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2008/Capirossi+to+return+to+Rizla+Suzuki+for+Dutch+Grand+Prix

WTF does that mean?

that he'll be participating in the post-race test @ Assen.  and standing around during the race.  =)

Actually, I think he'll be there for the possibility of Loris realizing he can't ride with a broken hand.
Loris ain't 21 like Lorenzo, that's a bad move IMO.

He'll be easy pickings for outbraking, eh?

pom poms and a lot of gymnastics with cheering.  maybe some jazz hands.

Yup,

I can see him doing that...

with his shades on. ;D

doesn't look like that decision to ride is working out to well for capi:

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2008/Practice+crash+leaves+Capirossi+with+cut+forearm

Conversation in the Rizla Suzuki pit right now....... "Does anyone know which is Ben Spies' trailer?" ;D

Ouch, that was nasty.

that was a weird crash.  good thing ben's already there  =)

But he don't wanna ride... http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2008/Jun/080626f.htm

that darn mom.

Seems Loris is going to have to sack up and do it.
Off to a bad start though, doing the log-roll under his bike was ugly.

I don't suppose Suzuki execs were all that impressed with that decision.

you never know.  his first priority is the ama championship, his 2nd would be the two american GPs he's already for sure riding... they may not begrudge him passing on a 3rd.

I dunno.  Would you wanna qualify after an hour of setup time on a circuit you've never seen?  Sure, you'll still out-qualify Melandri, but that's about it.  I think he made the right decision.  He'll be testing in Indy next week and he'll be fine.

Hoping that FP times fall into the no spoiler category...

Stoner spanks the field in FP. Go Ducati!

1    1    Casey STONER    AUS    Ducati Marlboro Team    Ducati                1'36.087    293.478    
2    46    Valentino ROSSI    ITA    Fiat Yamaha Team    Yamaha        1'36.819    289.544    0.732
3    5    Colin EDWARDS    USA    Tech 3 Yamaha    Yamaha                        1'36.931    290.244    0.844
4    69    Nicky HAYDEN    USA    Repsol Honda Team    Honda                1'37.012    292.921    0.925
5    15    Alex DE ANGELIS    RSM    San Carlo Honda Gresini  Honda      1'37.126    280.592           1.039
6    56    Shinya NAKANO    JPN    San Carlo Honda Gresini    Honda       1'37.137    286.016    1.050
7    14    Randy DE PUNIET    FRA    LCR Honda MotoGP    Honda      1'37.187    282.574    1.100
8    21    John HOPKINS    USA    Kawasaki Racing Team    Kawasaki    1'37.251      287.769          1.164
9    2    Dani PEDROSA    SPA    Repsol Honda Team    Honda               1'37.280    294.197    1.193
10    7    Chris VERMEULEN    AUS    Rizla Suzuki MotoGP    Suzuki       1'37.282    284.061    1.195
11    4    Andrea DOVIZIOSO    ITA    JiR Team Scot MotoGP    Honda    1'37.326    283.613        1.239
12    50    Sylvain GUINTOLI    FRA    Alice Team    Ducati                     1'37.357    293.239         1.270
13    52    James TOSELAND    GBR    Tech 3 Yamaha    Yamaha                    1'37.838    284.210        1.873
15    13    Anthony WEST    AUS    Kawasaki Racing Team    Kawasaki       1'38.413   286.472      2.326
16    24    Toni ELIAS    SPA    Alice Team    Ducati                                1'38.656    287.693    2.569
17    65    Loris CAPIROSSI    ITA    Rizla Suzuki MotoGP    Suzuki         1'38.667    283.762    2.580
18    33    Marco MELANDRI    ITA    Ducati Marlboro Team    Ducati              1'39.214   290.322        3.127

Time for qualy!

That was great! 32/1000. Holy shit that's close
I hope Hoppers is OK

1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 35.520 secs

2. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 35.552 secs

3. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team (B) 1min 35.659 secs

4. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team (M) 1min 35.975 secs

5. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP (M) 1min 35.985 secs

6. Colin Edwards USA Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 1min 36.278 secs

7. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team (M) 1min 36.532 secs

8. Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP (B) 1min 36.768 secs

9. Shinya Nakano JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 1min 36.804 secs

10. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Alice Team (B) 1min 36.823 secs

11. Andrea Dovizioso ITA JiR Team Scot MotoGP (M) 1min 36.899 secs

12. Alex de Angelis RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini (B) 1min 36.948 secs

13. James Toseland GBR Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 1min 36.978 secs

14. Toni Elias SPA Alice Team (B) 1min 37.287 secs

15. John Hopkins USA Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 37.643 secs

16. Anthony West AUS Kawasaki Racing Team (B) 1min 37.793 secs

17. Marco Melandri ITA Ducati Marlboro Team (B) 1min 38.726 secs

.

Glad to see the times close up on Stoner.  Hopefully race pace remains the same.   [thumbsup]  This looks to be one heck of a close race.  I'm really looking forward to all the battles!

Hopefully it's a close race.  As much as I like seeing Stoner win, I like watching racing more!  :P 

I figured Melandri would at least be making some progress on the GP8 by now.  I know it's hard to ride, but has he just packed it in?  ???

you know it's bad when you're making ~$1.5M a year, with a another season to go on your contract, and all you want is to be relieved of your duties..

nope

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2008/Hopkins+out+for+three+to+four+weeks+after+Assen+accident

not a good year for him in the injury dept...

but good in the "gettin' paid!!" department.

that was a naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasty crash.

What's with JT?
He started really strong this season but now he's fallen off pretty badly. Any insights anyone?

FIM told him he can't body check the other riders anymore

;D

...so is that a yes? ;D

OMG!!!!!! whatarace!!!!!!!

i won't spoil it just yet...
but it's not over until everyone has crossed the line!

heartbreaking....

yup... i feel bad for nicky. looks like it happened right in the last chicane. in the replay you can see him shaking his head.

...and then trying to get the 25mph air tuck going.  poory guy.

too bad for rossi
but he sure wasn't going to catch stoner today.  whoo.

he did turn the third fastest lap of the race with a broken shift lever and a bent clipon, though.

Has this race already been run and won?

I thought it was tonight, my Sunday night?

If i've missed it, I'm gonna be pissed!


 [bang] [bang] [bang]

Assen GPs are on Saturdays

I just watched the Eurosport feed and they were able to get a close-up of Rossi's clip-on and shifter.  OMG the fact that he could even shift gears is amazing, let alone turn lap times like that - INSANE!!! There was nothing there!

Stoner once again had an amazing race and just absolutely ran away with it - woulda been nice to see if Rossi had something for him (prolly not quite), but Rossi started so poorly, he pretty much screwed himself.

Nicky...  Damn I feel bad for him.  He has the best race of his season, gets 3rd taken away from him all while riding a bike he said was never right from the sighting lap on.  Hopefully he'll go better on the Duc next year.

"Astoundingly, he did the third fastest lap of the race, 1min 37.173sec, changing gear with a bent slice of aluminum, which tends to support his contention that given the improvements his crew had found he could have given Casey a race. Instead, he said, 'I think I am a dickhead' and decided to finish the race on foot if necessary to get some points."

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2008/Jun/080628d.htm

Ah, Dammit!  >:(

racing-underground.com   :)

Heartbreaking to see Bubba come up 30 feet short of a podium...I didn't see any smoke, so I'm wondering if he just ran out of gas on the pneumatic valved motor?

"HRC technicians are now examining Hayden's RC212V to discover the exact cause of his end-of-race electronics problem."

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2008/Jun/080628e.htm

s'ok... you can still watch (most of) it on speed tomorrow.  ;D

an electronics problem that caused excessive fuel usage:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/68724

Repsol Honda team manager Kazuhiko Yamano has promised that there will be no repeat of the electronics problem that cost Nicky Hayden a certain podium at Assen.

Hayden, who has not visited the rostrum since last year's Czech Grand Prix, held a comfortable third throughout the Dutch TT, only for his bike to slow at the final corner after consuming more fuel than expected, allowing Colin Edwards to demote him to fourth.

i feel for Nicky too...

but one has to wonder, if the computer had cut back fuel enough to assure him finishing, would Colin have caught him anyway?

To bad for Rossi  but it makes the season even more interesting with the points race.

I do feel for Hayden also even though he is one of my least liked racers. Tough luck for him

When his bike died he just tucked in and hoped to cross the finish line  :-\

Really?  ??? Did we watch the same race? It was a friggin' parade.  Some excitement in the 1st lap with Rossi going down...then Nicky ran out of gas at the end.  Other than that it was boring as hell.

I'll admit the points race is exciting now though.  [thumbsup]

 +1

Great race!.......everyone is hooked into all the little sub plots.  Points gap tightens, pneumatic vs. spring, Rossi passing people with a broken shifter,  crashes, injuries, and just when you think you have the race pegged somebody has to get out and push!   

GREAT RACE 8)

I see what you're getting at, but I wouldn't call edwards running the entire grid to finish on the podium and the battles for 4-7th as "boring"

+2

Still better than AMA Superbikes though.

But boy howdy those WSBK races were pretty dam good!

Nicky, get out of Honda now!

They ain't no particular friend....... sorry i watched "Days of Thunder" this weekend ;D

i'm somewhat concerned that his newfound level of comfort on the pneu-motored honda will figure in to the reportedly-done-but-evidently-not ducati deal.

I can't believe he's shown so much loyalty in a company that does not reciprocate.... they must be paying him very well.

Heard the announcer comment during the race that Nicky had signed with Ducati, but can't find any online articles confirming it.....

"...only for his bike to slow at the final corner after consuming more fuel than expected, allowing Colin Edwards to demote him to fourth...." -- I think this says he ran out of gas....FWIW - Nicky's relationship with HRC was out-of-gas a year ago....

he hasn't really had an opportunity to do the opposite since he signed his 2-year extension in '06.

then, he had a big-dollar choice between the two "big reds" and chose honda because "you know what you're gonna get."

unfortunately, he didn't get what he thought (fromt he bike or the team). the rc212v(a) completely missed the mark and the team seemed to favor dani more...

the rc212v(b), especially with the pneu-motor, seems to be the bike honda should've debuted last season.

so... nicky is going (went?) into the '08 silly season with his eyes more open.

i guess a good question to ask is "how important is he to honda?"

the repsol team has always had a favor for spanish riders and dani isn't going to go anywhere. popular opinion is that dovi is going end up on nicky's bike.

dont' forget, ducati still has melandri contracted for '09 and will have to figure out a way to deal with that if they pull him off the bike (after laguna) and he went well on the rc212v. it honestly wouldn't surprise me one bit to see a marco/hayden trade.

Edwards moving through the grid was cool, but hardly made the race a good one.  Watching guys shift positions for a non-podium spot doesn't excite me...it just makes the race a little less boring.  :-\ 

Maybe I'm just bitter after watching the 2 WSBK races right before.  Now those were good!  [thumbsup]

Thought the race was boring as hell.  Some good battles further back but I can't get excited about the race for 4th, 5th, and 6th.

The biggest event of the race was Rossi going down.  Other than that nothing exciting really happened.  Rossi has to be kicking himself.  He just handed a boatload of points back to Pedro and Stoner.  Considering how they've been riding lately  this crash may come back to haunt him......

that stoner kid really can ride, always looks like the ducati is on a verge of being unrideable, maybe that is his style to get all the speed he does but damn that bike is all over the place comingout of turns and such more than other riders.

in a way its good that rossi did finish down the liast, afterall stoner did the same thing early in the season and now the points is a 3 way race wtih a legitimiate shot that it could be close at the end, ie. f1 last season, so long as stoner wins 3-4 more races which looking like he is right now could be possible to set up a great final 3 races.

i don't know do you really think that hayden is the answer for teh second duc bike? do you think his riding style is most like stoner's to really be able to get that ducati to ride like that? bc others are riding the bike and are nowhere near as fast as he is going, where with the yamaha's and the hondas are at least qualifying close to each other with thier riders.

yes really... for me anyway.

just because the race isn't for first, doesn't mean it can't be enjoyed...
the first lap action along with the heartbreaking finish, made it eventful for me.

hard to say... they both had similar early careers (dirt/flat track) and nicky likes the bike very loose under him. i can't recall stoner saying the same thing, but he's obviously comfortable riding a bucking bronco.

one concern is that nicky tends to like the electronics dialed down on the rc212v and, when they are, he seems to run faster. or at least that's the way he sees it...

i think i saw a comment from him after the donington race where he said that he didn't realize how much he was using the electronics until they failed on him mid-race. i'm pretty sure i didn't imagine that, although it'd be tough for me to track down a source.

interesting... is that allowed with marco's contract in place?

i'd expect for ducati to be on the lookout for very creative ways to get out of paying melandri for another "stellar" season.

besides, i doubt melandri is going to put up much of a fight if they're dealing him to a team with a capable bike.  ;D

he's already apologizing to ducati, throwing his hands up.  and the summer break after Sachsenring and Laguna would be a perfect time to make some changes.

at this point i bet marco would pay someone to be able to get back on a honda.

Nicky Hayden - Seventh Donington

    `We learned a lot this weekend. We could've done with another day in the dry to really understand things. I´m actually pretty positive, we´ll try to put everything we've learned to good use at Assen. We didn´t really know what to expect here, everything went smooth until this morning when we had to switch bikes. The first few laps of the race went okay and then about lap nine I had a dash light come on. I didn´t know what it was for, but if a sensor goes bad you realise just how much you use traction control, engine braking control and things like that. It was nothing serious but I lost some confidence for a couple of laps, so my lap times fell and it upset my rhythm while I got my confidence back. The guys are looking into it now. It would´ve been nice to finish higher up, because I´ve got a lot of English guys in the box. The bike was pretty consistent at the end and I got back into the 29s. We learned a lot about fuel, tyre life and so on, we got a lot of information. We knew the first race might not be easy, so I hope we can build from here. Thanks to the team and to HRC for all their hard work.´

i knew i wasn't crazy.  ;D

He also was quoted saying this Sunday...

`It is frustrating because we have the system and it should never run out of fuel. We should always make it across the finish line. On the starting grid a light showed up and I knew something wasn´t calibrating right. The bikes have so much electronics now, sometimes it is not the guy who rides hardest that wins it is the guy who hits the right buttons on his computer.´

My vote is for the Low Fuel warning......

that might've been funny if it'd been a quote from after the assen race.  ;D

details, details...

=)

That's timeless humor and quite funny  [leo]

Overheard in a paddock sometime before the Assen race....(I have my sources  [thumbsup])

"Most honorable chief mechanic, Nikkisan say light come on again like last time but he too hungover to remember which one."

"Hhhooooo.....he still drink much homemade sake; he seeing stars, no light.  Pull out all bulb and LED so he not confuse too much."

"Hai!"

Especially funny since the only time Nicky has drank is the champagne after he won the MotoGP championship.

Good race, Hayden's finish was heart wrenching.  Hope he leaves HRC.

that's what i said  [thumbsup]

and i was questioned by someone who thought it was boring  [roll]

Yea I read that, to each there own I guess.  I thought besides Rossi's crash and Hayden tragedy there was a lot of excitement.  The fight for fourth and fifth.  Edwards running through the pack.

But my assessment of what's exciting holds little weight.  I was excited the other day when the deli made my sandwich with the cheese in the middle.  It's the little things  ;D
(http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj219/Putz37/cheese.jpg)

i too, am easily amused  :) and i like nicky  [moto]