2011 Silly Season

[Speeddog]

Don't forget old...

I think Furusawa considered him the enemy the day the Ducati contract was announced.

Absolutely, he was the enemy at that point.

[derby]

Don't forget old...

I think Furusawa considered him the enemy the day the Ducati contract was announced.

i might agree with you if furusawa wasn't retiring at the end of this season.

[ducpainter]

i might agree with you if furusawa wasn't retiring at the end of this season.

I think it was personal.

[Speeddog]

Rossi was hired by Yamaha to make their bike a world champion.
He did that.
He was paid handsomely.

That is now a closed chapter, as he has sworn his allegiance to Ducati.
Yamaha owes him nothing, as he's already been paid.

It's a very black/white thing.

[zenjim]

yamaha are in a tough spot.. they have to actively transition their support away from valentino while not 'disrespecting' who he is, what he's done for them.  but the further down the road of that transition you get, the more of a threat he becomes.  he showed on sunday just how threatening a broken leg'd, f'ed up shoulder version of him can be.  kicking jeorge around the track like that was the ultimate mind game: i'm at 65% and i can still kick your ass.  i'm winning next year.

the moment the valencia race ends he IS the enemy.  they were never going to let him test.

well said

[gm2]

dovi sorta probably for sure to gresini on 1 of 4 factory bikes.  http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/87240

[gm2]

http://motomatters.com/news/2010/10/07/the_incredible_shrinking_grid_aoyama_s_t.html

[gm2]

http://motomatters.com/news/2010/10/11/carlos_checa_to_replace_kallio_at_pramac.html

[gm2]

http://motomatters.com/news/2010/10/10/dorna_s_rescue_package_elias_and_aoyama_.html

...stoner on a one-man HRC team?  there's a new twist.

[ducpainter]

Puig running Repsol?

[koko64]

Was thinking, is Puig the Don King of Moto GP?

[duccarlos]

Puig will be the downfall of HRC at this rate. Suppo is a proven winner and he brought in a guy that has won a championship on a bike to no one else could ride. At most, they will have to slowly build up the other team and delegate the Repsol team to a satellite. I think HRC has to give Pedrosa and Puig an ultimatum if they can get a big name sponsor like Red Bull. I personally think Stoner has more talent than Pedrosa and he doesn't have a history of injury, other than the shits he got last year. If I was HRC, I would be making Casey the face of Honda from the very beginning.

[Spidey]

If I was HRC, I would be making Casey the face of Honda from the very beginning.

I'm not so sure about that.  Riding aside, Casey is a marketing nightmare, while Pedrosa--for all that we give him shit for being a robot--helps sell stuff, particularly in Spain. 

[Spidey]

http://motomatters.com/news/2010/10/10/dorna_s_rescue_package_elias_and_aoyama_.html

...stoner on a one-man HRC team?  there's a new twist.

Yeah, that's new. 

It'd be good to get Elias back onto the GP grid, but I'm not sure why Dorna wants him so badly.  Sure he's the Moto2 champion, but do they *really* need another Spaniard?  Also, it would be--yet again--a new bike for him.  It think in all of his GP time, he only once had the same bike for more than a year.

Ayoama makes more sense for Dorna to support.  That why they have a Japanese rider on the grid, and one who is going to move up in ths tandings next year, assuming he doesn't have another super serious injury.

[gm2]

I'm not so sure about that.  Riding aside, Casey is a marketing nightmare, while Pedrosa--for all that we give him shit for being a robot--helps sell stuff, particularly in Spain. 

and most importantly, he's the best shot the spaniards have at a championship.  you really can't underestimate the importance of his nationality in the dorna-repsol equation.

It'd be good to get Elias back onto the GP grid, but I'm not sure why Dorna wants him so badly.  Sure he's the Moto2 champion, but do they *really* need another Spaniard?  Also, it would be--yet again--a new bike for him.  It think in all of his GP time, he only once had the same bike for more than a year.

...but he'll be back on a ducati?  GP11 rather than GP8, but it's still the 'same' bike.

Ayoama makes more sense for Dorna to support.  That why they have a Japanese rider on the grid, and one who is going to move up in ths tandings next year, assuming he doesn't have another super serious injury.

in addition to wanting a japanese rider on the grid, they just plain need more riders on the grid in total.  regardless of nationality.  they needs bodies until the CRTs start to help out.