Ducati Desmosedici GP11

[Scotzman]

steady supply? really?

hayden had (only) three retirements last season. 18 races, 3 retirements. he only had 2 retirements in 2009.

yeah, nicky is mystically just going to start crashing more since rossi is on his team.  

I think we're confusing nicky and casey. That, I could believe.

[ODrides]

Rossi's domination on the Ducati is anything but a sure bet.  We're all hoping for complete domination this season, but moving to a completely new chassis, engine, and design team will make for a very interesting and nerve-wracking debut at the very least!

[Raux]

yeah but wouldn't that be a statement to see Rossi or Hayden 1 & 2 on every race this year.

[The Don]

If Rossi doesn't dominate with the amount of money that they are throwing at him someone in management will get there arse kicked.

[duccarlos]

If Rossi doesn't dominate with the amount of money that they are throwing at him someone in management will get there arse kicked.

You're kidding, right? Getting Rossi, if he wins or not, is a huge win. If he's not fast on the bike, they can always say that they didn't have enough time to make their changes. They buy themselves another year and then they can come up with another excuse if he's not fast next year. In the meantime, they sell tons of 46 accessories to millions of diehard fans.

[dennisd]

If Rossi doesn't dominate with the amount of money that they are throwing at him someone in management will get there arse kicked.

I don't know about that.  Rossi's name is becoming kind of like a brand name being tied to a product.  Kleenex = tissue, Coke = soda, Xerox = photocopy, Rossi = MotoGP.

He is sorta the ambassador for the series.  There are people on Suzuki & Kawasaki websites I frequent that are excited about Rossi moving to Ducati.

[ODrides]

Either way, Ducati is starting with a bike that was only moderately successful against the Yamaha when piloted by a guy who is no longer on the team.  They sure as hell better be willing to listen to the guy who made that Yamaha what is!  And I'm referring to decisions other than color scheme

[Monster Dave]

...And I'm referring to decisions other than color scheme

LOL.   

[duccarlos]

Either way, Ducati is starting with a bike that was only moderately successful against the Yamaha when piloted by a guy who is no longer on the team.  They sure as hell better be willing to listen to the guy who made that Yamaha what is!  And I'm referring to decisions other than color scheme

Have you actually been following the whole transition? You might want to frequent the Racing section where pretty much any article published about Val has been posted. The short answer is yes, they've been taking suggestions from both Val and Burgess.

[pennyrobber]

Either way, Ducati is starting with a bike that was only moderately successful against the Yamaha when piloted by a guy who is no longer on the team.  They sure as hell better be willing to listen to the guy who made that Yamaha what is!  And I'm referring to decisions other than color scheme

I don't know if I would call a Championship, a runner up, and couple of 4ths moderate success. I would hate to work for you. 

[derby]

I don't know if I would call a Championship, a runner up, and couple of 4ths moderate success. I would hate to work for you. 

if your sole goal is to win the championship every year, that's three failures out of four attempts.

[pennyrobber]

if your sole goal is to win the championship every year, that's three failures out of four attempts.

By that logic almost everyone who currently races GP is a failure. Man, what a waste.

[Triple J]

By that logic almost everyone who currently races GP is a failure. Man, what a waste.

2nd place is just the 1st loser! 

[derby]

By that logic almost everyone who currently races GP is a failure. Man, what a waste.

there are teams on the grid that do not have the goal of winning the championship.

there are teams that would just be happy to be in the top 10... others would be happy with a podium.

factory ducati, factory honda, factory yamaha? not winning the championship is a failure.

[duccarlos]

there are teams on the grid that do not have the goal of winning the championship.

there are teams that would just be happy to be in the top 10... others would be happy with a podium.

factory ducati, factory honda, factory yamaha? not winning the championship is a failure.

+1 The satellites and the Suzukis are happy to finish.