Even when Rossi isn't winning and is struggling, he is still the one who gets all the headlines and news. The series will struggle to get much coverage outside of the bike press once he is retired , IMHO. I still reckon he fancies a crack at WSBK for a year though.
How about coca cola money in a yamaha return to WSB ? Yamaha Italy ran it so why not an italian team with Rossi on the bike. It would be a PR coup for WSB.
You would think so but JB, Alex Briggs are Aus and Brent is NZ. I am assuming JB would proably not go to WSB so new broom Yamaha Italia team.
Maybe the problem is JB ? He's getting on a bit and is a old school type team leader. JB is the most succesful team chief ever but maybe He really can't get his head around the duke ?
this is what kenny roberts thinks Soup :: Roberts On Rossi: Kenny Junior Comments On The Ducati Divide :: 04-13-2012
Royum told me where you all were,so I signed up. Almost never made it though. The question you get asked at the sign up stage about how many wheels does a Ducati have, I answered "3" to, after watching Rossi wobble about at Qatar. Luckily, I walked passed my bike and remembered it is only 2. Back to Steves enlightenment Feck me!!!!! Are you sure? You are actually going to agree with me on that now? Has he failed in being the doctor? Can he really still be called the goat? Does he now not have fastest bike as Casey did in 07? I agree with Roberts POV. He has been lucky with bikes and he has been lucky with tyres, except in 07, where he was found out. Also who is moaning now? Whingeing on about Barberas pass, just like he did about Elias, Toseland etc. He is getting a pasting on crash.net you know. IMHO he should either quit now and apologise for not delivering on his doctoring, or ride for free next year, provided he puts some effort in. Internet banter aside, I think Marcos death is the reason he has lost some time. Which is a real shame.
Morning Derek I bet you could smell that post from Scotland like a shark smells blood in the water, welcome on board matey
Derek! Welcome! Re tyres In 2007 all michelin's were crap........ So in 2007 bridgestone made a tyre totally for the duke. In 2008 Ducati got found out and have failed to win a championship since! Maybe Ducati should push for a rule change and allow other tyres brands back in ? In 2011 Bridgestone made a tyre to suite the honda but that has now all changed thanks to loris! Yep agree Supersic's death must of affected VR and CE and most of the riders who were close to him. I think this pushed Cappers to get the tyre construction changed and took the role as safety adviser for dorna.
I don't think Rossi whinged about Toseland or Barbera passing him. In fact i seem to remember him complementing Toseland on his pass. Whingeing is what Stoner did about Rossi after Laguna Seca!:wink:
No, no, no Imola. In 2007 vale stopped having his magic tyres flown in the night before each race, and he got found out. Rossis record at the fly away races was never as good at the euro races. Then in 08 onwards, as you say, Ducati were not Bridgestones main customer, as VR broke his contract with Michelin. Amongst all this people seem to have forgotten how Strong Ducati were in 2006. Capirex had a great season and barring injury could have been champion. Bayliss won at Valencia. Marco dying or not Rossi has still been a monumental waste of money and as I predicted and has admitted to,he cannae ride the bike. Just not good enough, and certainly not as talented as Stoner
When Rossi broke his leg two years ago, crowds at the GP's he missed fell by 20,000 on average. He is vital to the future of Motogp at the moment. Without Simoncelli there is currently no one to replace his marketability.
I'll say the following without meaning it to sound personal to anybody here but it needs saying so we can put it to bed. I really wish everybody would stop going on about Rossi being the 'be all & end all' of Motogp. Frankly those that don't watch motogp just because Rossi isn't riding IMO aren't proper motogp sport fans, they're nothing more than groupies, fickle and easily led. Theres nothing wrong with holding somebody in high regard nor to a degree idolising them (although I'm not that kind of person myself) HOWEVER, there's a counter argument to Rossi staying in Motogp and that's because while there he draws such a large amount of the attention it's harder for other riders to create brand awareness and gather decent media coverage outside of the current circles as any other broadcaster will immediately go for an interview with Rossi as its the one easy target. so while 20,000 or so people didn't bother watching motogp when Rossi didn't show imagine those numbers being replaced by smaller groups of dedicated fans who's awareness and enjoyment of motogp has been heightened since Rossi has stopped getting all the limelight and they've actually found stuff out about the other riders, they're skills and have had the opportunity to choose alligence neutrally without VR46 dayglo yellow being force fed to them. It's pretty simple math really. An extra 4000-5000 additional fans for the likes of stoner, JL, Cal, Bradl etc soon mounts up and could easily be gathered from their home countries for a start if only 'Rossi mainia' wasn't scooping up everybody first just because they feel they should support him. For example, I support Stoner for a few reasons, mainly because I'm half Aussie, hes fantastic to watch and I liked Ducati at the time of getting in to Motogp and I will also support Cal just as much as he's English and i would of supported JT if he'd of managed to stay on. Imagine all the additional supporters Cal should have from the UK if they finally let go of Rossi, what about Bradl in Germany etc etc and that's if you based it on country alone. With all due respect to Rossi he's had his time and has made fucking buckets of money from the sport, unless that's actually spread around a little more evenly it will die on its arse as people love a celeb and without coverage or money nobody else gets to be one. And before anybody says 'but Rossi's the life and soul of the party' 'he's got personality' etc then perhaps if the other riders were given they're fair share of coverage and every other question didn't revolve around Rossi's capability and the like , maybe they'd come out of they're shell and enjoy themselves more hence create a better personality on camera. Simmo was loved by loads of people, mainly because of his crazy hair and on track antics BUT (and I say this just being honest) IF he wasn't well known as Rossi's childhood buddy and he was trouncing Rossi every few weeks then I bet majority of those Simmo fans would soon turn in favour of they're yellow clad idol. Myself I would of still liked the guy but would still of supported Cal or Stoner first Rossi IS going to retire FACT, it's also more likely he'll retire next out of the current crop. Motop lives on through fans of bikes and the sport and for those that don't think that then I can only assume they don't really like it......and they only like one man called Rossi, which to me is extremely sad!
After a Week of Rumors, Rossi Tells Italian TV He Will Remain With Ducati | MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/article/motogp-noyes-notebook-he-said-red-said/
I actually think Stoner and Rossi may finish at the same time. I've heard a few whispers that Stoner only wants to do two more years.
The truth of it is that you could argue Kenny Robberts comments apply to almost any champion including Casey and Hayden. There is no denying Casey had a super quick bike in 07 and Yamaha had a poor bike when Hayden won. Every championship has an element of great riding, good bike and tyres that work. Winning on a pile of poo almost never happens period. What is unknown really is how bad the Ducati currently is. If you could get Casey on it for a test you might know as you would have a direct comparison from someone who made it work against someone who currently can't. The situation is that Casey has gone and unlikely to return in the near future. Rossi and ducati need to either unite in sorting it out and change personel if that is what is needed or part ways. Casey could have a mare this year with the tyre changes and then everyone will say he won because last year the Honda was best and tyres blah blah blah. That is the nature of racing, nothing is a constant, not Rossi, JB and not Casey. You only need to be 1% off the pace and you go from winner to 4th or 5th. Look at F1 and how infrequently you get back to back champs. If the right machine ain't under you your chances of winning no matter who you are is very poor indeed.
