To be honest I'm fuming about Cal's move to Ducati. I was a young kid when Sheene was king, and he played a key role in my introduction to motorbikes. Since then I've seen dozens and dozens of 'nearly' men, none of whom ever looked like troubling the top step in the premier class. Until Crutchlow. He really looks like the real deal to me, I honestly believe he's got race wins and even a title in him. And he's chucked it all away for a pay cheque. That's how I feel right now. I live in hope, obviously, but can any of you honestly see Ducati having a sudden change of fortune? Of course Cal could be The One, who can tame the evil Ducati and turn it into a race winner. Except even by his own admission he isn't that man; he freely admits he has to work harder than the others to make up for a lack of natural talent. Hard work can't overcome physics, sadly. Herve Poncheral was visibly pissed off with Cal the last time I saw him interviewed. Herve knows Cal is the real deal too. That's why he was pissed off with him, cos he knew Cal was out at the end of the year, no matter how well he went.
That's why he was pissed off. Cal buggered them around with contractual bollocks, refusing to sign for two years, and Herve knew he'd be out of Tech3 before his full potential had been achieved. And for the record, they chose the wrong Espargaro...
Better to take a chance and be number one at Ducati than stay around Tech3 hoping for more of the same,i.e,seconds and thirds. Yamaha would never let a satellite bike regularly beat the works bikes,it would be total humiliation So while he might get a win,he'd never be Champion on a satellite Yamaha He's an Englishman good enough for of only six works rides,and a decent amount of dosh as well,even thats a big step up. If it's true about £7million,no-one splashes that sort of money on a rider that doesn't have winning potential VR not winning on the Duke doesn't mean no-one can,after all he's now riding a works Yamaha and Cal has finished in front of him this season.And the bike is a year down the line from when Vale rode it. No disrespect to Dovi,but didn't he have a works bike before,and wasn't good enough to win regularly on it? If anything,this reinforces my belief that Cal will win a MotoGp this year,especially now he has no need to respect the Yamaha's works riders. Come on Cal!
You forget that Dovi was regularly in front of Cal on the same bike, so he's no mug. And I still maintain that if a 9-times world champion can't win on a bike, that bike is a dud. These are the facts, not the flag-waving optimism. I believe Cal could get a win on the Tech3 bike (and hey, the season's not over yet). That would send his reputation into orbit, and ultimately make him more money than a 2-year deal as a mobile chicane...
As always,it depends on which facts you look at: Take a look at Hamilton/Mercedes in F1. Schumacher ,(seven times World Champion,still a cheat though),couldn't make the Mercedes a winning car,but now it is...less than a year later. Almost a mirror image of whats happening at Ducati Dovi spent 3 years on a works Honda and had some success,but not enough to keep his seat.He then took the Tech3 ride because Honda wanted to drop him to a satellite team,so he flounced off to Yamaha.Did a good job at Tech3,but still went to Ducati,presumably for the money? Not exactly the actions of someone who desperately wants to win the championship Dovi's had his chance,still a great rider,(as they all are!),but seems to be happy as long as he beats his team mate. His star is falling,Cal is on the up. Anyway,we're just talking bollocks,it's what happens on the track that counts :biggrin:
With all the best wishes and optimism in the world, I can't see Cal doing a thing on the red bike. Sure he may do better than the others, but at best that's 4th or 5th - still off the radar. But he didn't have a choice, he had to leave Tech3 (cut by his own sword) and there was nowt else available to him. Two years is a long time in racing though...
Personally I hate to say it I think Cal at best has a win or two in him, never a title contender... With Marquez, Lorenzo at their peak and much younger than Cal they'll dominate for years, then look at say the Espegaro's coming up, look a bit further and you have Vinales and another Marquez he's made the best of a bad situation, yes his results will be worse as you say look at Dovi, but he'll make some decent cash, the series is changing with more factory bikes, CRT's about to fizzle out its probably a good move currently to make some money and in 2 years hopefully jump on a factory Honda.
Agreed. However the point I was making Fig was that Cal has shown he can get podiums with Tech 3, so what is the point in repeating the process. It is unlikely he would make the top step on a Tech 3 Yam unless shit happened to 4 other riders.
The point of course is that he's getting perilously close to a race win on the Tech3 bike (if only he could start well...), and maybe it's little more than fine-tuning the settings to give him the extra hundredths or tenths to climb that last step. And being that close to the top step must also have a psychological effect on the rider, making him push harder. On the Ducati he's gonna need a new bike and hard drugs...
A couple of things here: Dovi was often in front of Cal on the Tech 3 bike, but it was evident that Cal was faster but just couldn't get past him (and as team mates, he could barely opt for a do or die approach). I also think that Cal has produced a step change this season and strongly suspect that he is now a faster rider than Dovi. You assume that the Ducati, now shit, will always be shit. For all we know, they are working on something entirely different. Cal wouldn't be able to make the bike as it now is into a winner, clearly. The hope is that he will be on something quite a bit different. He can't be a complete fool - anyone can see that the bike isn't a contender and I can't believe that he signed with Ducati just for the cash and in the hope of regularly finishing 8th. You have to think he had some information that we don't have. Punditry is fun, but it's cheap. 2 weeks ago, the Aussies were written off as incapable of batting and with a very average bowling attack who were probably going to get a whitewash and seemed incapable of giving England a game (on the basis of one Test at Lords). Not quite what people are saying now, eh? The only thing you can be certain about in the future is that it won't be the same as the present.
I m happy for Cal. he deserves the seat and le't be honest : TINA , no? at least we'll see someone wring the neck of that bike which will be fun to look at.. let's all hope that Ducati realised they had to do something from scratch and are working on it to be ready for 2014... and let's hope it will be enough to cclose the gap with H&Y who will definatly leap forward as well... as i say, let' s hope.... but frankly i thinkk that is all it is... bit like the Germans waiting for Hitlers miracle weapons in '44...
Cal was nowhere at laguna well beaten .cant see him getting any upgrades now his chance has gone. he cant beat Marquez in a straight fight .the Honda is the bike to have. moto gp need audi to sort the duc out and suzuki to come back as its only 2 manufactures out there at the moment Cal had little options open to him there is some really talented riders out there with not enough bike seat to get on moto gp needs better grids and fast
I think Cal was possibly ordered to stay behind VR and JL for the sake of their (Yamahas) championship hopes. Or. If the deal with Ducati was on the table, why would you (Cal) risk injury by trying to come better than a comfortable seventh? Either way, that ride by Cal at LS was not the real Cal. That much was evident, whatever the reason?
The only reason for his poor performance at Laguna Seca was a spectacularly shit start. Cal doesn't strike me as a bloke who'd listen to team orders no matter who they came from. And comparing Cal on a semi-factory Yam to Marquez on a full works Honda has no meaning at all.
