Oh most definitely, but even still he's a very capable Brit who id rather show some level of support towards. Now if you gave Redding a proper ride I feel he'd get even further, race winning even.... But he needs a full fat hrc bike to level the field
This is the issue. The Ducati ain't good enough, but Cal knew that before he signed. I've no doubt Crutchlow, Redding and Smith are potential race winners - on the right bikes, which none of them have - and moaning about it won't change anything. Redding has to beat Hayden, which he's doing; Smith has to beat Espargaro, and he's struggling a bit there; and Cal has to beat Dovi - but Dovi had the better of him in Tech3, and it doesn't look like that situation is gonna change any time soon.
2016 - that's when it's all gonna kick off. While there may be a small bout of musical chairs for 2015, it'll go haywire at the end of next year. Bridgestone are off, and in comes the new compulsory ECU. Suzuki will have had a season under their belts, and if Aprilia come up with the promise of a competitive bike there should be an influx of fast young talent heading for the premier class. That control ECU could be an unmitigated disaster, or it could be the best thing ever to happen to motogp. Whip away the aliens' superfast factory bits, and the podium could be a right old bunfight each race...
Yes, we should remember that there probably ain't a lot of riders knocking down Ducati's door to get a ride.
Only another year will tell if they are going to improve . New bike , new management , new ish owner . They need some improvement in WSB as well as Motogp . The glory days are long gone .
Only by their own hand. No-one is forcing them to use that engine configuration in motogp, no-one forced them to fit giant throttle bodies to the pani knowing that they did not comply to any competition rules.
Thats true but they are going to change the Motogp bike next year , hopefully for the better . The pani though is a different matter . They lifted the air flow restrictors midway through last season . Didn`t make a lot of difference though. Ducati always seem to throw all there toys out of the pram every now and again If we cant have this or that we arent playing . Should be limited to 1000cc and make a bike that works whether its a v twin or v4 or any other configuration as long as it sticks within the rules and stops trying to change them .
I don't think Cal deserves the ride with the way he has been acting, he hasn't been representing Ducati as the professional he is meant to be. At the end of 2012 he was whinging about not getting the Ducati ride that he thought he was gonna get for 2013. Then in 2013 he stepped up his game and got some decent results, but again his big mouth didnt' do him any favours, slagging yamaha off for not providing factory parts quick enough, even though when he got them he adapt to use them, then slagging them off for not offering him a factory contact. Then he went begging carmelo after the race at mugello to help him get on a factory ride for 2014. After he got the deal with ducati his results went down and didn't look like a podium threat for the rest of the year in my opinion. I liked cal when he first came on the scene but his constant digs at the factories, othert riders and his obsession with what others were/are doing, i find grating. He thinks he is a lot better than he actually is. He needs to keep his trap shut, focus on what he is doing and just stick with the plan. When Dovi first came to ducai he had a shock but his results have improved this year. Hopefully ducati can pull something out of the bag next year but how many times Have we heard that hey are making radical changes for them not to deliver on time? Innone deserves to ride in factory colours but I'm pretty sure becauae of his results ducati are providing him with more factory support next year which should be good.
So now Cal's sorted, what about Redding? Kropotkin thinks that Bautista's off to new pastures, which means Redding will inherit the semi-works bike, but what if Krapotkin is wrong? The customer Honda has been a real disappointment, but they're threatening pneumatic valves and a massive hike in power for next season (and about bloody time too). But would you trust them? I wouldn't blame Redding if he didn't.
I'd love to see redding on a decent bike but as has been said maybe he doesn't have the right passport. He was unlucky not to win the moto2 championship last year even though he wasn't at all on the best bike on the grid. I rate him far higher than any other Brit in any of the gp series by a country mile. Not only is he very fast but also has great racecraft and an ability to get the very best out of whatever bike and tyres he is on. Look how many times crutchlow has been outperformed by his teammate(s) and how many times when he has been quicker than another rider he struggles to pass them and make it stick. His stand out season, or half a season really, was when he had smith as a rookie teammate, and smith is pretty naff too! He should keep his mouth shut and count himself lucky Ducati have decided to keep him another year, he should walk the walk before talking the talk. His mouth is going to ruin his career more than the desmosidici will!
Smith had the best debut season (points-wise) of any brit in motogp. Okay, he's having a shit time at the moment, but give him a little credit.
smiths head seems to be done in ,it took pol espagaro a bit to get used to the bike but now hes quicker and smith doesn't have an answer and lets face it 5 crashes is not good, herve looked properly pissed off ,
Yep, agree with that. Smith is often one of the fastest guys out there, but he's let Espargaro's star status get to him. He needs a check-up from the neck up.
Don't care much for that stat I'm afraid. How many Brits have come into their rookie season in Moto gp on a bike as competitive as the tech 3? In my opinion he was extremely lucky to get that ride after doing nothing like the performances of many others in moto2. I'll give him the credit that he probably has more riding talent than I have in his little finger but at the same time that's only half the talent many other riders on the grid have.
Wonder if Smithy brings money with him, the Escargos must do, but I'd agree I'd love to see Redding on a proper MGP bike in a sink/swim ride
