Things are even worse as it looks like Alstare will walk away from the partnership with Ducati. Fancois Batta, Alstare's manager mentions that his expenses with the team are growing too mcuh as sponsors start to back off and the conditions for a collaboration with the Borgo Panigale factory in 2014 are less and less favorable. Ducati is rumored to shake hands with Feel Racing, who is currently involved with BMW. Some whispers even see Ducati making serious efforts to bring Masao Furusawa in. Furusawa is the genius behind Yamaha's M1 machine and Ducati hopes he could work his magic in Bologna, too. From: Ben Spies Rumored to Have to Choose Between WSBK and a Ducati MotoGP Production Racer
Thats interesting. There is a lot of fall out in public as Ducati's racing woes continue... Can you imagine what we dont know, now there's something to think about !!
Probably easier to just buy an M1 and paint it red In Moto GP they've tried to 'fix' so much they are just lost now. They are a moving target for the CRT bikes, WSBK I still have some faith providing they can get some decent riders. Spies would be a good move I think. Spies and Hayden could be cool??
Ducati need an American a Rider in the team, I would've preferred Hayden to stay. Simply because the USA is a big market and Ducati can't afford to loose it. Ben's Pies is all but crock now and I would shift him away from MGP anyway.
I think Spies should go to WSBK. i know he had a couple of half decent results on the m1 and a shit load of bad luck but equally he also had some very poor performances. imo he needs a proper manager to get his head straight and leave the mother at home for a season
I read that on crash.net, but Spies is saying he plans on staying with Pramac in Motogp. To be honest thou, I cant imagine Ducati choosing Hernandez over Spies for 2014. Of course they could have another rider in mind
Spies has broken the performance clauses in this years' Ducati contract. Would he would be riding any Ducati next year if the US wasn't their main market?
Bata doesn't want Spies nor Davies.. "spies will break as of crash 1, Davies crashes too much' Audi is roumoured to contemplate a Suzuki like sabbatical to regroup , reorganize en return later on...
Who wants a rider managed by his mother...really I dont know what happened to Ben, fantastic rider in WSBK, super cool dude....but summit is wrong somewhere.
It wont make any difference if either Spies , Hayden or even if they could persuade Sykes to get on it . It will still be in 8th to 10nth as it is a CR*P bike . Checa is a world class rider better than all mentioned and he cant ride it .
Sounds like a sensible plan if they really have hit a wall, but don't Ducati have a Dorna agreement till about 2015 to supply bikes both factory and for Pramac etc. Would not be cheap to get out of that deal early i bet.
Why is spies getting slated on here he was doing well up until last year when he had a terrible season with injury and bad luck. How many times did the bike let him down in 2012? Remember the rear suspension collapsing and that was only one incident he's had a rotten year this year with injury and everyone is calling him shit, this is the same guy that won 50% of races in his first season in wsbk and although it's not GP that should count for something. I think there's more to come from Ben when he's healthy and on a good bike.
i think spies is a very good rider, he won the WSBK first go, on a yamaha that didnt handle that well. Most riders that have grown-up in AMA or WSBK cant handle the change to moto gp. completely different bikes and tracks. His contract with Ducati at moto gp has been terminated. And a changed to WSBK is a great move for Ducati. Checa has a broken hip, and to be honest has past his prime. But is the bike up to it. Why dont Ducati make a V four, like Aprilia. they have already got one in moto gp. The V twin just isnt quick enough for racing, against the 4 in L's and aprilia's v four.
Bit check out the speeds, in superstock form that is t the case, the Pani is up there. Something happens when it comes to WSBK, air restriction, weight, whatever but its fundamental. Could it be that in std trim its as good as it gets and it doesn't tune well?
Thats right Ducati did win when the restrictions were in there favour. But the current restrictions are against the V twin. I dont think the bike even handles well. Ducati rushed making this bike, and it didnt have enough testing. bring back the 1198
BMW had same problem 3/4 years ago, romping superstock but struggling in sbk. Only a matter of time till the bike gets sorted or the rules changed to level it out, ie the evo class that wsb is heading for might be good for us. Half the problem is getting anyone decent to ride the things. Spies is reluctant to leave MGP neverlone race midfield in wsb. His heart wont be in it.
