I'll still cheer the grouchy blighter on no matter what he's riding. Would be nicer if he were on a good bike though...
Bastard perhaps. Richer for sure... He's probably going to be the rich bastard :wink: well, at least the a lot more wealthy bastard before you can say "lot's more of German money poured into this" or a lot sooner than you or I even get anywhere close to a MotoGP bike.
And here's the non-Google Translate version: Ducati will announce the signing of Cal Crutchlow in the next 24 hours as official rider for the marque in MotoGP for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. This signing, which was heavily rumoured, fulfils the aspirations of the Briton, which were none other than to be an official rider for one of the factories participating in the top flight world championship. Crutchlow will replace Nicky Hayden, accompanying Andrea Dovizioso who is already contracted to the marque from Borgo Panigale. With the two official places at Honda and Yamaha already filled, the only option Crutchlow had was to be the number one rider for the Italians, who it is to be hoped will continue to develop their bike and can offer a competitive bike in order to provide the Englishman a competitive bike which will allow him to fight for the podium in every race, something that he already does with the satellite Yamaha. Audi will have to pull out all the stops to make it happen, otherwise Crutchlow's racing career could spend two years on the backburner, as has happened with the multi-title winner Valentino Rossi.
he'll have that thing sorted in 5 minutes. I'm expecting a podium finish in his first race and should have the championship tied up by this time next year.
I think cals biggest problem will be Dovi, as I remember it on the same machinery, he could just never get passed the guy once he was ahead! It's actually quite sad seeing two Ducati riders practically holding hands for 30 laps in the midfield while desperately trying to fend of the crt's or catch em. Hope it's not just about the payday and the prestige of a factory ride. (Cos he was on such a poor satellite bike, yeh right, laughs!) i don't understand it he was having the season of his life? i also don't understand why ducati can't just copy, a Honda or Yamaha platform and tweak it, all this radical carbon, and monocoque shit is really hurting the brand! Just build another bullet machine, that don't do corners another point and squirt machine like stoner had! So how was it cal, the pace was good, just no front end feel, yawn! Worried for the guy personally and Audi ain't gonna be the saviour everybody's hoping, unless they introduce a Diesel concept!! Eureka!!! Get me the phone.
bit gutted about this looks like barry Sheenes record will last longer now ! unless Cal can win one this year on the Yamaha but cant see them giving any upgrades from now on nice fat pay packet to sort out his pension cant blame him but the ducati is a pile of shit !
Great a British Rider on a factory bike. A few more Brits on the grid. Yet another Brit going great guns in Moto2, but may move up to Motogp next year and hardly any of us will be able to watch it on the telly... In all seriousness, Cal is the kind of rider who 'could' ride the Ducati. As well as Stoner? Probably not, but possible better than the previous owners of the seat. Its a seriously good payday, one that if he's smart, will see him comfy for the rest of his days. He certainly deserved the seat, now its up to him to show what he can do. I for one, will certainly be wearing a Ducati #35 T shirt with pride
Matt, are you suggesting that Cal can do a better job on the ducati than a nine-times world champion? Maybe he can, but we're talking one or two places up the finishing order at the very best, and even that's a bit optimistic. In terms of machinery Cal is taking a step backwards, there's no two ways about it. All we can hope is that Ducati have a plan (and are able to implement it...).
Which is why I used the word 'possibly' :smile:. Cal has a different style to Vale but that is a how new topic. I'm not saying he will, I'm saying he might. At the moment the Ducati is nowhere, but in two years....who knows :smile:
Despite the pay check, you can hardly see Ducati saying to Cal "Come and ride for us, we will pay you well. Not sure quite what the bike will be, but don't worry, we'll have something!" They must have said something along the lines of "We have a master plan for this bike, it is already in operation, and next season it is going to be astonishingly competitive. By 2015, you'll have a championship-winning machine." Let's face it, if they didn't have a plan, they'd just pack it in rather than hand out 2 year contracts.
I've said before that the Ducati ride would be a mistake... No more podiums for Cal after this season!
It sounds like a pragmatic decision, who cares about podiums. Podiums, unless you are on the top step, are just the first of the loosers. Yamaha can't offer him what he wants so he has to take what he can, where he can in the timescale that is available. Another year at Tech 3 would be a wasted year from a career perspective even if he continued with podiums. It is about being in the right place at the right time and it looks like Cal will probably miss out, so he is doing the next best thing and grabbing some cash.
It's a double or quits situation, isn't it? Having a British rider winning a championship on a Ducati - it doesn't get any better than that, does it? On the other hand, having the great British white hope fading to obscurity when he was on the brink of greatness through having a totally naff and uncompetitive bike - this would be very disappointing. Ducati have already built a title winner. Just because their bike over the past few seasons has been uncompetitive, and is currently uncompetitive, this does not mean that any future bike will be uncompetitive. Ducati have some top engineers - they are not a collection of bodging fools (or they wouldn't produce the bikes we all ride). Audi will have a plan, and they have cash. It comes down to how much of a pessimist you are. Whilst we should be prepared for disappointment, there is no harm in hoping. I'm expecting Ducati to raise their game in the next couple of years - it is after all, what Audi said they'd do.
How are those 1199's going on the world stage ??? oh, hang on, their not !!!!!! They have currently lost their way at most levels and need a fix asap or will be also rans in most major series ...
