Elias to Yamaha MotoGP...

Toni Elias seems to be the replacement for Checa in Yamaha, while Checha
seems to replace Bayliss in Ducati. Also a rumor about Xaus joining
Telefonica Movistar. Melandri leaves Yamaha and seemingly is about to join
the Camel Honda team. But it's also said Pons is under pressure from HRC to
offer Barros a home.

....pablo

 

Meanwhile Bayliss, Hodgson, Xaus, Toseland, Laconi, Bostrom are all
looking to fit into a limited number of rides. Going to be interesting
to see where they all end up.

Hodgson has been saying. "I don't want to move my wife and kids to the
USA and/or fly back to the IoM after every weekend.". "I want to get a
good ride in a championship where I have to work to win it", "I'm
worried about safety at the American tracks". Those last two sound
arrogant, but remember that from going back to BSB to this year he was
on the up curve and since leaving BSB that's all been on world class
tracks. And how do Hodgson, Laconi and Eric B fit on 2 bikes?

 

Actually, as I have stated before, track safety is the main reason I do not
follow AMA at all. Mladin agress, by the way [MM quote in an interview]: "..
Certainly America doesn't seem to have track safety as high a priority as
the European countries ..". I don't enjoy being potential witnes to
avoidable bad injuries.

As to Hodgson first statement, I don't think for a second things have ever
come that easily to him. He's a very good rider, but he's been a
disappointment in MotoGP this year. I dd expect him to be more impressive,
and he shouldn't have been outclassed by Xaus. Yeah, I know, team D'Antin is
Spanish, and according to some in this forum that poses impossible
communication issues with the team, since the assumption is there are no
foreign engineers and mechanics in those teams, and that Spanish speakers
are unable to learn and communicate effectively in English... in any case, I
did expect more from Hodgson. His statements can be interprested as him
strongly feeling he has nothing to prove, which is a sure indication a rider
isn't very hungry for victory anymore.

....pablo

 

I think this was actually a reason to go to the AMA instead of WSB or
BSB. He could justifiably think about WSB that he raced the best in the
world there in Bayliss and Edwards and was only a little behind them due
to Dunlops. Once he got the factory kit and Michelins he wiped the floor
so there's nothing to prove there. He probably thinks doing BSB again is
pointless. At least in the AMA, Mladin would be a worthy opponent.

The key factor is finding a reasonably competitive team who's prepared
to work with him and a race engineer who knows what they're doing. It's
really unfortunate that d'Antin didn't provide either of those things
and didn't have any money either.

 

It all seems to depend on Kawasaki wriggling out of a contract with
Hoffman. The performance related bit may be badly worded. Kawasaki
reportedly want Bayliss and he is apparently OK with that. It's just
that they already have two riders signed up.

Bayliss has been flying this weekend so far. Fear of losing a job is a
great motivator...

It's really tough for the people in the second half of the grid. It's
killed the career of too many people. And often really hurt them
physically in the process. Win everything till you get to MotoGP and
then never win another race until you switch to vintage racing 15 years
later.

 

To be correct Checa's seat goes to Edwards. Elias is going (99% sure now but
still not signed) to the "junior" team Tech3 where there is still a vacant
seat as Melandri is supposed to go with Honda.
Checa to Ducati should be announced end of the week.
Heard also today that we should have 7 Honda next year.
Biaggi / Hayden / Repsol
Giberneau / Melandri? Xaus? / Telefonica Gresini
Barros? / Xaus? Melandri ? Porto? / Camel Pons
Tamada alone

 

Julian Bond wrote:

Um, he's lost his job. And Checa has signed on with Ducati.

 

Bayliss did look great today. Still, here's another one that doesn't seem to
have achieved the potential several expected from him - he's truggled too
often in too many places. Mind you, I don't think why Ducati would think
that Checa will set the world on fire. If there's one thing that has been
sufficiently established in Checa's long career is that he's a reliable top
10 driver, however his reliability limits itself to the lower 5 spots in the
top 10. No small feat - but enough to merit displacing Bayliss, who's
history seems to indicate he could achieve far more if the peices came
together?

....pablo

 

Stirring the pot -- everyone in the NBA was a superstar in
high school. Plenty of the top SBK riders couldn't put
a MotoGP bike on the grid during qualifying.

I'm sure Julian has stats has his fingertips, so what
percentage of MotoGP riders moved up from 250 class,
versus non-GP racing?

 

Bayliss found the front end feel he needed in the new forks, which Capirosi
didn't use.

--
Ed Light

Smiley :-/
MS Smiley :-\

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