o dear Mr Yamaha

"The Ducati Corse squad finished the 15th of 16 races this year with 209
points, trailing Honda by 161 but clear of Yamaha by 45 despite running only
two bikes and brand new prototypes (compared to Yamaha's five rider entry
and Kawasaki's often three, sometimes four man effort)."

 

[assumes we are referring to Moto GP]

well yes but their recent performance has much better than the start of
the season. The bike has been modified and part of the (poorish)
performance has been down to the riders - Melandri is a class rookie and
has binned loads of times. However I think he'll do very well next year.
Checa can be brilliant but is inconsistent. Barros has had a shite year
all year, Olivier Jacque has had some injuries IIRC and I've forgotten
the 5th rider.

In my opinion Rossi is an amazing rider. He is also under huge pressure
as a result of his brilliance and Gibernau has shown that Rossi is not
invincible. For many Moto GP teams this year has been a great struggle
against the might of the Honda RCV. However Ducati has shown that Honda
can be given a run for their money and I think the other teams are
catching up - albeit at different speeds.

While I think Rossi will do well next year I believe he will be strongly
challenged by Capirossi, Biaggi [1], Melandri and Nicky Hayden. Not sure
about Gibernau because this year he's been driven on to perform by the
death of Kato. Hopefully he can take on board the high points from this
year and work from his brain and not just his heart next year.

[1] who has impressed me this year with his far more relaxed and
confident persona. And this relaxed style has shone through into his
riding.

 

<snip>

- Melandri is a class rookie and

Shinya Nakano. And I think Norick Abe did at least one race too.

HTH

Dave