Adios Marco.
Where will Hopkins go?
Who's on first?
etc etc etc....
http://hellforleathermagazine.com/2008/12/official-kawasaki-quits-motogp.html

Don't count your chicken yet.

Wait till Jan. 5 for the official announcement from Kawi. 

I refuse to believe this until I hear it straight from the horse's mouth. 

Quote from: DesmoDiva on December 30, 2008, 01:56:59 PM


I refuse to believe this until I hear it straight from the horse's mouth. 

what does John Elway have to do with this?

Quote from: bobspapa on December 30, 2008, 01:58:57 PM
what does John Elway have to do with this?

Quote from: DesmoDiva on December 30, 2008, 01:56:59 PM
Don't count your chicken yet.

Wait till Jan. 5 for the official announcement from Kawi. 

I refuse to believe this until I hear it straight from the horse's mouth. 

http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=16386.msg299519#msg299519

I'm still holding out for an official announcement.   

A quick tangent--I wish more people would hang out in Racing & Trackdays.  There's really good discussion, lots of knowledgeable folks who write long, helpful sposts, and its a good place to learn a lot about riding in addition to racing.  The downside?  Derby hangs out there a bunch.  

re kawi, I was really hoping to see Marco redeem himself after last year's fiasco.  My hopes dimished when he chose Kawi.  And now this.  (cue posting the Melandri powerslide video. . . )  Hopper has always been a disappointment except when it comes to (a) stand-up wheelies or (b) talking and writing like he dropped out of kindergarten.

So now we've lost the tail end of the field, but there are still enough rides to go forward, right?  

This is really surprising. I would have thought they'd pull out of MotoGP as a last resort.

Quote from: Spidey on December 30, 2008, 02:09:13 PM
A quick tangent--I wish more people would hang out in Racing & Trackdays. The downside?  Derby hangs out there a bunch.  

Ding Ding Ding. 

Now if Rossi would sign with his own Country"s bike be it Ducati or MV so the Trophies stay in Italy.   Dolph       

Honda F1 
Subaru WRC 
Kawasaki MGP 
Who's Next 

Quote from: Spidey on December 30, 2008, 02:09:13 PM
A quick tangent--I wish more people would hang out in Racing & Trackdays.  There's really good discussion, lots of knowledgeable folks who write long, helpful sposts, and its a good place to learn a lot about riding in addition to racing.  The downside?  Derby hangs out there a bunch.   

this is just about the only place that do i hang out... and yeah, that is the downside. 


this is a good/rough article:  http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2008/Dec/081230uq.htm

and this quote is especially interesting, given the whole wsbk-is-more-fun-to-watch-anyway thing:

"Especially in light of MotoGP's rival world championshipâ€"World Superbike. The WSBK series features production-based motorcycles and dramatically lower costs. How much lower? It's estimated that Kawasaki could race an entire half-season of WSBKâ€"with a well run teamâ€"solely on John Hopkins' MotoGP salary."

also:  http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/72596

"It looks like the decision was taken on December the 24th in Japan...However, I've [Melandri's manager] offered Marco for free to Gresini, if he wants him..."

The chances of a Gresini switch for Melandri appear slim, however, with team boss Fausto Gresini playing the idea down.

"Marco and his manager made their decision in Brno when they refused my offer,” Gresini told Gazzetta dello Sport. “I'm not a salesman.”

Quote from: gm2 on December 31, 2008, 07:31:49 AM
It's estimated that Kawasaki could race an entire half-season of WSBKâ€"with a well run teamâ€"solely on John Hopkins' MotoGP salary."

Wow! 

Did Hopkins ever win in the 250 class?  I really don't understand what all the hoopla is about this guy.  He never won a GP and he only podiumed a 4 times on the Suzuki which both Caparossi and the Mole (albeit in the rain, IMSM) were able to put on top of the box.

I love to root for Americans but Hopper seems like a mid-pack rider at best on any piece of equipment.

The fact his salary alone could support a WSBK team is ridiculous.