http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2009/Jun/john-hopkins-intervi.htm

interesting interview in general... and he touches on the motogp vs wsbk thing we've discussed in a couple other threads. 

also some obvious/reaffirming comments about the ducati gp bike and some interesting history of the suzuki and kawasaki gp bikes in '07 and '08.

I read that this morning also and I thought it to be insightful in certain regards....only other question I woulda asked him is what he thought of what is going on as far as results and performance with his would-be teamate on the bike now coined as a Hayate.

Interesting. He says MotoGP electronics have made the bikes boring and the rider is nothing more than a robot on top...yet his ultimate goal is to get back there. 

He also says there's no rider skill in MotoGP anymore due to the electronics...yet the same 3-4 guys seem to always be in the lead of races, suggesting they're the better riders. If what he says is true, then Stoner and Hayden should be neck and neck all the time since they're on the same bike.

Interesting article, but he doesn't make a lot of sense on some things.

Quote from: Triple J on June 03, 2009, 01:23:23 PM
Interesting. He says MotoGP electronics have made the bikes boring and the rider is nothing more than a robot on top...yet his ultimate goal is to get back there. 

He also says there's no rider skill in MotoGP anymore due to the electronics...yet the same 3-4 guys seem to always be in the lead of races, suggesting they're the better riders. If what he says is true, then Stoner and Hayden should be neck and neck all the time since they're on the same bike.

Interesting article, but he doesn't make a lot of sense on some things.

i think you're digging..

he ~wants to get back there because no matter the state of play, it's The Ultimate.  and he's mr. competitive.  and i'm sure he feels like he has unfinished business there.

re bikes and riders, he didn't literally mean the rider is irrelevant.  just less relevant than they ought to be.  rossi has said the exact same thing.  of course those top 3-4 guys are also the best riders.

re nicky and casey.. it's been thoroughly documented that so far out of the 10 or 11 that have tried, only 1 guy can ride that bike.

4 of the 5 top riders are on either the factory Yamaha or Honda.  The best four bikes on the grid say Repsol or Fiat.  Toss out the Duc.  Stoner mastered it, but the bike sucks.  Put Hayden back on the Honda with Bridgestones and he's a top 6 rider every week.  In fact put him on any other bike besides the Duc and he's a top 6 candidate every week.

Man Hopkins is hard to follow.

That was a really hard article to read, he really need to work on his ability to get his point across

Quote from: gm2 on June 03, 2009, 02:24:05 PM
i think you're digging..

re nicky and casey.. it's been thoroughly documented that so far out of the 10 or 11 that have tried, only 1 guy can ride that bike.

Maybe digging. 

...and so Casey is more skillful than Nicky (and everyone else) in riding the Duc...it isn't just the bike, as that thing seems to be nearly unrideable. Didn't Honda make a 500cc machine that only Freddie Spencer could win on? I think I read that in an interview with the Honda chief engineer a while back.