Quote from: muskrat on August 21, 2009, 06:36:06 AM
Casey stopped by my house last time he was in the US and complained the entire time. I threw him out, vomit and all 

HA!, that's hilarious   

It was intersting to see Hayden's performance without Stoner on the grid...  Someone said that Hayden doesn't perform to his potential if he's not the # 1 in a team.  Not sure if that's true or not but these last two races have been pretty good for him.

Indy could be awesome 

The last time Hayden was probably considered #1 on any team was here in the US when he won the AMA SBK title on a RC51 in 2002. Even when he was leading or contending for his '06 MotoGP title he still was the red headed stepchild to Pedro-bot on the Honda team.

Hayden pipped Rossi for the 2006 championship by 5 points - exactly the number that Elias cost Rossi by finishing 0.002 seconds ahead of him at Estoril that year. That was the race when the Kentucky Kid's face matched his hair, as he cussed Pedrosa out for causing his DNF.

If Elias had settled for second at Estoril '06, would a Rossi win there have broken the resulting end-of-season points tie with Hayden in the Doctor's favor?

The record:
Seas   Class     Moto                Team          Race   Win   Pod   Pole   FLap   Pts   Plcd   WCh
Hayden
2006  MotoGP   Honda RC211V    HRC           17      2      10      1      2       252   1st    1
Rossi
2006  MotoGP   Yamaha YZR-M1  Yamaha      17      5      10      5      4       247   2nd   0



This just in: If Lorenzo picks Ducati's offer over Yamaha's, Ducati will likely drop Hayden's option:

http://www.motorcycle.com/news/lorenzo-to-decide-future-at-indy-88674.html

Very interesting indeed. The move to Ducati has sucked for everyone. Don't really know why but it has. That is another 30 page thread that I won't go into! The Yammyhammers are the best bike out there day in and day out. Of course they  have the best riders too. That never hurts. Leaving Yamaha and going to Ducati could be suicide for Lorenzo. It's a HUGE gamble. Do you want to go from being the best or second best rider on the track to a mid field performer if you are lucky if the Ducati #2 rider curse still exists? I don't know. Who knows? Rossi could get hurt and bingo... Lorenzo is top dog in the Yamaha camp. Main question is whether Stoner, with his problems, stills flies the Ducati flag or is it already time to look elsewhere? Time will tell...

Quote from: fastwin on August 21, 2009, 06:47:19 PM
...Main question is whether Stoner, with his problems, stills flies the Ducati flag or is it already time to look elsewhere? Time will tell...

Yeah, I almost said that, but thought better of it. It should be the thought on every Ducatisti's mind:
Maybe it's time for the #1 rider for Ducati to develop the bike for the average Joe Racer, not just for himself....question is, is that rider Stoner, or someone else?
If Casey would just relax his death-grip on self-improvement, and let a little of his talent trickle down to others, good things might happen for everybody.

Good point. You'd think Ducati Corse would want their other bikes on the grid to perform as well as Stoner's? Don't you think they would like to have 4 out of the top 5 finishers all to be on Ducatis at every race? Hell yes. I don't know if it's just Stoner's personal ability to ride that wild thing so well or if he gets all the attention. All those other riders are good riders in their own way. No one is a complete loser by any means. So maybe it IS all Stoner and he just has a way to make it happen. It would be nice if he shared with the others.

I don't see Lorenzo taking Ducati's offer unless he can be the #1 rider. It might not be that hard for Ducati to choose between a rider who puts in 30+ laps per QP session in traffic at race tempo vs. one who sits in the box watching the timesheets, only going out to find a clear piece of track when he has to defend his position.  When Lorenzo rode through most of 2008 with a pair of fractured ankles, he showed his guts and determination. His physical stature is nearly identical to Casey's: 172 cm vs. 171 cm; so the bike would not need major dimensional alterations.

Lorenzo's management said the team that signs Lorenzo will announce at Indy. If Ducati were to sign him as the #2 rider at Hayden's home track, that would be a real kick in the teeth for the hard-working Kentucky Kid. Can this really be what they are considering?

Quote from: Pinocchio on August 22, 2009, 11:51:03 AM
I don't see Lorenzo taking Ducati's offer unless he can be the #1 rider. It might not be that hard for Ducati to choose between a rider who puts in 30+ laps per QP session in traffic at race tempo vs. one who sits in the box watching the timesheets, only going out to find a clear piece of track when he has to defend his position.  When Lorenzo rode through most of 2008 with a pair of fractured ankles, he showed his guts and determination. His physical stature is nearly identical to Casey's: 172 cm vs. 171 cm; so the bike would not need major dimensional alterations.
Lorenzo's management said the team that signs Lorenzo will announce at Indy. If Ducati were to sign him as the #2 rider at Hayden's home track, that would be a real kick in the teeth for the hard-working Kentucky Kid. Can this really be what they are considering?

From what another article said about the head of Marlboro's sponsorship to Ducati (their top sponsor) being in the pits last race to talk to Lorenzo, it was mentioned that Marlboro will be the ones to decide who rides. They like Lorenzo's ability to be available to the public so they can merchandize him. Stoner won't do public appearances.

Some very real and somewhat disturbing comments from Capirossi about Ducati. He's right, what happens if Stoner keeps having trouble? And if they were willing to throw big bucks at him to get him back what does that really say about Ducati's faith in Hayden... and his future with them? Either those Hayden 848s will go way up in price or they will be impossible to get rid of. Could be the new two wheeled version of the white elephant gift? The Edsel of the Ducati world? Glad I have my RC51 Hayden Replica... at least he did something on one! Certainly isn't for a lack of trying and hard work. The kid is a true team player. Again, can anyone ride that damn bike but Stoner? Jeez...

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=37864

Brian i cant believe you dont have this one! Such a Sexy Machine...



and with a Arrow GP exhaust looks even better!

Couldn't afford the Repsol CBR so I had to settle for a Joe Rocket Repsol jacket. Those are hard to find.

Still trying to digest sexy and Brian in the same sentence....

Don't waste your time.

Fine then, how lunch today at Jack's?   

Sorry, no can do. Leaving town. I have to miss the cdc mass also. I'll have to send a sympathy card to his wife and family. Would rather do it in person.

End of threadjack on my own thread.

Where the heck does Hayden go now?? It's obvious Ducati is looking under every rock to find someone to replace him. He still really seems to have a great attitude knowing that they are looking elsewhere. Then again he did the same thing with Repsol Honda. You have to admire his work ethic.

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=37866