probably.  i'm sure they want something for their investment, one of these days.  PR photos at the first GP of the year.. it's a start.

It'd cost the same to fly Elena Myers over, and the ROI on that would be epic.

And it'd go a long ways toward making Denning look like less of a turd (if he was the one that made the as yet unkept promise).

they only said they would let her ride the gsv.. the word 'test' wasn't used.  and i suspect that was not during a time when they were actively trying to avoid being sued by Dorna.  don't recall the actual source but even if it was denning, i'm sure the idea wasn't his.  or it required some authorization...  hopkins is insurance against that suit until they get to 2012.  probably free insurance, at that.

I just don't see Carmelo caring at all unless there's a 2nd bike on the grid starting at Qatar.

I'm getting more and more annoyed that Hopper is making the news.  Jebus, he finished 78th in AMA last year, and his BSB testig laptimes so far are 23 minutes per lap off the leaders.  

Quote from: Speeddog on March 08, 2011, 03:46:59 PM
I just don't see Carmelo caring at all unless there's a 2nd bike on the grid starting at Qatar.

he basically agreed not to sue them as long as they are back to 2 bikes in 2012

The Real Reason Hopper is doing PR shots in Qatar <~~ clicky

More Hopper PR... Zzzzzzzzzzz.

http://www.roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=43657

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2011/hopkins+at+Jerez+GP

Wonder how Hopper's BSB schedule and the MotoGP will blend? What series will take precedent over the other one? Wouldn't this ultimately piss off the BSB team with hopes of a championship if he does too many MotoGPs? And does the Hopper get double pay? Does he get BSB pay even though he's riding a MotoGP bike during a BSB weekend? Just wondering...

Quote from: fastwin on March 20, 2011, 07:56:54 PM
Wonder how Hopper's BSB schedule and the MotoGP will blend? What series will take precedent over the other one? Wouldn't this ultimately piss off the BSB team with hopes of a championship if he does too many MotoGPs? And does the Hopper get double pay? Does he get BSB pay even though he's riding a MotoGP bike during a BSB weekend? Just wondering...

british superbike will get precedence.

i doubt the team would care (they're both run by the same guy), but i'm sure the sponsors would.

That's what I really mean. It's always about the dudes in the suits with the checkbook. Starts and ends there. Always.

From the link...

“John isn’t happy with what happened to Álvaro, but I know he will do a solid job for us in Jerez and we are hoping to arrange a shakedown test beforehand. Álvaro’s comeback timing isn’t clear, and John has BSB commitments that clash with Estoril and Le Mans, so we need to wait a while before any decisions for those races are made.”

http://roadracingworld.com/news/article/?article=43833