Yooperbikemike's 2013 MotoGP Thread

I think its about PRIDE.

I played competitive tournament paintball for years. I always played in the toughest league and division I could (as sponsorship allowed). We finished mid pack A LOT.

I had more pride in being a Division 1 player than a Division 2 champion.

Anybody know how the Marquez is getting along with his new honda?

Also, a cool vid with some of his highlights this year:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=L3WfLoTvkrA

Hey, people like me help in the natural remediation process, like bacteria.

I was rooting for Spies a bit in 2011, but it was clear he was struggling, and that he'd have no excuse in 2012, not being a rookie anymore. Take away the crazy bad luck he had, and he still under-performed.

That said, I hope that, irony of ironies, Ducaudi bring a competitive bike to 2013, giving Hayden and Spies a boost and becoming a thorn in the side to Rossi.

What would meet your expectations for his performance?

No ulterior motive behind this question, not trying to pick a fight, just wondering.

Very well by all indications.

Consistently finishing ahead of satellite M1s when his factory bike was working.

That has to be the expectation for any factory rider after his rookie year.

I'm wondering if Spies will actually do very well on the Ducati. He's always liked a very stiff setup that almost any other rider would call unrideable even since he raced AMA. He said it himself in that interview he likes to throw the bike around and be aggressive. Which is the complete opposite of what the Yamaha was built for. His riding style seems more similar to Stoner's so maybe he can ride the Duc like Stoner did?

I'm a big Spies fan, and would love to see him win on the Duc, but I think the bike needs a lot before it can win. Melandrie is good at chucking a bike around, was labeled a "dark horse" for the Duc, and look how well he did. Nicky is a good rider also, who's biggest crime seems to be shredding the tires before the race is over, yet he's languished for years now on the Duc. The bike seems to be fundamentally flawed. I hope I'm wrong though.

True, hopefully the 2013 model will be fundamentally different.

Not likely.

If they don't start the season at least with something "different" whether its good or bad it would make me wonder what the F@&% they've been doing for the off season! If I don't see some sort of improvement in at least Nicky's qualifying positions this year I don't think Ducati will ever get it.

Is it their adherence to the 90 degree V-angle that is causing the balance problems? They abandonded the tube frame, why not this? It's prototype racing FFS!

They had Rossi for 2 years, but did not seem interested (or just didn't know how) to build a bike VR could ride. It was a very big PR catastrophe for Ducati, when he decided to leave. Already they've made me wonder many times, just WTF is it, that they're trying to do with that Desmosedici, because absolutely nothing seems to work. I do believe Stoner would've finished higher than Rossi, had he still been there, but I really don't think even Stoner would've challenged Pedro and Jorge with that bike, it's just too far back. Yet to see some credible explanation, why that big picture is now changing. Audi money?? Well, maybe, but apparently Rossi does not expect that to happen just next year.

For as much money Audi spent to get the Ducati brand I bet they will have a pretty short time to perform and at least get on the podium if not an occasional win.

Me thinks the real problem lies within the Italian mind set when it comes to change and development .
They are however a much smaller company than any of the other guys , and obviously do not have the cubic dollars/yen to throw at the problem. ( if they even know which problem to start with in the first place )

Ducati development was halted early in year 2 due to the pending Audi deal. It is hard to judge what might have happened.

We will see what Audi's influence can do, though.

If they don't make some positive steps forward by mid season....

Someone wasn't nice to me, so I quit. How Kocinski is that? All the displacement in that team wasn't in the motorcycle. Just sayin'.

Lot's of us regular folk are employed (for a lot less money) in organizations where someone is a jerk, too. Incredibly, we keep going to work and performing. Why so many give him a free pass for this is beyond me.

If you recall, Ben did continue to fulfill his contract and then moved on. There is no shame in that so what's the problem here?

Someone is mean to kiwi at work.

But truth be told, if I could afforded to I would have told a few bosses to f..k off and taken my ball home too. Having money makes the world a different place.

I did it once, using different words. Very fun, and well worth it. But I also had a better job to go to.

Spies didn't.