Yooperbikemike's 2013 MotoGP Thread

I would love to see Stoner return on a Ducati.

So since I have no idea, what are rough annual budgets for Yamaha or Honda?

How about MV 675 triples ?
Get another brand on the track while bringing back a legendary name.
Honda won't miss the sales.

thats one side of it.The other side which we mere mortals cannot understand may never be satisfied without 200 hp and only two wheels.

About 50-80 million.

I was being facetious, and yes, you are largely right. You just picked the wrong example...

Just to add, I think there is nothing wrong with Motorcycle USA, it's a great publication. It's just Melling who has me confused.

Clearly it was a barge load of wild speculation....... but I would love to see it happen.

So maybe nothing in this article is true, but the second to last paragraph is hilarious. (and probably would be close to the truth)

In fairness to Melling, he flagged this article as nothing more than "well informed paddock gossip" and then put together what amounts to a very entertaining argument for why Stoner might have sufficient reason to return.

One major point of weakness is the suggestion that Stoner is not happy where he is and that he is itching to show those uppity Europeans Rossi and Marquez what's what.

It would be a huge thing for Stoner to turn around and head back to Europe and MotoGP, given what he has said about the scene and his distaste for it. Probably not going to happen.

Nevertheless ... running around Aussie circuits in production-based, control-chassis V8 four-wheelers does not sound very exciting for him at the moment. Nothing like the same opportunity for self-expression he found in MotoGP.

And then there is Stoner's psychology. Clearly he has felt underappreciated over most of his MotoGP career. He thinks people just don't get quite how good he is. Winning with Honda will have helped set that to rest, but now that Marquez has his old ride and Rossi seems to be back in contention it is very much "Stoner who?".

So, the valid point Melling makes is that an opportunity to make $15 million while wiping the floor with Rossi and Marquez, and on a Ducati - the bike that leached away at Rossi's self-belief - might look somewhat attractive to Stoner as he contemplates another weekend of biff and bash among the midfield of the support series for the domestic family-car championship.

I suspect he could convince himself that to return under such circumstances would not be a backdown. I am not sure he is quite so passive-aggressive as to deprive himself of the opportunity just to thwart Ezpelita.

Whether he has the stomach for it is a whole other question. Probably not.

And then there is that teensy little point that Melling leaps over in three words: "When Audi fixes the GP13, which they will ..."

Ducati would need to convince Stoner that the Duc would be on par with the Honda that he had already declined a $15 million offer to ride. It is not obvious how they will cook up enough evidence.

This is a good point and raises the question if someone else starts having success on the Duc (let's say Dovi), why would they need to pay big bucks to put Stoner back on it?

You left out the part just before your bolded section where describes the scenario as "highly credible" which for Melling just means "Shit I'm making up". Indefensible.

Do tell.

Because Dovi is never going to beat lorenzo dani or MM even if the Ducati is on pare with the other factory bikes.

I don't get Stoner at all. If I had Stoners skills and hated someone and a series so much all I would want to do is dominate it, mouth off, and give everyone the finger. To do that on a bike that no one else can Podium on would be the ultimate bad ass move. The only thing I can think of is that being married and having a kid changes who you are and make you enjoy the slower life.

I'm a huge fan of Stoner and I wish he would return but I dont think it will ever happen.

This. Dovi whined incessantly about not having a factory bike when he was on the satellite Scots Honda. Then he got the Repsol Ride and proceeded to do...


... not much better.

You mean like the 20th and 21st place finishes in his last cage race?

Stoner left Ducati on very very bad terms. All through the past 2 seasons on Honda he would throw words about the Ducati when Rossi struggling questions came up. The fact that Honda's HRC president has said they would even try to get Stoner a wildcard factory bike if he requested it for this year's Phillip's Island speaks volumes.

I should note that Cal will never win a championship. To replace Nicky with Cal is kind of a joke. Cal can complain all he wants on not having a factory spec bike but this year he's on Lorenzo's championship winning bike of last year. He just doesn't have this year's latest electronics. Cal is fast but he lacks that racer mentality to shoot a gap when there is one presented. He sat behind the 2 Honda's for all of the Qatar race only to let Rossi blow by him and the 2 Honda's in a span of a couple of laps.

I agree that Cal is unlikely to ever be Moto GP champ (I think the best prospect for us Brits in that respect would be Scott Redding if he was able to get a competitive ride in Moto GP and even then the idea of beating Marquez in his prime is a little far fetched). I think there's a lot of smoke and mirrors about the specs of the various M1s though and the straight line speed difference between Cal's M1 and Rossi's at Qatar was striking when compared to the Hondas. That fact alone contributed to Cal's inability to pass Marquez and Pedrosa more than any lack of ability (mental or otherwise).

Beating DP in the championship by 9 points after DP didn't start 4 races and was barely in condition to ride in another race - so effectively out for nearly a third of the championship.