The Rossi at Ducati Story

[Cam D]

(Until Laguna) I felt Ducati had turned the corner and the bike was starting to pick up. If it does improve Rossi will get the credit for that, not Ducati. From the begining it didn't matter what Ducati did, they were never going to come out of this relationship without being tarnished. If the bike won races it would have been the brilliance of the rider, and when it doesn't win races Ducati are putting no effort in and not listening to their riders. Lose - lose. I'm thinking that the few that said it would also be good for Ducati if he left may have had a point. Some hungry young blood going into the project with an open mind from the beginning may make a difference.

But all of the current speculation is quite telling, and it reflects quite badly on the health of the sport. First we lose two quality riders due to politics and It seems, after having a little tour of the other racing site forums and the comments to the articles on the front page, the majority of fans are watching/intersted because one figure has been built up so large that it eclipses the rest of the goings on. People can use that as evidence the guy is the best thing ever to happen in racing, but it also means the general viewing audience isn't here for the long haul. If/when Rossi leaves, the sport will fall on it's ass. jmo

[Nachlauf]

If/when Rossi leaves, the sport will fall on it's ass. jmo

No, it will only return to being a sport rather than being a popularity circle jerk.

[Gar]

GP racing was around long before Rossi and will continue without him.

[Cam D]

GP racing was around long before Rossi and will continue without him.

Obviously the sport will keep going, I was thinking more about the dollars it takes to keep the show going..... which, because of the direction the sports been steered, takes viewers.

[Grahluk]

If/when Rossi leaves, the sport will fall on it's ass. jmo

No, it will only return to being a sport rather than being a popularity circle jerk.

This is all nothing new. Same intrigues have played out in other eras. It is and will remain a sport to those who actually participate. The circle jerk is all of us out here on the interwebs spouting opinions as if they mean jack squat.

[dave_m]

(Until Laguna) I felt Ducati had turned the corner and the bike was starting to pick up.

I think Mugello was a best case for Ducati when they had advantages, and not a real indication of how the bike was doing. Ducati test track that suits Rossi and Hayden, but they still are racing Tech 3 and a satellite Honda.

I've also updated the original post with some info from the 2011 Estoril test and Hayden riding the GP11.1:

• Mar 26 2011: After finishing 7th in the Qatar race, Ducati plan to roll out some major changes at the Estoril test on May 2nd. (32)
• May 2 2011: Ducati delivers electronic, engine and chassis updates at the Estoril test and they are met with a positive reception from both Rossi and Hayden (33). Rossi is 5th / +1.17s and Hayden is 9th / +1.25s at the test (34).
• August 2011: Hayden and Rossi test the GP11.1 at the Brno (35) and then Nicky first races the GP11.1 at the Indianapolis round. (36)
• Sept 22 2011: Nicky Hayden thinks the GP11.1 has reached it's potential and "we got to make a big change because we’re a long way off" (37)

[Cobbett]

Interview with del Torchio @

http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/road- ... l-torchio/

"Probably we share the responsibilities, some are related to the bike, some are related to his behavior..."

[Hanuman]

Interview with del Torchio @

http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/road- ... l-torchio/

"Probably we share the responsibilities, some are related to the bike, some are related to his behavior..."

"And I'm even honored, because they told me I am going to enter into the Lamborghini board.."

How appropriate for the ex-head of a tractor company....but I wonder how much attention del Torchio was paying to the plight of the MotoGP team versus getting acquired by VAG...

[ducati1098s]

What about Ducati's almost complete lack of testing using Rossi/Hayden this year despite having the testing rules specifically changed to allow factory riders to do so within the 240 annual Bridgestone tyre allocation? Clearly Ducati had little or no money this year after they'd rolled out the GP12 at Sepang pre-season. That speaks volumes to me personally

[Faster1]

GP racing was around long before Rossi and will continue without him.

Obviously the sport will keep going, I was thinking more about the dollars it takes to keep the show going..... which, because of the direction the sports been steered, takes viewers.

,,those Rossi induced dollars didn't find their way back to Suzuki or Kawasaki. GP's slow death spiral will ultimately be Carmelo's legacy, partially because he put ALL his eggs into the VR basket. The other part was the knee-jerk reaction to 10 bike grids,, known as CRT's. Lessons ultimately learned: no single individual is bigger than the sport.

Valentino is/was great for the sport (my personal candidate as THE modern era GOAT),, but at what long term cost? GP will be around for a long time but, IMO, not in the same version as now,, i.e,, bikes, rules, costs,, spec this - spec that... we'll see