2008 Forecast

Ducati had their great season they had the jump on everybody else.

They don't have enough of a speed advantage now the other teams have finally caught up.

Stoner didn't exactly disappear into the distance in Sepang... i see a hard battle for next year.

Honda will bring it but will their riders (unlikely )

Rossi on Bridgestone will be winning races at the expense of Stoner and vice versa... there will be no dominiation

Lorenzo will be getting into punchups

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mylexicon @ Oct 25 2007, 01:53 PM) [snapback]97063[/snapback]<div class='quotemain'>
I'm looking forward to 2008. Hopefully it won't be a let down. Now that we know the tire/rider/manufacturer situation better than a few weeks ago, I say let's discuss the possibilities.


I agree, the possibilities are intriguing, and you have raised several interesting ones.

It would seem rossi may not have long-term plans. My view is he wants to win next year, then retire. Might change his mind if he wins, though.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(michaelm @ Oct 25 2007, 03:33 PM) [snapback]97071[/snapback]<div class='quotemain'>
I agree, the possibilities are intriguing, and you have raised several interesting ones.

It would seem rossi may not have long-term plans. My view is he wants to win next year, then retire. Might change his mind if he wins, though.

I like the rumours of Rossi going to Ducati for his last season. If Yamaha dont pull their finger out & Rossi leaves, where else could he seriously go?.
Riding a Ducati with Stoner would be something worth seeing.

I also can't wait for the 2008 season in 125 and especially the Moto GP class. I really hope James Toseland will do well. Really can't wait for his testing in mid November to see how he does.

I'm looking forward to 2008, for the the intra-team battles are going to be really interesting, (the run for the championship I think will be among the usual suspects, Rossi, Stoner, Pedrosa, Melandri).

Marlboro Ducati
Stoner vs Melandri.
Finally Marco gets an official bike, let's see what he can do against the 2007 champ.
My pick, Melandri by a slim margin.

D'Antin Ducati
Elías vs Guintoli
2 of the most agressive riders face to face, that should be cool! though D'Antin mechanics will most likely have a lot of work next year!
My pick, Elías by a slim margin.

Suzuki
Capirossi vs Vermeulen
This is the less interesting new pairing for me, IMO Capirossi is finished and should retire (I could be wrong, just my opinion).
My pick, Vermeulen by a landslide and Suzuki goes backwards.

Repsol Honda
No changes in lineup, I expect Dani to beat Nicky again, but not so easily.
My pick, Dani

Gresini Honda
Nakano vs DeAngelis
Nakano has had a terrible year, IMO he has a great chance to redeem himself cause I think DeAngelis sucks. Problem for Shinya is that if he gets beaten ... he's so getting fired and out of MotoGP.
My pick, Nakano by a landslide

FIAT Yamaha
Rossi vs Rocky Lorenzo
I'm really pissed that they'll be on different tyres, cause now we wont really know how much is due to rider talent and how much due to tyre difference. Still it's gonna be interesting, cause Lorenzo is one very talented arrogant ............ that wont be impressed by his mindtricks
My pick Rossi, the difference will depend on tyre performance

Tech3 Yamaha
Edwards vs Toseland
Experience vs Youth, both WSBK champions. IMO Edwards is not too motivated nowadays, just thinking on the money while Toseland is probably really gonna go to his limit.
My pick, Toseland by a small margin

Kawasaki
Hopkins vs West
I don't rate too highly any of them, but IMO Hopkins is a bit better.
My pick Hopper by a small margin (unless it rains a lot!)

Dovi and DePuniet will be on private Hondas with Michelin tyres (I think ), we can compare them like if they were teammates.
IMO it's gonna be close, DePuniet will probably be faster, but Dovi is a very consistent guy and doesn't crash often like Randy.

My pick DePuniet by a slim margin.

The most critical year for il dottore.If he screws it up he's done

I hope his move to Bridgestone isn't the complete disaster that I expect it to be and that we somehow get to see the two (Sto and him) fight it to the end
so that we can resolve who's the best driver once and for all...

After that, I can die a happy man

I predict stoner rossi hayden pedrosa melandri to be the top 5 for most every race that is if rossi gets the package he wants.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(an4rew @ Oct 25 2007, 03:06 PM) [snapback]97065[/snapback]<div class='quotemain'>
Ducati had their great season they had the jump on everybody else.

They don't have enough of a speed advantage now the other teams have finally caught up.

Stoner didn't exactly disappear into the distance in Sepang... i see a hard battle for next year.

Honda will bring it but will their riders (unlikely )

Rossi on Bridgestone will be winning races at the expense of Stoner and vice versa... there will be no dominiation

Lorenzo will be getting into punchups



yeah i agree, although yam still have to get there new engine upto scratch speed/reliability, ducati come out this season with a well engineered fast machine, im not sure if they left much room for improvement but who knows.
im not sure rossi will be battling with stoner straight away next season or maybe he will ?? , i think it will take him a while to get his bike and the stones setup because its a mixture hes not used to.
im looking forward to seing lorenzo tho, and melandri i think he will be very quick on the ducati.

Interesting points. As far as Gresini becoming the factory squad, I really can't see that happening. The main reason for that is the difference in paychecks. Nicky and Dani are pulling some serious dough, while I imagine De Angelis and Nakano are on the bargain end of the salary spectrum. As such, I assume Honda will be more likely to spend money on the big name (and big money) riders versus the small fries.

I mean, look at this season. Yes Gresini had the obviously superior Bstones, but we haven't really seen them getting the choice bits. They've been going to the Repsol squad all season. Granted, Marco has looked increasingly better recently.

Personally I am really excited to see what Nakano can do on a decent Honda with 'stones. As mentioned, if he doesn't produce I'd say he is pretty much done. I still have faith in him though.

Well I am hoping Stoner goes for the most wins record next year.

Lots of other riders with big changes so I'm picking Those with stable rides and "on the up" performance.

Stoner
Pedrosa ( shame I kinda want to see him win a Championship)
Vermi
Rossi
Hayden
West

While everyone's going on about Rossi's tyres, nobody seems to have picked up on the fact that Rossi has had very harsh words with Yamaha. This has been covered quite extensively in the Italian media, but it seems to have completely gone by unnoticed here.
Rossi's pointed out that when he moved to Yam they went all out to try and deliver a good product. THey gave him 3 engines to work with and choose from, then continuing to further develop the one he and JB felt had most potential. He has now demanded from them the same level of committment they were willing to give to get him on board.
So while the Yam will never be a Ducati, I think they will get their act together next year, and hopefully Rossi will still be Rossi enough to make up the difference.
Ducati will still be the force to be reckoned with. I doubt they've shown all their cards yet. They're playing the old Honda game from Rossi days. I give Marco 2 or 3 GP's to make the bike his own. In a way he's going into a relatively easy situation of not being expected to beat his team mate. That should relieve the pressure somewhat. I think Marco could potentially be the best rider out there if he could only be a bit stronger inside his head.
As for the rest of the paddock, I'm actually really looking forward to seeing Dovi and De Angelis on grown up bikes! They both give 110% at every race and I've rarely ever heard them gripe about anything in their post-race interviews.
I must admit though, that I'm mostly looking forward to psycho lonrenzo's arrival. That guy so wants to be Rossi when he grows up!!
I think he will be Rossi's heir eventually. He's quirky and crazy and his talent stands out for all to see. I can't wait to see him and Rossi battle it out. I think his post race stunts smack too much of Rossi-wannabeism sometimes, but he's just a kid and Rossi won't be around for ever. Someone's gotta keep us entertained.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mylexicon @ Oct 25 2007, 09:36 PM) [snapback]97114[/snapback]<div class='quotemain'>
What?!

I'm not going suggest Ducati won't have a battle but the result at Sepang was an illusion. Remember how Livio got livid during the on air motogp interview during the race at Philip Island because he wanted Casey to slow down?

When Marco finally got within a second of Casey at Sepang, and Duc gave Casey the hurry-up, he turned a 2:02.2 or some ridiculous time to that effect. Ducati are forcing him to work on riding for the win instead of sprinting mindlessly into oblivion. The one make rule, may have had something to do with it. Ducati, not wanting everyone to have B-stones, told Stoner he'd better not win by a country mile.



I was talking about the straight line speed, its not as big now only 3 or 4 km/h

Sepang is a good track for Brigestone so yea Casey might have been sandbagging, but i really think he wouldn't listen to anyone and rides his races how he sees fit. The heat i think got to him a little thats the reason he slowed.

Ok, here's my take on it;

Let's start with the #1 plate holder ... no doubt in my mind he is the next Doohan! Regardless of all the .... that has been said about him he is cool and calculated and a VERY talented rider. I think he will be hungrier next year ... Melandri comes to the team as the young Ducati/Italian and as I see it, many on this forum think he will wipe Casey ... personally I can't see it! Like Doohan, Casey is a machine ... he is just so single minded! As I said elsewhere on this forum, he will go back-to-back next year UNLESS his wife gets pregnant! I expect Marco to have a top 5 year which he consistently does but I don't see him being a MotoGP champion with the level of class around now. I can see him winning two races next year! In my mind, he doesn't have the hunger!

Repsol Honda will have a much better bike in '08. I'm hoping Nicky Hayden has released the demons that seemed to gather around him this year and he has to have better luck next year! I do rate Nicky ... he is a very good rider and with CV and now James Toseland, probably the most likeable riders in the paddock! He will Top 5 also but I don't think he will win another MotoGP championship. If they were still on 990's I'd say he might have a chance! Dani Pedrosa ... he is talented and whilst I shouldn't be rating on personalities, I'm actually warming to him. Being the Honda golden child he will win races next year with his Michelin's, he will finish top 3. Any Spaniard's on this forum will hate me for saying this but they really do struggle to win the ultimate prize in the premier class. I don't see Dani winning the title next year.

Valentino is the superstar! Two years without a title must eat away at him. Can anyone remember when they last saw the larrikin Valentino?! Personally I am struggling to remember when he seemed like the kid I love! Yeah, tyres and a .... '07 Yamaha have a lot to do with it, but I think the tax issuess etc are also a very big part of it! Will he bounce back in '08 on Bridgestones?! Seriously (and I just stopped typing this post and gave this a long thought) ... I honestly don't think he will win the title next year!

Lorenzo ... he is overrated! He has an Achilles heal and the fact of the matter is he is absolutely ......... in the wet! As I type this I can just picture a number of forum members going "so what" or "It takes a different skill to ride in the wet"! Fact of the matter is the competition at the top is so tight that you have to adapt to all conditions ... if he can't adapt he does NOT deserve to win the title! He has had an easy time in the 250's ... he won't have that luxury in 08! He will be found out!

Toseland ... I really want him to do well! His WSBK title this year (bar the last couple of races) showed that he is a great rider ... aggressive but fair! His problem might well be Tech3 ... what will they give him?!

Now for Colin Edwards Jr the third ... you should have gone Colin! Your time is up! No hunger = no great results! I'll miss you when you leave at the end of this year but that will be one (or probably two) years to late!

Gresini ... de Angelis ... sometime ago on this forum I said that he might well be the surprise packet of 2008 as far as the rookies are concerned ... I now question what I was thinking! He will struggle! Shinya ... will be very happy to be back on Bridgestones, but this year will have affected him!

Chris the V ... let's hope Suzuki have got there act together! CV will relish the opportunity to have responsibility for the development of the '08 bike! I think Chris is an exceptional talent and I hope Suzuki give him the bike he wants to show it! As for Loris ... I don't think he will gel with Suzuki and will switch off in the first half of the year!

Team Green ... Hopper might just have found his home! I hope so! I think he will do well there! I'm still really uncertain about Ant West ... he is currently making steady progress and as AntFan says, will really benefit from a full pre-season test schedule! He's not crashing but is making some bad rookie mistakes ... hopefully that won't dent his confidence!

Dovi ... I'm very much hoping he is the surprise packet! He will be keen to stick it to Lorenzo from Day1!

Team KR ... who knows ... I hope at the very least they are on the grid!

Pramac ... won't trouble the factory Ducati riders!

Randy .... the writing is on the wall! You have just emulated the '07 version of Shinya! You were on the rise but given your choice for 08 and 09, your time has now come and gone!

My thoughts:

Yamaha - The bike is in a worse state than ever. Rossi i agree as much as i love him appears to be a lose canon. The switch to bridgestones i dont think will be enough.
Lorenzo - Maybe rossi is making up the difference and lorenzo will become another colin? I think he will have to work much harder to do well as maybe rossi is masking more of the problems than we think?

Ducati - Its ridiculous to say casey wont be competitive next year. I dont particulalrly love him as everyone knows but to say he would be out of the top 3 is plain stupid. The advantage ducati have got with the set up is massive and i dont think other teams will be able to bridge the gap over winter break especially as the duke will also be improving further still.
Regarding marco i think it will show us exactly how much of the ducati is casey. Its easy to say marco will be incredible but capirossi isnt so where will marco fall?

Honda - I hope pedrosa does well particularly as on this forum he is often slated for not being worth his money. Remembering hes been a new rider to the class i think he will have to step up his game with the newcomers.
Hayden - I do feel for hayden but i think theres only so many times u can say the next race will be better. Maybe its something to do with his temprement which is keeping him at honda? I think hes lost some of his fighting determination to gt him the wins, we saw it when he battled stoner. For me, hayden is past his best and i dont think anythign sparkling will arise.

Regarding ducati and rossi i dont know what will happen. One big thing has changed previously ducati wanted rossi to get them the world championship which he probably could of. However, now theyve got the championship and they know that they dont need the best rider out there ( i dont mean any offence to stoner by this ) would they have him after he rjected them when there is alledgedly bad blood?

Next year is rossi does bad and melandri and stoner come 1-2 i dont think they would mess with a good formula just to get rossi.

In other views i would like JT to do well but i cant see that bike making the top ten often but you never know.

I hope dovi can out run lorenzo in some races as he tried so hard in 250s.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mylexicon @ Oct 26 2007, 02:37 PM) [snapback]97209[/snapback]<div class='quotemain'>
I don't see it. Not because Casey isn't good enough, but because the field is too strong. Doohan won 5 in a row because he was the best rider and the best machine in a thinned talent pool. No insult to the guy, before he broke his leg he showed he could compete and beat even the great American riders.

I think you are correct . No matter how good casey is, it is highly unlikely that ducati would be able to provide him with a sufficiently good bike 5 years in a row, even regardless of the talent of the other riders.

To win 5 years in a row would require an extremely well-timed move to another factory team, most likely honda, or even multiple moves. As max biaggi has just demonstrated, honda are sensitive to criticism from riders and have a long corporate memory. I don't think casey will be riding for hrc any time soon.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Teomolca @ Oct 26 2007, 12:03 AM) [snapback]97133[/snapback]<div class='quotemain'>
I'm looking forward to 2008, for the the intra-team battles are going to be really interesting, (the run for the championship I think will be among the usual suspects, Rossi, Stoner, Pedrosa, Melandri).

FIAT Yamaha
Rossi vs Rocky Lorenzo
I'm really pissed that they'll be on different tyres, cause now we wont really know how much is due to rider talent and how much due to tyre difference. Still it's gonna be interesting, cause Lorenzo is one very talented arrogant ............ that wont be impressed by his mindtricks My pick Rossi, the difference will depend on tyre performance

Right and Rossi isn't arrogent? I think both Lorenzo and Rossi are arrogent men Lorenzo I agree but don't forget Rossi is as well. He has been famous for moaning all season long.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(The Fizz @ Oct 26 2007, 06:39 PM) [snapback]97230[/snapback]<div class='quotemain'>
Right and Rossi isn't arrogent? I think both Lorenzo and Rossi are arrogent men Lorenzo I agree but don't forget Rossi is as well. He has been famous for moaning all season long.


spoken like a true stoner fan