Anyone heard the rumor?

In WSBK no less. Suzuki has nothing but bad luck when it comes to riders, or is it as simple as their bike sucks hairy, salty, ballsacks? The article below was taken from visordown.com.


WSB: Vermeulen tipped as Bayliss replacement
By Visordown News
Paddock gossip is rife over Aussie's return to WSB grid

REMEMBER WHERE you heard this first - the hot rumour right now amongst the WSB paddock inhabitants is that none other than Suzuki stalwart Chris Vermeulen is being widely tipped as the replacement at Ducati for Troy Bayliss.

Bayliss has already announced that he will retire at the end of this year whether he wins the title or not, meaning that Ducati has a problem in who will replace the multiple world champion.

We don't believe that Chris would sacrifice a ride in MotoGP for WSB for one moment, there's no doubt he will end up back there one day but we reckon this move isn't going to happen for a long time yet.

I have heard so many riders for that seat. Edwards, Hayden, Vermy, even Mladin and Xaus and Biaggi. That is a hot seat. Going to be awesome to see who gets it and why.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ogunski @ Jun 18 2008, 02:44 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>We don't believe that Chris would sacrifice a ride in MotoGP for WSB for one moment, there's no doubt he will end up back there one day but we reckon this move isn't going to happen for a long time yet.

I agree with this sentence...but this year things aren't looking very good for Vermi. Maybe, if this continues, his confidence will get lower and lower by the minute and he will end up in SBK. I think this is hard to happen, because Chris is still young, but you never know

I doubt things are going that bad at Rizla-Suzuki and the 1098 isn't the dominant machine either.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (gsfan @ Jun 18 2008, 01:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I doubt things are going that bad at Rizla-Suzuki and the 1098 isn't the dominant machine either.
there is also, a new bike on the way which should address the tyre side grip issues which have caused the rizlas to fade during races. i hope its a big step forward, and not a tiny one which will not be enough of an improvement.

re. the 1098.. now that they are going back to familiar tracks, i reckon the duke will start hauling ... again. i dont think bayliss is the best at adapting to new circuits ...

Kind of a slap in the face to the current line up of WSBK guys if one of them can't grab the seat, but there are no obvious top riders that would either jump ship from their current ride (Checa, Haga, Corser, Max N) and I don't know if they would take a risk with guys like Biaggi, Xaus, or Nieto. WSS doesn't have any obvious standouts either. So I would predict that they will be most likely going outside the circle to find a rider.

At the moment though I don't see Vermi wanting to bow out of MotoGP just yet. I bet the offer is very tempting as he was a great WSBK rider and came so close to winning the championship twice. I agree that it's going to be very exciting to see who does get that seat. Also this begs the question if Fabrizio will be holding his seat on the factory Ducati team as well, so far looks like he will.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Bootsakah @ Jun 18 2008, 08:13 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Kind of a slap in the face to the current line up of WSBK guys if one of them can't grab the seat, but there are no obvious top riders that would either jump ship from their current ride (Checa, Haga, Corser, Max N) and I don't know if they would take a risk with guys like Biaggi, Xaus, or Nieto. WSS doesn't have any obvious standouts either. So I would predict that they will be most likely going outside the circle to find a rider.

At the moment though I don't see Vermi wanting to bow out of MotoGP just yet. I bet the offer is very tempting as he was a great WSBK rider and came so close to winning the championship twice. I agree that it's going to be very exciting to see who does get that seat. Also this begs the question if Fabrizio will be holding his seat on the factory Ducati team as well, so far looks like he will.

Not so fast on Corser...his contract is up this year and rumors have started that he's been sighted in Munich (BMW HQ) a few times. Don't forget, BMW appears to be very serious with their WSB effort and Corser, apparently is a decent development rider.

Also we have Aprilia and KTM coming next year, there's 6 more seats combined (2 per factory)

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Kawzx7R @ Jun 18 2008, 03:34 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Not so fast on Corser...his contract is up this year and rumors have started that he's been sighted in Munich (BMW HQ) a few times. Don't forget, BMW appears to be very serious with their WSB effort and Corser, apparently is a decent development rider.

Also we have Aprilia and KTM coming next year, there's 6 more seats combined (2 per factory)

Ah yes, forgot about the Corser BMW rumor, but damn he is doing better on the Yam this year compared to last. I hate to see him drop down the ranks because he is riding another unknown bike like during his Petronas years. But then again, he is the master of every manufacturer. I wasn't aware of Aprillia and KTM, also there is an American team coming as well on Ducati. Woops better be careful, this is turning into a WSBK post now.

Back to topic, uhhhh ya, Chris Vermeulen, uhhhh sure, ya he's going to stay in GP.

this weeks mcn has byrne as top candidate for the ride.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Craig3089 @ Jun 18 2008, 05:22 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>this weeks mcn has byrne as top candidate for the ride.

Does MCN have manatee's randomly selecting who is going to take the factory Ducati seat?

Sorry, blatant ripoff from a South Park episode.

Quote Wikipedia:
"Cartman is finally introduced to the Family Guy writing staff - a group of manatees. The aquatic mammals, who live in a large tank, pick up "idea balls" and put them into a hole. Each ball has the name of a person, a verb, or a pop-culture reference written on it, and when the balls travel down a shaft, a group of five of them forms a Family Guy joke (e.g. "Laundry" + "Winning" + "Date" + "Mexico" + "Gary Coleman" becomes a clip of Lois asking Peter to do the laundry followed by Peter referring to winning a date in Mexico with Gary Coleman)."

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (gsfan @ Jun 18 2008, 12:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I doubt things are going that bad at Rizla-Suzuki and the 1098 isn't the dominant machine either.
Well the Ducati is winning most of the races. Really it is when Bayliss feels like pushing it for points. But Suzuki although made some strides to be competative they still have yet to hit the mark.

Right now I think Shakey Byrne would be an excellent choice.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Goatboy @ Jun 18 2008, 07:48 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Right now I think Shakey Byrne would be an excellent choice.
Agree. When I started reading the thread it was the first thought in my mind. Surely a shoo-in if there ever was one. Even their riding styles are similar.

The new bike is coming (can't be soon enough) so it makes even more sense for him to stay.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (gsfan @ Jun 18 2008, 06:22 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>The new bike is coming (can't be soon enough) so it makes even more sense for him to stay.

^^^That's assuming that he will be given a choice from Suzuki. He has not exactly set the world on fire, and his teammate was outrperforming him until he was torpedoed.

True enough. If he is a midpacker with the new machine...boot!

C.V. is good but I wonder if he can be a Ducati guy? Being an aussie has to help since they seem to do really well on them like Bayliss and Stoner.