Bradl to get Factory support in 2014?
- Thread starter elitemafia
- Start date
Joined Oct 2012
3K Posts | 725+
Crab Key
I must be an ..... then.I don't particularly rate Bradl. Nice kid, I wish more riders were like him personally. But his performance was good, not great. His results were exactly would should be expected given his equipment. He wasn't going to beat the Jap factory bikes, but he should have easily beaten all the CRTs (that for me includes the DuCRTs). So what should he write his momma about? That he finished in the running order of a bike capable of 5-7? Ok, I suppose, for a rookie. I'll give him that. Other than that, I don't think he is much better than Alvaro. And I dont rate Alvaro. So at least hes better than a non-rated Spaniard to me. Bradl is as good as the top riders in the sport, but if he "deserves" factory support, then you have to make the case why others of his caliber do not. Thats where I think you may run into trouble. Friend, don't get tempted to buy into this meritocracy ........, we both know riders don't get rides based purely on their talent.
Most of that is defensible, but who are these other riders? Do they work with Honda? No, it's not a meritocracy, but within your business scope you give equipment to those with greater potential. And as far as HRC is concerned, he has potential worth backing up. Or at least greater potential than the blonde-tipped Spainish dude.
In the end I'm just glad to see a newbie get some decent equipment that might allow him to go up a step. What he does with it is his issue.
Joined Feb 2009
3K Posts | 2+
siebenbürgen süße heimat!
no probs.
spot on post dr.no.
who deserves the hrc factory kit more than bradl?who has more potential than the last moto2 champion who had a good rookie season (i guess we can all agree on that)
I like Bradl. I don't think he's a Marquez, but he is a solid performer that might give some of the front three a run for their money.
I see him battling it out with Crutchlow and Smith for 5th place, mostly.
Sadly, due to the economics and structure of MotoGP, just getting a satellite bike on a podium is a major effort and something that has been rare for ten years. I think Checcinello (sp?) is a good judge of talent and has a solid base of engineers and mechanics and support crew running his outfit.
IIRC he positioned himself as a feeder to the HRC factory team and I believe that's what he is doing. Bradl will be given the equipment to show what he can do. If in a couple of years he hasn't gotten a podium, he will be replaced with someone who can.
At the moment, the riders that, IMHO, can are Iannone and Espargaro but they are on sub-standard kit.
I see him battling it out with Crutchlow and Smith for 5th place, mostly.
Sadly, due to the economics and structure of MotoGP, just getting a satellite bike on a podium is a major effort and something that has been rare for ten years. I think Checcinello (sp?) is a good judge of talent and has a solid base of engineers and mechanics and support crew running his outfit.
IIRC he positioned himself as a feeder to the HRC factory team and I believe that's what he is doing. Bradl will be given the equipment to show what he can do. If in a couple of years he hasn't gotten a podium, he will be replaced with someone who can.
At the moment, the riders that, IMHO, can are Iannone and Espargaro but they are on sub-standard kit.
Look back at history, championships have been won with zero wins. We have been, over the last ten years, in a bit of a funny era where blitzing the opposition seems to have been the norm.
This is anomalous to historical race results.
It's much more likely that as he has been a Tech 3 rider for two seasons and instrumental in developing their Mistral project bike, as he has been a reliable contender, as he did great work both at Aspar and PolarisWorld he has exactly the sort of personality, skill and drive that Guy, Herve and Bernard are looking for.
Herve Poncheral didn't get his team to be the most successful satellite team in GP by making stupid mistakes. I suspect he knows exactly what Smith brings to the team. Certainly more than you or I do.
Joined Jan 2011
3K Posts | 152+
The North!
Gresini running Showa would have been the deciding factor.
Full factory support is useless for data with different suspension.
Full factory support is useless for data with different suspension.
Joined Apr 2011
900 Posts | 4+
somewhere else
Joined Aug 2007
11K Posts | 3K+
Pomona NY
Joined Aug 2007
11K Posts | 3K+
Pomona NY
He didn't go to Ducati specifically to bleed them dry - but then again - he didn't refund any money to them
which would have seemed the right thing to do considering how little he brought to the table in terms of results.
I dont know that I would refund any of my salary if I had a bad day at work.
Perhaps Ducati should have been a bit slicker on the contract front - less base salary, bigger bonuses for performance.
Perhaps Ducati should have been a bit slicker on the contract front - less base salary, bigger bonuses for performance.
Joined Jul 2008
2K Posts | 14+
Tweed Valley Australia
Irony BJ, is that Casey Started at Ducati in 2007 not expected to do much with a low salary and an enormous win bonus written in . I can imagine the Italians, "Yes, ze Casey he rida the bika fast, but he crasha alot, Thees is funny, letsa promise him lotza money for ze win..."
Joined Oct 2006
25K Posts | 4K+
Your Mom's House
They revamped the entire project around VR and used NH as his personal test monkey. Ur now gonna cite he "beat" his teammate? Ah.
Whether he did or not improve is uncertain? Uh, this is planet Earth. Would u like to visit? The law of gravity is less certain than the fact VR did not improve Duc. That, despite moving heaven & Earth.
Then he gave up early this season and circulated while he called on Carmelo Clause to bail him out. Meanwhile he did dishonored his contract to push the bike knowing he just needed to cruise until Valencia. That is VRs legacy.
I seem to remember VR testing things before NH was able to use them. This doesn't suggest that NH was VR's tester.
I also remember quite a few races in 2010 where Stoner just rode around electing not to throw it down the road and coming nowhere close to winning. I guess this was his legacy too given it was part of his legacy on the bike.
The mechanics working on VR's Ducati believe they improved it. Please go and tell them that they didn't.
I think his legacy on the Ducati was a world title and many wins VRs was three thirds in two years,not quite the same.
Joined Feb 2009
3K Posts | 2+
siebenbürgen süße heimat!
of course they have improved the bike in absolute terms.but what counts is improving relative to your competition and here i think there is no doubt that the 2010 bike was better (at least for hayden if we take him as a benchmark for a top rider to perform on it) than the 2012 version.
can you imagine hayden overtaking lorenzo for a podium position in 2012?
can you imagine hayden overtaking lorenzo for a podium position in 2012?
Can't wait to see where Bradl stands compared to Marquez. Yes, they will be under different support, but Bradl has 1 year under his belt. I foresee some good duels between these two & also w/Crutchlow. Bradl just needs more seat time to gain confidence & he can get pretty aggressive once he does.
Joined Aug 2007
11K Posts | 3K+
Pomona NY
Joined Sep 2006
3K Posts | 4+
Leading
