Checa

That's a shame. It would be good to see him as primary rider for Pos Honda on michelins in '07 though.

That's a shame. It would be good to see him as primary rider for Pos Honda on michelins in '07 though.

That will most likely be his situation, lead rider for Pons. Anyone else think there is a chance Pons doesn't return with Honda machinery? After all Honda cost them a solid rider and ultimately their title sponsor which forced them out of the series for 2006. I would not be surprised to see Sito Pons come back in 2007 with new sponsorship and perhaps new machinery. Especially with Herve Poncheral strapped for cash, Yamaha must be keen to find a wealthier satellite operation. Carlos Checa aboard the Michelin shod Pons Yamaha in 2007!

I guess anything's possible. I don't think the Biaggi affair damaged his relationship with Honda too much. He was still gonna put Stoner and Checa on RCVs. And I think Honda would welcome him back.
Whatever happens, I just hope he does come back. I mean he said he'd return, but action speaks louder than words, you know?

i don't think honda would be to keen on supplying 8 machines in 07. especialy since it'll be the first year of the new engine regs.

I think we'll see a reshuffle of teams in 2007. Obviously the factory teams will be there, I think the relationship is strong enough for Honda to stick with Gresini but I can't see the Konica Minolta squad being supplied with Honda 800's and I don't think LCR will have the cash to lease Honda 800's. Tech 3 is a question mark, if they land a solid sponsor they could remain with Yamaha or else your guess is as good as mine, the same goes for D'Antin Ducati and the Pons effort. I have a hard time believing WCM will field an 800cc entry in 2007 if ever. Team KR will rely on HRC continuing to lease engines to them. If we think the grid for 2006 has dwindled, the 2007 grid has the potential to get even smaller.

D'Antin's got a strong relationship with Ducati. Not just in the GP. I can't see them going anywhere else.
Konica Minolta didn't do enough for Honda this year, I'm surprised they've still got their RCV. What do Honda see in Tamada? There's better options when it comes to Japanese riders.
Maybe 2007 isnt the best year for Pons to come back

D'Antín will go where the money is, he is now with Ducati, he used to be with Yamaha and he has signed a contract with Kawasaki to field 4 bikes in the Spanish SBK (the deal is curious, it includes 2 Quatari guys as riders ).

Pons is a Honda man, and he seems pretty confident that he'll be back in 2007.

Those 2 seem to me to be OK for 2007.

King Kenny will be OK as long as he's got manufacturer engines, he couldn't build a competitive engine and I doubt he'll ever be able to do it in the high cost era that's coming.

Poncharal seems to be in a delicate situation, his team is highly critizised for being unprofessional and right now he's only got 1 bike (thanks to Dunlop's sponsorship).

Konica Minolta will surely leave if Tamada has another disastrous season. So that's possibly one bike less in the grid for 2007.

WCM should find a sponsor, because they won't be able to build or buy a 800cc as they are now.

You all think WSBK is the MjotoGP rejects club, so why aren't WCM there?

Because Peter Clifford has too much pride as he should.

Peter Clifford owns a valuable asset (not his bike ) , he's got a 2 Mgp seats. MGP is not like WSBK you can't just go there with your team and say "I'm in", the places are limited and you've got to buy or rent one, Mr. Clifford wont let this valuable places dissapear.

But in order to keep his seats he has to field 2 bikes in each GP so he'll hang on there with whatever junk he can come up with, if I recall correctly in 2004 he had homologation problems with his derived R1 engine so he brought a Harris bike from 1992 to the first GPs, the thing barely managed to run and was prone break, but it was a prototype 500cc bike so it was OK.
Maybe will get to see it again next year if WCM can't find a sponsor.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (teomolca @ Jan 18 2006, 07:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>(the deal is curious, it includes 2 Quatari guys as riders ).
like u said teo... where the money is. these rides were bought & paid for.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (teomolca @ Jan 19 2006, 11:12 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>But in order to keep his seats he has to field 2 bikes in each GP
this no longer applies it seems.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (DRILL666 @ Jan 20 2006, 01:33 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I will never take that view,its two different formats of racing .

I agree with you, Drill, I'm just saying a lot of this people on this forum don't.

In my opinon a motoGP reject is just as likely to become a WSBK reject too.