d'Antin Ducati

Grrrr Ben I was about to post that hahaha.

Hoffman and Cardoso to D'Antin Ducati.

Ellison to Tech3 Yamaha.

Rolfo possibly back to 250cc.

Biaggi and Barros still officially unknown for.

That´s really bad news for Rolfo, I thought he was going to keep his place, he did OK. I don´t think he´ll go back to 250cc, maybe he can go to WCM, KR or Tech3. I guess Hoffman´s passport is making things happen for him.

Ohh, I'm aggrivated.
What is this? I thought Hoffman would be visiting the kitty litter on a Corona GSXR next season? I would have been even more aggrivated if Suzuki dropped Corser or Kagayama. They've got a good team there, they don't need a third rider anyway.
Hoffman, IMO is THE worst rider in the motoGP. Sure the ZX-RR is no RCV, but it's not the worst bike on the grid. Not by a long shot. And Hoffmann was consistently mixing it with the lower end of the grid, while Nakano and OJ have clocked up a podium each in the last 2 seasons, and these finishes were Kawasaki's best results in 30 years. A best result of 8th after 3 years can't compare.
He's not a talented rider. He didn't deserve a place in motoGP. I think all he did was win some european championship. Methinks he was only kept on Germany-based KRT to keep local supporters happy.
He should have never got the ride in the first place. Kawa have fronted some talented riders in their short MotoGP history, like Nakano and McCoy. Hoffman dosen't fit in with riders like these. I think (and hope) DePuniet will do a lot better, although I think OJ should have had first dibs on the ride.
And now D'Antin has inherited this problem. I don't really care that much about D'Antin (Factory Dukes are so much faster ) But even a team like them could have done better than Hoffman. They could have picked a rider from 250's or WSBK. There's a lot of talent in those classes right now. Or if they wanted "experience" they might have even been able to scavange through Honda's reject bin. They might consider themselves too good for D'Antin Dukes, but Barros and Biaggi need bikes if they want to stay in motoGP next year. And we like to give these two a bit of a hard time because theyre "dead wood", and maybe they are, but at the end of the day, they're both way better than Hoffman.

I apoligise to any Hoffman fans (if such a thing exists) but that's my opinion. I'm a big Kawa fan and I belive the ZX-RR has potential. And, while Nakano and OJ have been doing a great job trying to get it somewhat competitive on Kawa's tightass racing budget, Hoffman has had a full factory ride for two years now and his greatest achivement has been keeping it.

Just read the full article. D'antin are getting GP06's???? No longer a year behind. Congrats to Luis D'antin, but it's such a waste on Hoffmann

If you think getting Hoffman is crap what is he doing with Cardoso?

I think Cardoso is no good to be there I think d'Antin just wants him for his sponsorships. Hoffman in my opinion is a decent rider but his real talent is in developing a bike. He may not get the resulsts Nakano has been getting but it is a Hoffman designed bike that Nakano rides.

I don't have any particular positives or negatives about either of the riders but I like Hoffman more than I like Cardoso.

Cardoso raced for D'antín's team in the Spanish SBK championship in 2004 and won it by a mile, I think D'Antín has faith in Cardoso, because he doesn´t have any powerful sponsor. I must agree he didn´t impress at all in his previous outing with the 500cc Yamaha.

On the other hand I think DORNA and Ducati are probably very happy to keep Hoffmann (The German bike market is the biggest in Europe), so I think D'Antín just picked him because he got nice "presents" from DORNA (€€€€) and Ducati (06 bikes).

Hofmann has never really had the race pace required for MotoGP. However, he is responsible for the ZX-RR's reasonable results. Hofmann was the one who had been developing since 2002. I think D'antin may have done themselves a favor in signing Hofmann. He may not achieve the best results but I feel they won't be any worse than what Rolfo achieved in 2005 and if they do remain on Dunlop as is suggested, Hofmann's superior set up and development knowledge could be very vital to the underfunded team.

That is exactly my point Ooost. Hoffman has the pace for a midpack performance, I do not think he will win a race but he has great development skills.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (xB Rida @ Dec 21 2005, 07:35 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>That is exactly my point Ooost. Hoffman has the pace for a midpack performance, I do not think he will win a race but he has great development skills.
Tend too go with that ,too.