Ducati

is 2006 a good year for Ducati???

there at the top in
Motogp - Loris Capirossi
WSBK - Troy Bayliss
BSB - Gregorio Lavilla

Maybe Ducati are having a lucky start to the year or they are on a roll

Its a bit early but,yes,so far so good-only spoilt by them whining about capacity.

Yeah I think 2006 has been and will be good for Ducati. You can attribute a lot of it to the engineers really getting things right but I think they have had some pretty good fortune. For starters they have been having really good luck with Bridgestones in MotoGP. They gathered two very experienced riders to help development in Sete Gibernau in MotoGP and Troy Bayliss in WSB. I think Bayliss is the main reason for their success in WSB, I'm a big JT fan but he had an off year and I've never thought much of Laconi. Bayliss has proven that the twins are still very competitive when under the right pilot. And the BSB spec 999 was sorted last year and has continued this year. I just hope Haslam can give Lavilla a run for his money. We'll see if they can keep it up the in the AMA, the Hodge and BBoz are going to have a tough time keeping up with Mladin I think.

I don't think Ducati will last long at the top of MotoGP, I think Rossi and a couple of Hondas will slip up there ahead of Capirossi and Sete.

WSBK seems under control by Bayliss.

BSB idem by Lavilla.

Does anybody know the difference in service intervals between WSBK and BSB Ducatis.This was a major gripe of Ducati with team costs but the BSB bikes are doing very well and Ive heard no issues with money from the team chief of Airwaves Ducati.Maybe they are well funded and like to keep financial matters quiet,I don`t know.

Some might disagree with me but i think WSKB shows the lack of real talent when bayliss can just walk back in and be the man after not going too well in Motogp

Troy was a pretty solid performer in MotoGP. He was a regular top 10 guy with a lot of top 5s and pushed for podiums quite often in 2003. In 2004 the GP4 was an absolute pile, the GP3 was a better overall package and I think Ruben Xaus might have come close to proving that with a podium at Qatar. And Troy never got on with the RC211V, it suits some and doesn't others. But I will agree, the talent level is a notch or two down from MotoGP.

I'm not very keen on WSBK - or BSB so I'm not in position to predict how good will be this year for Ducati and I'm not going to.
As for MotoGp I'll say they'll have a better year than 2004 and 2005, they will be up there in front. For sure they are going to be involved in the championship race (at least in fight for podium) if Bridgestone keep giving them good tyres.

My belif is Rossi only lost Jerez because Elais used him as a plough. So I think Capirossi got lucky there. But still, he did well and should be a contender for the no. 2 plate this year.... because we all know Rossi`s gonna win.... again
WSBK Bayliss will do it, but I wouldn`t say he`s got it under control. JT and Corser are really taking it to him and he`s definately got a fight on his hands. And I definately don`t think Bayliss`s return to the top signifys the lack of skill in WSBK. Troy had a .... year last year because he refused to even try to adapt his style to the RCV. The same could be said about the Duke. He didnt adapt. And he still managed good results in `03. That shows skill if you ask me. He`s just at home on a Duke superbike. He was at the top when he left and at the top when he came back. Ducati`s major letdown this season I think was Lanzi. Kid really needs to pick up his game if he wants to keep his Factory Ducati ride. What happened to his results from last year?

Definitely the Ducatis are here to stay on top, as it showed at the end of last year Capirossi is very strong on that bike, i think he will end up runner up to Rossi this year.
Although the Ducati is not as strong as the RC211V, Capirossi is a better rider than Nicky and Dani.

always like the duke and i will end by saying i said in 2003 to my m8 id love to c rossi in red on the duke, thats wot i was hoping.

Ducati would have to sell everything they own to afford Rossi though. Besides, I think they`re happy with Capriex and Gibernau.
Caparossi is a great rider, but I wouldn`t say hes better than Nicky or Dani. It`s too hard to tell. For one Capirossi`s been riding in GPs since before the wheel was invented, so he`s got a mountain of experience, and this year his bike and team were a lot like Suzuki in WSBK last year: prepared, ready, bike sorted, now go out and win your first race. Honda on the other hand, were like Ten Kate at the start of last year. The bike wasn`t ready, making it real hard to be competitive. Loris has also been leading the Ducati team for a few years, so he knows what`S going on and how his bike works and how to make it work better. On the other hand, Dani`s a Rookie and Nicky`s always been the number 2 guy. Dani`s only been riding an RCV for a few months, definately hasnt reached his peak yet. And while theres a slim chance he wont do well on an RCV due to his size, I think his 125/250 results prove he's got plenty of skill. As for Nicky.... well you just gotta be patient. All Nicky`s fans know that

I pretty much agree with Ooost and Teo on this really

I'm not sure about WSB or BSB because they're totally unrelated. The tyre/bike/rider might as well be from a different planet and they are inferior championships, that has been proven. Bayliss/999 = Haga/R7, some guys were meant to be on certain bikes and can't ride anything else.

I'd agree with the guys as far as GP's go. Rossi/Yam combo on fire after Qatar and way to many Hondas, or at least thats how it appaers. That also backs Richo's theory that Rossi would have won in Jerez. You could talk about that one all night. I'm not so sure he would, Loris rode an undeniably brilliant race by anyone's standards, the next few races will tell a story. I am sure of this, Rossi isn't so sure he's going to win the next few races, not like he has been in the past, so that aggression that Nicky was able to tap into in Qatar, he's gonna need an awful lot of it if it pans out that he and Vale are fighting for the win. Rossi is going to be very tough on anyone in his way. We're only two rounds in to the season. I think there is more magic to come from Loris. Bring on the 'ground war' as Wayne Rainey called it.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (skidmark @ Apr 21 2006, 04:48 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Bring on the 'ground war' as Wayne Rainey called it.
waitin to see them dog faces!

Nicky Vs. Rossi Vs. The ugly guy... who wouldve thought that two years ago?