Hayden to replace Pedro at PI

evo9 said:

I will be over the moon if Nicky beats rossi at PI. This would leave eggs on a lot of faces.

Click to expand...

JPSLotus said:

This has become an increasing point of contention I have with Stoner.

I love him as a rider, but I've felt it more and more difficult to defend his choices because I cannot come up with any of the legendary talents in any sport who walked away the way he did. I suppose it's admirable on some level, but it's also bizarre. Michael Jordan ended his Bulls career with a backbreaking crossover and all net basket on the Jazz in 1998. Yet he STILL came back to play some more.

The way I look at it, is that you (Stoner) have a gift to ride motorcycles better than almost anyone on this planet. Out of 6.5 billion people, the only one with the talent to match, if not exceed Stoner is Marquez. But irrespective, you and I have better odds of winning the lottery than being born with the inherent ability to ride a motorcycle at the level Stoner could. In fact, he still can do it!

I don't want to turn this into another Stoner debate, but the stark contrast between Casey and Nicky Hayden is perfectly exhibited by how Nicky just loves to ride and race motorcycles. I bet he can't envision life without motorcycles. Even VR, it's the same deal. You'll have to pry their hands off of the grips to get them to stop riding.

Instead Stoner lives for spite. He wanted to ride for HRC in place of Pedrosa for two races last year, and when he was denied, that coupled with the 8 Hours of Suzuka disaster was enough to send him running back to Ducati. I, along with many others thought if he was willing to stand in at HRC in 2015, it would be a no-brainer that he would want to at least run a race should Ducati need him to, or even to wild card.

Yet, with the prospect of being able to ride at Phillip Island, a track he so dominated for 6 years running, leading 160 out of 162 laps over those 6 years, he refuses to. He refuses to help Ducati at all. How the .... can you even be a team player if you can't even help your own ....... team out? Instead they are forced to use Hector Barbera because there's no one else to run. They were nearly forced to run one bike at Motegi because he refused to help out there to. If he ran, it would be an incredible event, and I can guarantee you, he would get 100% of the adulation he never got when he was a regular rider. Yet he would rather thumb his nose at everything, and continue with his wishy-washy ........ of testing bikes rather than testing himself against his replacement; Marc Marquez.

I have bagged on Nicky Hayden for being so devoted to HRC, when I felt like they were giving him the shaft. Yet for the first time in a long time, HRC is finally doing right by all of the loyalty Nicky gave them over the years, and decided to tap him to ride the Repsol Honda over anyone else. Had they picked Jack Miller, it would certainly have been understandable, but I was overjoyed to hear that they are finally repaying a drop of the loyalty Nicky gave them over the years in spite of the blatant favoritism Pedrosa was shown over him. Yet 10 years later, Nicky is still the one delivered HRC their first world title after the acrimonious split with Valentino Rossi. Pedrosa has never done this...and yes part of it is down to luck/unfortunate circumstances. But when most riders would have ripped a team to shreds after the Pedrocycle debacle that took away any chance Nicky had to put up a spirited defense of his world title in 2007, he did no such thing. Total class act all the way around, and my dream would be to see him wind up on the podium at Phillip Island. Either way, he's had a great attitude for so many years, and some of the dividends have come due for Nicky. Meanwhile the other one does nothing of the sort. I'm always reminded of The Beatles song 'The End' where it goes, "In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make." There's something to it IMO. Doesn't always work out, but more possibilities exist with a good attitude than without.

Click to expand...

JKant said:

Hmm... well it being Australia and all, I was kind of hoping they'd give Miller a factory ride with Hayden filling in at the Marc VDS team. Sure he's not doing too well at the moment, but he'd have a better shot at a top 10 result and he'd get one (and probably only) ride on a factory bike.

Click to expand...

Daniboy said:

Great news, I hope he does well , wonder what number he will have?

Click to expand...

JPSLotus said:

This has become an increasing point of contention I have with Stoner. .......

Click to expand...

MdubSTYLIE said:

I can think of two that walked away in their prime, Barry Sanders and Jim Brown.

Click to expand...

JPSLotus said:

This has become an increasing point of contention I have with Stoner.

I love him as a rider, but I've felt it more and more difficult to defend his choices because I cannot come up with any of the legendary talents in any sport who walked away the way he did. I suppose it's admirable on some level, but it's also bizarre. Michael Jordan ended his Bulls career with a backbreaking crossover and all net basket on the Jazz in 1998. Yet he STILL came back to play some more.

The way I look at it, is that you (Stoner) have a gift to ride motorcycles better than almost anyone on this planet. Out of 6.5 billion people, the only one with the talent to match, if not exceed Stoner is Marquez. But irrespective, you and I have better odds of winning the lottery than being born with the inherent ability to ride a motorcycle at the level Stoner could. In fact, he still can do it!

I don't want to turn this into another Stoner debate, but the stark contrast between Casey and Nicky Hayden is perfectly exhibited by how Nicky just loves to ride and race motorcycles. I bet he can't envision life without motorcycles. Even VR, it's the same deal. You'll have to pry their hands off of the grips to get them to stop riding.

Instead Stoner lives for spite. He wanted to ride for HRC in place of Pedrosa for two races last year, and when he was denied, that coupled with the 8 Hours of Suzuka disaster was enough to send him running back to Ducati. I, along with many others thought if he was willing to stand in at HRC in 2015, it would be a no-brainer that he would want to at least run a race should Ducati need him to, or even to wild card.

Yet, with the prospect of being able to ride at Phillip Island, a track he so dominated for 6 years running, leading 160 out of 162 laps over those 6 years, he refuses to. He refuses to help Ducati at all. How the .... can you even be a team player if you can't even help your own ....... team out? Instead they are forced to use Hector Barbera because there's no one else to run. They were nearly forced to run one bike at Motegi because he refused to help out there to. If he ran, it would be an incredible event, and I can guarantee you, he would get 100% of the adulation he never got when he was a regular rider. Yet he would rather thumb his nose at everything, and continue with his wishy-washy ........ of testing bikes rather than testing himself against his replacement; Marc Marquez.

I have bagged on Nicky Hayden for being so devoted to HRC, when I felt like they were giving him the shaft. Yet for the first time in a long time, HRC is finally doing right by all of the loyalty Nicky gave them over the years, and decided to tap him to ride the Repsol Honda over anyone else. Had they picked Jack Miller, it would certainly have been understandable, but I was overjoyed to hear that they are finally repaying a drop of the loyalty Nicky gave them over the years in spite of the blatant favoritism Pedrosa was shown over him. Yet 10 years later, Nicky is still the one delivered HRC their first world title after the acrimonious split with Valentino Rossi. Pedrosa has never done this...and yes part of it is down to luck/unfortunate circumstances. But when most riders would have ripped a team to shreds after the Pedrocycle debacle that took away any chance Nicky had to put up a spirited defense of his world title in 2007, he did no such thing. Total class act all the way around, and my dream would be to see him wind up on the podium at Phillip Island. Either way, he's had a great attitude for so many years, and some of the dividends have come due for Nicky. Meanwhile the other one does nothing of the sort. I'm always reminded of The Beatles song 'The End' where it goes, "In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make." There's something to it IMO. Doesn't always work out, but more possibilities exist with a good attitude than without.

Click to expand...

JPSLotus said:

Barry Sanders quit because of the Lions though.

He wanted out of the contract so he could play for a winning team and they refused. So he retired rather than play another season for that dumpster fire.

He wanted to keep playing, just not for a dumpster fire.

Click to expand...

Iamapony said:

Miller has a ride. He is not 100%. And he is crashing more than Cal, which is a difficult accomplishment. It does not seem appropriate at this time for him to jump on the Repsol bike.

Click to expand...

Motokitty said:

I like that he takes every opportunity to ride in GP unlike Stoner.

Click to expand...

birdman said:

Agreed. During commentary last race they said something for once I fully agree with, that being the job of a test rider isn't only to test but also to stand in as required for any injured rider. Whats the point of being a test rider if you don't actually want to ride when needed?

If there was one rider Ducati would love to have wildcard it would be Stoner. It would be a massive boost to PI as well. A chance to give a little back to the fans and prove the doubters wrong. I wonder if the increased physicality of riding the wing bikes means Stoner knows he would only run a couple fast laps then fade badly, and doesn't want people to see that. But we don't care, it wont tarnish the record, we just want to see him out there.

It pains me to say this, but mentality of a champion: Hayden yes, Stoner sadly no.

Click to expand...

MdubSTYLIE said:

I can think of two that walked away in their prime, Barry Sanders and Jim Brown.

Click to expand...

MdubSTYLIE said:

I have so much respect for him for making that decision. He paid his dues the lions could have gotten a lot for him. I will forever hate the Fords and the lions for doing that.

Click to expand...

michaelm said:

Maybe, maybe not.

This alternatively could reflect Stoner having utter confidence he could win at PI. I think Ducati signing Jorge changes the dynamic, given he is apparently friendly with Jorge and has signed on as his riding coach. The one person who wouldn't be helped by him running and winning at PI is Jorge, it would make expectations on him for next year greater and more immediate, and Ducati are no longer in the position of not having won a race for 6 years or being desperate to attract a top rider, nor of Gigi wanting to motivate the current riders by demonstrating his bike can win with an appropriate rider.

By all reports he was happy to/apparently did not fear taking on MM on a factory Honda last year without prospects of winning by his own narrative, although some guy called Alzamora may not have agreed with him.

That said, I am still disappointed as you are that Stoner is not riding Iannone's bike at PI, however i may be able to justify it.

Click to expand...

JPSLotus said:

Mike, the problem is the excuses change depending on the circumstances with Stoner.

First it was he won't ride because Ducati hasn't won in 6 years.

Then it becomes he won't ride because it might somehow upset/not help Lorenzo.

I personally have grown tired of making excuses for him because it all amounts to total ......... He should go talk to a therapist. It might help him get rid of whatever pent up anger he still has.

You know I am a huge fan of his, but I have found him this year to be an utter primadonna who refuses to do anything to help anyone else out. Regardless of Lorenzo riding next year, you do things based on where the team is at in 2016. Him riding under grand prix conditions would be an immense help to the team with regards to feedback on a wingless bike. But he has no interest in helping the team out. It's a black mark on his career I'm afraid, and it's not something that can be ignored.

Glad Nicky Hayden will be riding, at least I can take joy in seeing a guy who enjoys riding rather than one who would rather be an Indian Giver.

Click to expand...

JPSLotus said:

Mike, the problem is the excuses change depending on the circumstances with Stoner.

First it was he won't ride because Ducati hasn't won in 6 years.

Then it becomes he won't ride because it might somehow upset/not help Lorenzo.

I personally have grown tired of making excuses for him because it all amounts to total ......... He should go talk to a therapist. It might help him get rid of whatever pent up anger he still has.

You know I am a huge fan of his, but I have found him this year to be an utter primadonna who refuses to do anything to help anyone else out. Regardless of Lorenzo riding next year, you do things based on where the team is at in 2016. Him riding under grand prix conditions would be an immense help to the team with regards to feedback on a wingless bike. But he has no interest in helping the team out. It's a black mark on his career I'm afraid, and it's not something that can be ignored.

Glad Nicky Hayden will be riding, at least I can take joy in seeing a guy who enjoys riding rather than one who would rather be an Indian Giver.

Click to expand...

JPSLotus said:

Mike, the problem is the excuses change depending on the circumstances with Stoner.



First it was he won't ride because Ducati hasn't won in 6 years.



Then it becomes he won't ride because it might somehow upset/not help Lorenzo.



I personally have grown tired of making excuses for him because it all amounts to total ......... He should go talk to a therapist. It might help him get rid of whatever pent up anger he still has.



You know I am a huge fan of his, but I have found him this year to be an utter primadonna who refuses to do anything to help anyone else out. Regardless of Lorenzo riding next year, you do things based on where the team is at in 2016. Him riding under grand prix conditions would be an immense help to the team with regards to feedback on a wingless bike. But he has no interest in helping the team out. It's a black mark on his career I'm afraid, and it's not something that can be ignored.



Glad Nicky Hayden will be riding, at least I can take joy in seeing a guy who enjoys riding rather than one who would rather be an Indian Giver.

Click to expand...

michaelm said:

I don't disagree if he is signed as a test rider, is the fastest rider available, and the team want him to ride and it is their preference for him to ride above others then he doesn't really have any excuse/reason for not riding, and like you I would have loved to see him ride.

That said, he has never given any undertaking to wildcard and has at all times said he doesn't want to, so perhaps we are the ones with the problem having not taken him at his word.

Can't really disagree with any argument that Hayden has more love for the sport though.

Click to expand...

WVMotoGP99 said:

I am confused why he even needs an excuse. Dude doesn't want to ride, dude doesn't have to ride. Period.

Hired as a test ride and PR poster boy, not a GP rider.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

JPSLotus said:

Test riders as mentioned by birdman have long stood in if in the event one of the regular riders was unable to do so. He also was willing to stand in for Pedrosa last year while being a HRC test rider. Refuses to do so this year. Part of being on the team even as a test rider is to help your team out beyond just testing the bike. There is no good reason to refuse when he was willing to do it last year for HRC. Like I said, he needs to go seek a therapist.

Click to expand...