Here's for the Pedrosa Haters,

Bsnell said:

Pedders Repsol Honda ride was saved by Stoner retiring, were it not for that he'd have been on a Satellite Honda probably this year.

Click to expand...

Having Stoner then Marquez would have been the obvious thing to do. Just like keeping Pedrosa was the obvious thing to do when Stoner went fishing, and again for 2015-2016. There simply wasnt another rider available that was close to being as good as him. Some people let their emotions get in the way of smart decision making. In 2016, Honda will evaluate the talent pool, IF they think baby Marquez, Miller, Redding, etc etc is capable of competing for the title, they will then replace Pedrosa. But, if he is still winning races, climbing on the podium 60-70% of the time, dont be at all surprised if they sign him again

I think Dovi is better than Pedrosa now. He gets better and better. IMO, he was better than Pedro in 2011.

SlartyBartFast said:

I think Dovi is better than Pedrosa now. He gets better and better. IMO, he was better than Pedro in 2011.

Click to expand...

You may be right, but Dovi chose to stay with Ducati and Gigi...

And perhaps HRC didnt come knocking on Dovi door at all, cause they dont see him as an equal or better than Pedrosa...

So who else could HRC have hired to replace Pedrosa for 2015 and 2016?

HRC will not come knocking on Dovi's door again. After Dovi forced them to spend an absolute mint to run 3 factory bikes when they wanted to bring Stoner in instead of accepting a factory backed ride in another team he effectively burned that bridge to the ground.

Of course it could be argued that since Dovi pulled off what either of them couldn't, it could be argued that was money well spent.

SlartyBartFast said:

I think Dovi is better than Pedrosa now. He gets better and better. IMO, he was better than Pedro in 2011.

Click to expand...

And you are entitled to that opinion. Yea, Dovi finished ahead of Pedrosa on points in 2011 , but not because he was the better rider. He had a nice consistent year, but just didnt have little extra to contend week in week out for wins. Dani had 2 dnf's and 3 more missed races, but still managed 3 wins compared to none for Dovi. Honda hired the right person for the job as 2nd rider on the HRC factory team. I will say that i have been really disappointed in Dani's form of late. Its almost like he layed down a bit after signing his contract.

budoist said:

HRC will not come knocking on Dovi's door again. After Dovi forced them to spend an absolute mint to run 3 factory bikes when they wanted to bring Stoner in instead of accepting a factory backed ride in another team he effectively burned that bridge to the ground.

Click to expand...

WTF?? HRC signed a contract with Dovi that they then decided to .... him on when Stoner became available and he held them to their word. How is that HIS fault? That debacle will rank with HRC's decision to move Miller up to MGP bypassing M2 and not keeping Casey in 2007.

Pedrosa has lost the plot, hasn't he? I think the injuries have finally taken their toll.

RCV600RR said:

Pedrosa has lost the plot, hasn't he? I think the injuries have finally taken their toll.

Click to expand...

No, but he has lost his crew...

Mick D said:

WTF?? HRC signed a contract with Dovi that they then decided to .... him on when Stoner became available and he held them to their word. How is that HIS fault? That debacle will rank with HRC's decision to move Miller up to MGP bypassing M2 and not keeping Casey in 2007.

Click to expand...

Wow. Where did I say, or even hint, that Dovi was at fault for any of what went down? You're right that Honda did try to screw him on the contract by demoting him to a satellite team, but that doesn't change the facts of what happened.

When Casey decided that enough was enough with Ducati, Honda had 4 options:

1) Let him walk - which was not an option so we'll automatically scratch that
2) Put him in the satellite team and keep their current factory team - this would mean the very strong possibility that the satellite team would win the championship if Casey had any real support which would be good for Honda but could sour the relationship with Repsol
3) Put him on the factory bike and run a 3 man team - this would be good for Honda and Repsol, but exorbitantly expensive
4) Put him on the factory bike and move Dovi to the satellite team - this would be good for Honda and Repsol and be cheaper to maintain

Dovi could have opted to go to the satellite team with factory support, but it would have been a demotion in status at least so he (rightfully) held them to their contract. Good for him on principle, but it forced Honda to go with their most expensive option which they didn't appreciate, and they showed that by not renewing his contract and not offering him even a satellite bike and Honda isn't known for being very forgiven if they feel snubbed.

That's all I was saying.

budoist said:

Wow. Where did I say, or even hint, that Dovi was at fault for any of what went down? You're right that Honda did try to screw him on the contract by demoting him to a satellite team, but that doesn't change the facts of what happened.

When Casey decided that enough was enough with Ducati, Honda had 4 options:

1) Let him walk - which was not an option so we'll automatically scratch that
2) Put him in the satellite team and keep their current factory team - this would mean the very strong possibility that the satellite team would win the championship if Casey had any real support which would be good for Honda but could sour the relationship with Repsol
3) Put him on the factory bike and run a 3 man team - this would be good for Honda and Repsol, but exorbitantly expensive
4) Put him on the factory bike and move Dovi to the satellite team - this would be good for Honda and Repsol and be cheaper to maintain

Dovi could have opted to go to the satellite team with factory support, but it would have been a demotion in status at least so he (rightfully) held them to their contract. Good for him on principle, but it forced Honda to go with their most expensive option which they didn't appreciate, and they showed that by not renewing his contract and not offering him even a satellite bike and Honda isn't known for being very forgiven if they feel snubbed.

That's all I was saying.

Click to expand...

Total rubbish!! Dovi was offered a satellite bike. He rejected it & went to tech 3.

SlartyBartFast said:

I think Dovi is better than Pedrosa now. He gets better and better. IMO, he was better than Pedro in 2011.

Click to expand...

In my opinion dovi is in the best moment of his career. He is underestimated because he isn't a showman like Rossi,Marquez or Lorenzo but his talent is as big as their... Probably with a true factory bike he could plays every race for the podium,and why not maybe win...

My apologies budoist, your previous post seemed to lay the blame for the SNAFU at Dovi's doorstep when it was really of HRC's own doing.

No worries. And totally Honda's doing. Honda has been very used to running roughshod over every one and every thing to advance its agenda (see: Rossi. See also: Rookie Rule). So it was a foregone conclusion for them that Dovi would just acquiesce and let Stoner take over his seat and that just didn't happen.

would agree that he has had a good bike to win the championship on. but he has had rossi hayden lorenzo and now marquez. plus unfortunate injuries. so the article is saying he is a bad rider for not beating the greatest moto gp riders.

I'm pretty sure that Pedrosa, and Alberto Puig, would have something to say about including Nicky in that group.

and surely that would be the voice of envy speaking

Personally, I am NOT a Dani fan---ever since he rammed Nicky back when he was going for the championship back in 2006---then to add insult to the whole program, Honda redesigned the 5 cylinder 990 to fit nobody but tiny Dani! Wasted years for Nicky (one of the nicest, most talented racers ever) and little Dani still didn't win the #1 plate! Now Dani can't even deal with his new teammate---Marc Marquez, much less Jorge or Vali. He will win a occasional race, but then he'll fall down and break some thing...

Jumkie said:

" JK just pointed out the FACT in the last 10 years (and we could go back 20) every HRC factory rider who has ridden the machine at least three years has won a championship EXCEPT Pedrosa, and your genius retort is, 'i get it, you hate Pedro'? Well...that is breathtaking. Logic much? Yes, we get it...your deduction skills suck. .

Click to expand...

And your FACTS suck, Dovi rode the Repsol bike for 3 years and not only didnt win a title, but won 1 race in wet conditions.

povol said:

And your FACTS suck, Dovi rode the Repsol bike for 3 years and not only didnt win a title, but won 1 race in wet conditions.

Click to expand...

Welcome back Pov....

You will also note that he neglected to mention Taddy Okada....so within the 20 year challenge time frame.....

Taddy was at Repsol Honda from 1996 to 2000, so whole 5 seasons...and in that time he managed 4 wins but 0 championships....

...

Nuances, gentlemen. I`m sure he meant the "main" rider, the first rider in a team...