Is MCN full of crap?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (frosty58 @ Apr 5 2006, 03:34 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>hmmmm..... is this a reference to hayden?

oh err not sure frosty !!!, was actuall referring to the newcomer who shuntted him off,. I guess 'redneck' have several applications,. top which one are we applying to the Nicky fella ?

as a side issue, do you think Nicky's contract will be up this year if Podrosa out guns him ?
h really needs to get the finger out, you think ?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (TopCat @ Apr 5 2006, 09:43 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>oh err not sure frosty !!!, was actuall referring to the newcomer who shuntted him off,. I guess 'redneck' have several applications,. top which one are we applying to the Nicky fella ?
nicky be a good ol boy ( redneck ) from kentucky.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (TopCat @ Apr 5 2006, 09:43 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>as a side issue, do you think Nicky's contract will be up this year if Podrosa out guns him ?
h really needs to get the finger out, you think ?
i've been thinkin about this & if nick struggles badly i think his repsol ride will be over. but if the weed really just out shines him a bit why get rid of him? keep him & have 2 top guys & a hell of a strong team. the repsol squad have'nt seen a really strong team since the doohan/criville days. but if hayden get's the boot i think he'll end up on a honda satillite squad, pons perhaps, or the factory yami. but i think he'll been in repsol colours in 07.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (skidmark @ Apr 5 2006, 12:33 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Hayden's contract runs out at the end of 2006. He has to up his game for sure this year. All Honda want's to do is beat Rossi and/or win the championship and they won't care who they use to do it. I can't see him at HRC next year but it's too early to tell for certain. I think it will be obvious after a few rounds, say when we get to Le Mans or Catalunya. There should be a pattern developing by then.
agreed. but i think when 3/4 of the season has gone well have a bead on whether ol nick is gone from hrc.

I'm torn as far as what will become of Hayden. Part of me says there is a reason that HRC have been patient with him and surrounded him with a crew second to none (barring Burgess's boys) which leads me to believe that he will stay at Repsol for 2007. At the same time it's hard to argue with Dani Pedrosa, the rider Honda have developed their 800cc program around. My argument for Hayden has always been that Doohan didn't get his first win until his fourth season, if Hayden wants to keep that Repsol ride he will need to bag a few more wins in 2006 or else his future is uncertain.

But Hayden ain`t up against guys like Rainey, Gardiner, Schwantz, ect

At the end of the day, Repsol has 2 bikes, not one. It`s not like they have to decide between Hayden and Pedrosa. (I think if they did the kentucky kid wouldn`t be flying the Repsol colours right now) And if they want to replace him they have to get a better rider, that makes sense right? Who can they get? Rossi? Fat chance. They spat out Gibernau, they`ve already got Pedrosa, and I think it`d be a cold day in hell before Cappers and Ducati part ways.... That just leaves the Fortuna boys. And at the moment he`s got the edge on both of them too. Hayden might not look too impressive, with one win from 3 years on the grid`s top RCV... but the reality is in a grid full of inexperienced and mediocre riders, He`s one of the best Honda can get. Not to mention the fact that he`s got more experience on an RCV than Melandri, Elias and Pedrosa put together (Not that it always shows)..... That`d be the argument for him.
Against him you got the fact that Melandri beat him on a satellite RCV in the first year he had such a bike, as opposed to Nicky`s 3rd. He`s being bettered by one of Honda`s Spanish young guns, with the other one snapping at his heels, And Crashey`s looking pretty good to (God forbid that punk would get a factory ride ) So there`s plenty of young blood who could potentially flourish in Nicky`s bike.

I guess time will tell. If he proves a handy developer and works the RCV up to a Rossi like level of development, that might be his saving grace. Because coming second in a championship really aint enough anymore. (I won`t count Rossi as first cuz no one cuda beaten him in`05. He was all over it.)
Honda need someone who can bring their RCV back up to the top and help it maintain that 75% win record. I`d like to think Nicky could do it, but he did get a bit confused with it all in preseason. Dosen`t strike me as the einstien of the grid, either. I don`t think he needs to pull his finger out, he`s probably giving 110% allready. He needs to prve himself as Honda`s main man. If he can`t do that, then not even that big freindly grin could save him.

Besides I thought we agreed People from Kentucky were `Appalchian Americans`, not hillbillies

Not to sound like a Hayden disciple but he claims he knows he has more in him and I have to say I agree with that. Whether or not it's enough to become a consistent challenger for wins I don't know. When Hayden was in the AMA he worked his way up to being champion, he never had a win it or bin it attitude. He just learned what he could and tried his best to understand what the bike was doing underneath him. His confidence in the RC51 was unbelievable.

When I watch Nicky now I don't see the same confidence in the bike except at Laguna Seca, Sachsenring and Phillip Island. I know it's the slow way 'round but when I see the rear wheel stepped out that is when he is most comfortable and at his best. If he can finally get comfortable I think he will find that last bit and like I said before, whether or not that last bit is enough to make him a consistent challenger I don't know. It's now or never to be a challenger with Honda, he will never have the opportunity to develop the RC211V the way he likes again if he's outshined this season.

Here`s a theory: Would NH have been better off staying in SBK? I think he`s a Superbiker who got yanked off the bike he was comfortable on and put on the fastest racebike in the world. What if Nicky went to world SBK? Could he have kept it in Honda`s hands and denied the Hodge and JT their championship titles? I think Nicky would have been better off staying in WSBK, so would Bayliss and Edwards (Now That`d be an epic championship) but the mentality is `MotoGPs the top, that`s where the best have got to go, even if SBK would be a better option. If SBK were level with GP in terms of Prestige, it wouldnt be a problem.

Honda Europe, the guns behind the old Castrol Honda WSB team, asked Colin Edwards who was the best qualified rider to be his teammate before 2001 and before 2002. Both seasons he said Nicky Hayden but Honda Europe didn't want their factory team to have two Americans on it. Honda never gave him the shot to go to WSB. Would it have helped him? Absolutely.

That`s what I thinought, Ooost. Gee I wish WSBK and GP were level ground. But They`ll never let that happen. Too much money in GP, too popular compared to SBK.

You never know richo, in 2001 WSB was very close to MotoGP in popularity. MotoGP had just lost Doohan and Criville, Rossi hadn't established himself as a legend yet, Kenny Roberts Jr. was the defending world champion. While WSB had Colin Edwards as defending champion, GP ace Tady Okada, the emergence of Troy Bayliss, the Cinderlla stories of Corser and the Aprilia as well as Ben Bostrom and the Dunlop shod 996 and Neil Hodgson becoming a regular front runner. I believe it was 2001 or 2002 winter testing when all the GP factories stopped development on the 500s to focus on the 990s and a journalist at a WSB test, can't remember who now, offered $100 or some amount of money to any rider who could better the outright lap record which was held by Garry McCoy at the time. Ben Bostrom agreed to the deal and was faster through the first three splits until he got bogged by a slowed rider. Just an example of how close the popularity and performance of the series were at the time.

And you never know, with all the money issues going on in MotoGP right now with the decreased displacement and the growing popularity of WSB we could have a similar situation occur in a few years.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Ooost @ Apr 8 2006, 09:11 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>And you never know, with all the money issues going on in MotoGP right now with the decreased displacement and the growing popularity of WSB we could have a similar situation occur in a few years.
somehow i just don't think this situation will happen. wsbk is an awesom series & i enjoy it immensly, but it's just not quite the same. when the screamers went away & the new strokers came in, at that point in time, i think is the closest sbk will get to the gp's in popularity. if & when rossi leaves, there will be a dip in popularity, but i don't think it'll be as bad as some people think. motogp is "da bomb" for me no matter who's in it. & always will be. ya just can't beat it. alway's be the best racer's & the best racing machine's in the world!

I 100% agree with you in that MotoGP will always be the top tier of motorcycle road racing and most true fans understand that. I just think that the state the sport is in right now with its excessive spending can't last forever and when it becomes a serious issue there won't be 19 bikes on the grid for 17 rounds. We may only have 13 rounds with anywhere from 16-24 bikes on the grid, it;s just hard to say what will happen with the current costs of the series.

Yeah, money sucks

Point is, as soon as WSBK was about to be level with GP, they throw in Rossi and the 990s and KABOOM!..... WSBK gets left in the dust again. That`s my point. WSBK wont get more popular than GP because they wont let it. It is nice to see a healthy grid in SBK though. Pity about GP.