Joined Feb 2007
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Tennessee
Ex-500cc rider turned MotoGP televison commentator Daryl Beattie recently scored a unique scoop. The former Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki GP rider interviewed Ducati crewchief Jeremy Burgess at Burgess' house in Adelaide, Australia.
The interview was telecast on Network 10 in Australia on or about May 10.
Ex-Kanemoto mechanic Burgess is renown for his forthright manner and an inability to give deceptive answers when asked direct questions. He lived up to this reputation in the interview with Beattie.
Regarding the progress of the Ducati GP11 as ridden by Casey Stoner, Beattie asked if he foresees a time in 2011 when the team won't be playing catch up to the other teams. Burgess answered, "We'll be playing catch-up until we get ahead of them, I guess."
Having been on the inside of several GP teams, Beattie realizes that all development work on the current GP11 made during the 2011 season could hurt development on the GP12. Burgess agreed, saying that the constant development of the 800 at some point could hurt the development of the 1000, saying "There are certain things we can do this year to carry on and improve and certain things we can do to accelerate our bike for next year." Burgess inferred that at some point a decision will have to be made as to which direction the team will make.
Beattie directly asked Burgess if now that he had seen the inside of the Ducati MotoGP bike and team, if he "... wondered how the hell Casey ever won races on it?".
Burgess responded, "Look, Casey is a fantastic rider and did a wonderful job on that bike. But there were too many DNFs. In this particular instance, Ducati let themselves down by only analyzing the success. They never analyzed the failure. They treated the DNFs of Casey as (being) more specific to Casey, as bad luck rather than something not quite right (with the bike). .. Perhaps Casey had to ride too close to the limit to win. the margin Casey had was a lot slimmer than we would like to have on the bike that Valentino rides."
Burgess said that updates to the engine and suspension have taken place on the Ducati MotoGP bike this season but that the changes to the electronics have been wide-reaching. "We tidied up the electronics and passed that down to the satellite teams and they have confirmed that it's better."
Burgess was interviewed at different spots on his property in Australia, in one scene he stands in front of a large stack of cut logs, with taller livestock fencing in the background.
Asked how he expects the racing to play out after 2011 when new 1000cc rules take over, Burgess said that he didn't see it being much different in terms of who will win races. "... the same top three, or four or five riders," he said.
Burgess could not hide his disappointment that the technical rule changes to the GP class do great harm to it. "It's disappointing going back to the 1000s, he said, "Suzuki and others want stability in the regulations (which will drive) more equal competition. It's heavily rumored that Suzuki has not begun work on a liter MotoGP bike and will exit MotoGP as a factory team at the end of the 2011 season.
"I know in talking with Yamaha last year," Burgess said, "that they'd like to build a V4 engine but while regulations are continually changing they don't have the manpower to allow for that to happen."
Beattie asked Burgess for his opinion about the addition of the "claiming rule bikes" to the 2012 MotoGP world championship and if he thought they'll "be anywhere near competitive".
Burgess didn't even try to stifle his laughter, saying amidst more laughs, "No, not at all. It's sort of a hair brained scheme to try and put more bikes on the grid. I can't see anyone wanting to spend anywhere near that sort of money to finish sixteenth."
The interview was telecast on Network 10 in Australia on or about May 10.
Ex-Kanemoto mechanic Burgess is renown for his forthright manner and an inability to give deceptive answers when asked direct questions. He lived up to this reputation in the interview with Beattie.
Regarding the progress of the Ducati GP11 as ridden by Casey Stoner, Beattie asked if he foresees a time in 2011 when the team won't be playing catch up to the other teams. Burgess answered, "We'll be playing catch-up until we get ahead of them, I guess."
Having been on the inside of several GP teams, Beattie realizes that all development work on the current GP11 made during the 2011 season could hurt development on the GP12. Burgess agreed, saying that the constant development of the 800 at some point could hurt the development of the 1000, saying "There are certain things we can do this year to carry on and improve and certain things we can do to accelerate our bike for next year." Burgess inferred that at some point a decision will have to be made as to which direction the team will make.
Beattie directly asked Burgess if now that he had seen the inside of the Ducati MotoGP bike and team, if he "... wondered how the hell Casey ever won races on it?".
Burgess responded, "Look, Casey is a fantastic rider and did a wonderful job on that bike. But there were too many DNFs. In this particular instance, Ducati let themselves down by only analyzing the success. They never analyzed the failure. They treated the DNFs of Casey as (being) more specific to Casey, as bad luck rather than something not quite right (with the bike). .. Perhaps Casey had to ride too close to the limit to win. the margin Casey had was a lot slimmer than we would like to have on the bike that Valentino rides."
Burgess said that updates to the engine and suspension have taken place on the Ducati MotoGP bike this season but that the changes to the electronics have been wide-reaching. "We tidied up the electronics and passed that down to the satellite teams and they have confirmed that it's better."
Burgess was interviewed at different spots on his property in Australia, in one scene he stands in front of a large stack of cut logs, with taller livestock fencing in the background.
Asked how he expects the racing to play out after 2011 when new 1000cc rules take over, Burgess said that he didn't see it being much different in terms of who will win races. "... the same top three, or four or five riders," he said.
Burgess could not hide his disappointment that the technical rule changes to the GP class do great harm to it. "It's disappointing going back to the 1000s, he said, "Suzuki and others want stability in the regulations (which will drive) more equal competition. It's heavily rumored that Suzuki has not begun work on a liter MotoGP bike and will exit MotoGP as a factory team at the end of the 2011 season.
"I know in talking with Yamaha last year," Burgess said, "that they'd like to build a V4 engine but while regulations are continually changing they don't have the manpower to allow for that to happen."
Beattie asked Burgess for his opinion about the addition of the "claiming rule bikes" to the 2012 MotoGP world championship and if he thought they'll "be anywhere near competitive".
Burgess didn't even try to stifle his laughter, saying amidst more laughs, "No, not at all. It's sort of a hair brained scheme to try and put more bikes on the grid. I can't see anyone wanting to spend anywhere near that sort of money to finish sixteenth."
