Jerez testing.

GeePee

3468441364669975

... Lousy bikes but not so lousy riders. Why are they there. Money? Lost the hunger to be at the front? Content with a better pay check instead of a better bike?  

Click to expand...

 


You are stating that like they have the choice. There are only 4 bikes per MSMA member. The teams made their choice. 


 


If Dovi and Hayen had the chance at an M1/RC I'm sure they would have jumped at the chance.


 

GeePee

3468441364669975


Then there is Iannone who has won 8 moto2 races & should've been further ahead in the cue than Smith.

Suerly even RDP should be on a GP bike before BS38.


How did Smith leapfrog so many race winners? As a team manager how do you sell that to your sponsors?

Has he got money behind him? Is it political?
 

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

 


Because Smith works like a trojan for his team, obviously gives good feedback to the R&D team, fits in well and the powers that be at Tech 3 see something in him that you are unaware of.


 


He worked his ... off for two seasons on a very uncompetitive Mistral and took it from totally parts-bin to a pretty competitive machine. Tech3 sell a lot of kit in France, the Mistral is in the most competitive road bike class - 600cc SuperSport. Don't forget, they are the only team that makes everything themselves (apart from the engine, brakes and suspension). To get it where it is has been a monumental effort. Look at his team-mate for an indication of how competitive the bike was in another rider's hands. Smith finished the season in 9th, Simeon in 22nd. He scored five times as many points. He is consistent and given the right kit, able to compete. No doubt he is also bloody cheap!


 


He is taking time getting acquainted with the M1, but all we have seen so far is testing. He was written off in 125s as well, until he got a ride on an Aspar machine, then all of a sudden he was in the top 5.


 


He is no Marc Marquez, but then there is only one of them. Perhaps leave the condemnation until he has turned a wheel in anger, rather than basing your opinion on his showings on the Mistral and testing on the M1. I think he will make a decent showing of it - his testing times, translated to last year's tests are right up there, let alone for a rookie.

I neither like nor dislike Smith, but tend to agree with most that he doesn't 'deserve' his MotoGP ride--certainly not on the strength of his Moto2 resume.  But he's hardly the first, and won't be the last rider ever in such circumstances.  I think Bradley and Randy caught Herve at a vulnerable moment (Poncharal falls in and out of love with his riders faster than a crazed college student on spring break) when Cal was really struggling (quitting on a race at Mugello, to the team's chagrin), while at the same time Smith took back to back podiums.  And without any contract from Tech 3 for 2013, I also think he would likely have been dropped, even from Moto2; 2012 was a disappointing step backward from his 2011 results.  As for the Tech 3 bike being 'totally parts-bin' when Smith started, Takahashi won a race in 2010 (albeit helped by Iannone's lack of peripheral vision), and snagged a 2nd place as well.


 


In the long term, it doesn't really matter how or why Smith got the ride as long as he comes up with the results, and, so far, he's on the right track.  Good luck to him.  Still, you have to wonder, what could Espargaro, Ianonne, Redding, or de Puniet achieve with the bike if given the chance...

Rising Sun

3469931364990214

I neither like nor dislike Smith, but tend to agree with most that he doesn't 'deserve' his MotoGP ride--certainly not on the strength of his Moto2 resume.  But he's hardly the first, and won't be the last rider ever in such circumstances.  I think Bradley and Randy caught Herve at a vulnerable moment (Poncharal falls in and out of love with his riders faster than a crazed college student on spring break) when Cal was really struggling (quitting on a race at Mugello, to the team's chagrin), while at the same time Smith took back to back podiums.  And without any contract from Tech 3 for 2013, I also think he would likely have been dropped, even from Moto2; 2012 was a disappointing step backward from his 2011 results.  As for the Tech 3 bike being 'totally parts-bin' when Smith started, Takahashi won a race in 2010 (albeit helped by Iannone's lack of peripheral vision), and snagged a 2nd place as well.


 


In the long term, it doesn't really matter how or why Smith got the ride as long as he comes up with the results, and, so far, he's on the right track.  Good luck to him.  Still, you have to wonder, what could Espargaro, Ianonne, Redding, or de Puniet achieve with the bike if given the chance...

Click to expand...

sometimes a person writes something that is absolutely spot on. well done sir.