Melandri done at Ducati?

lets hope so

will someone take him on & just what ride can he get/compete on

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <div class='quotemain'>Melandri is convinced that he still has what it takes to win at the top level of motorcycle racing - but denied he was considering a switch to super bikes.

"No. If I have to race just for the hell of it, then I'll change life. But I'm convinced I can do well. At 36, (Carlos) Checa has gone back to winning ways. I'm only 25. I want to race and to win, especially after a season like this."

To bad he didn't sign with Suzuki he'd have been 8-10 positions higher in every race.

too bad for melandri pedrosa is in top 4 in nearly every race hes competed in.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Pinky @ Jun 20 2008, 10:32 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>too bad for melandri pedrosa is in top 4 in nearly every race hes competed in.

too bad Pedro crashed ....AGAIN!

Wow. I have mixed feeling about it. On one hand he has a tendency of giving up when he is not happy, he did the same with the satellite Honda the year he decided to switch to Ducati. On the other, my first reaction was; he is amazingly honest. Back then he said he would try just to risk a better position on a losing season. I remember giving him .... about that loser/quitter mentality. Here again, I feel a bit of quitting going on.

The only one I can compare him to is Hayden, in that he has been in a ...... situation, maybe worse than Melandri. At least Ducati have tried everything, where as Hayden it seems has been given a back seat. So I'm not jumping to sympathize with Marco. The disclaimer here is that Marco is one of my favorites, so I may be bias into saying that I feel if it’s a bad relationship then move on. He does say that he has a good relationship with Ducati. So maybe its one of those rare times where a friendly divorce is best for all interested parties. I can't help but think that this will reflect badly for Ducati, in that they will have difficulty attracting top talent to their factory. Hayden had a similar disastrous start in 07 but improved in the second half of the season. I would think if Melandri had a few podiums, he might stick it out and make it work.

So on one hand, I applaud his honesty and the way he poses the situation saying if they can find a "better man" shows some humility (maybe just a way to get out without blaming Ducati). On the other hand, we got a guy who is quitting with more than half the season left. And quitting is never a characteristic of a champion, or is it? Perhaps he is not quitting? Maybe its an unfair characterization? Like I said, I have mixed feeling. I suppose Bikergirl will be on the thread shortly to sort all this out so we can all know what to feel about Marco.

I read it like this

You find someone that can ride this peice of .... errrr this unrideable bike better then me then go right ahead.

I think that he believs that not too many people can ride this bike. We all know that Casey is fully capable and I think that he is acknowledging that there is possibly some other folks out there capable but whether it is likely is another story. Elias and Guinters should have done somewhat better in a least one race.

He did say something very interesting. He said the bike felt like he was riding in the wet even if it was dry. So if it rains at Donington then he should be up there becasue he has so much practice

I have mixed feelings about Hayden giving it a go with Ducati

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jumkie @ Jun 20 2008, 08:59 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Wow. I have mixed feeling about it. On one hand he has a tendency of giving up when he is not happy, he did the same with the satellite Honda the year he decided to switch to Ducati.

+1

I really believe the person who lost out most when Pedrosa came to MotoGP was Melandri. The 2006 Honda suited him perfectly.

That said he is definitely a quitter. One of the worst examples I've ever seen was at PI in 2007. It seems like any time he is required to ride through problems he gives up. I think that's where Melandri and Hayden differ. Perhaps Marco was a better race winner for Honda, but he could never tackle the development problems Honda have gone through, starting in 2006 with the EVO concept.

I've said it before, Ducati took a fast crashing Honda rider (Casey Stoner) and turned him into a champion. Know any other fast crashing Honda riders right now? Yup you guessed it Randy De Puniet. I say Ducati give him a chance at it. I may sound crazy but they took a chance with Casey in 2007 and he surprised the hell out us all by taming the beast and riding it to a championship.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Bootsakah @ Jun 20 2008, 08:14 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I've said it before, Ducati took a fast crashing Honda rider (Casey Stoner) and turned him into a champion. Know any other fast crashing Honda riders right now? Yup you guessed it Randy De Puniet. I say Ducati give him a chance at it. I may sound crazy but they took a chance with Casey in 2007 and he surprised the hell out us all by taming the beast and riding it to a championship.
Preziosi has insisted since last season that Stoner is the only rider who is capable of riding the bike and using the engine as it was designed in doing so, exploiting its ferocity to his advantage. Perhaps that's where the others fail, they try to tame the beast, where they should concentrate on unleashing it. I disagree about RDP though..I think he'd be a bleedin' liability on that thing.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jumkie @ Jun 21 2008, 02:59 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Wow. I have mixed feeling about it. On one hand he has a tendency of giving up when he is not happy, he did the same with the satellite Honda the year he decided to switch to Ducati. On the other, my first reaction was; he is amazingly honest.
+1

Unfortunately (and I rate Marco as a top shelf rider), he is quitting! There wouldn't be too many riders on the grid if only those that were happy with their bikes turned up to race week in week out!

The riders who are currently in MotoGP that I reckon would go well on the Ducati are (in no particular order);

Rossi
Hayden
CV
Toseland
Edwards
Dovi
West (yeah have a laugh)

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (krusty @ Jun 20 2008, 04:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>+1

Unfortunately (and I rate Marco as a top shelf rider), he is quitting! There wouldn't be too many riders on the grid if only those that were happy with their bikes turned up to race week in week out!

The riders who are currently in MotoGP that I reckon would go well on the Ducati are (in no particular order);

Rossi
Hayden
CV
Toseland
Edwards
<u>West (yeah have a laugh)
</u>

OMFG LMFAO OMFG LMAOOOOOOO

Antfan??? You back??

Melandri's intention is to go better in Motogp ......

He knows he can't on the Duc. ........

the Duc. won't get him to where he is going ...... so he is looking at another route to the top


how the hell is that quitting!!??


You can tell the flag waving patriarchs on here ..... the ones that espouse "loyatly to a brand" is all!! ..... and yet they seem to be the first to jump on the whingewagon ...... and blame the manufacturer ....... when their rider is not performing.


Melandri staying with Ducati would be like the sailor staying with the guns and going down with the ship in a blaze of socially worshipped altrusitic glory ........ but at the end of the day ....... he would just be another body ....... who's goal could no longer possibly be ..... to win .......

Melandri is not the type to ..... "go down with the ship" ........ he sees his route to victory lies elsewhere ...... and is choosing to fight on ........ ( at last ) .......

You don't win wars by going down with the ship! ...... its the stuff of "patriotic feelgood memories" after the war/championship to ease the thought of all that waste ...... not the way to overcome an enemy, during a battle/championship .......



I've said it before ..... as you all say ....... the Duc. is a beast ......
it takes a street brawling/dingo baiting/brumby riding/snake whipping/ no anaesthetic whilst having root canal therapy taking ........ person, to get ...... anything ....... from it ..... ....... since Stoner has been with Duc. ..... 8 other riders have had a go at it ....... all failing ..... somewhat miserably ..... speculation that rider X or Y would be able to "ride that beast" ..... seems merely more self atoning ........ to suplicate the "feeling" of those clutching at straws as to why their rider is not performing.


Move on Melandri .... your wasting away on the Duc. ...... merely for the misconcieved "sake of your country and one of its manufacturers" ....... it was good idealogy, "an Italian on an Itallian bike!" ...... but it ain't working ...... in fact its making both Duc. and Melandri look .... ...

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SackWack @ Jun 21 2008, 10:00 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'> OMFG LMFAO OMFG LMAOOOOOOO

Antfan??? You back??
Apparently CSCVAW is back!

I would bet Melandris options at Ducati is written in the contract so they simply can't keep him.
It's money down the drain and bad for Ducati's name as well as Melandri's.
I think he would do better on any other bike,Suzuki,Yamaha or Honda.As he doesn't seem to be a big user of traction control maybe Yamaha or Suzuki would fit him better?
-Easier to turn,more civilised engines? I don't know.On the other hand ,Hayden isn't a big fan of tractioncontrol and he likes the new pneumatic engine.That is strange ,because the new engine must be more of lots happening at high rev-kind of engine at the cost of not so comfortable low-midrange.
Kind of how the Ducati engine seems to be like.
Or,Honda has managed to create an engine that has both low midrange and the high top end power.
If that is the case Hayden must have a pretty good bike right now with the new chassi.
In short,if Hayden likes the Honda i think Melandri would like it too,and none of them would like it on a Ducati.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BarryMachine @ Jun 20 2008, 05:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I've said it before ..... as you all say ....... the Duc. is a beast ......
it takes a street brawling/dingo baiting/brumby riding/snake whipping/ no anaesthetic whilst having root canal therapy taking ........ person, to get ...... anything ....... from it ..... ....... since Stoner has been with Duc. ..... 8 other riders have had a go at it ....... all failing ..... somewhat miserably ..... speculation that rider X or Y would be able to "ride that beast" ..... seems merely more self atoning ........ to suplicate the "feeling" of those clutching at straws as to why their rider is not performing.

Actually, you just need to speak English as your native tongue to win a WC on a Duc.

But if you're sure you have to be dingo-baiter, I'll take your word for it.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Anders GUZZI @ Jun 21 2008, 03:15 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I would bet Melandris options at Ducati is written in the contract so they simply can't keep him.
It's money down the drain and bad for Ducati's name as well as Melandri's.
I think he would do better on any other bike,Suzuki,Yamaha or Honda.As he doesn't seem to be a big user of traction control maybe Yamaha or Suzuki would fit him better?
-Easier to turn,more civilised engines? I don't know.On the other hand ,Hayden isn't a big fan of tractioncontrol and he likes the new pneumatic engine.That is strange ,because the new engine must be more of lots happening at high rev-kind of engine at the cost of not so comfortable low-midrange.
Kind of how the Ducati engine seems to be like.
Or,Honda has managed to create an engine that has both low midrange and the high top end power.
If that is the case Hayden must have a pretty good bike right now with the new chassi.
In short,if Hayden likes the Honda i think Melandri would like it too,and none of them would like it on a Ducati.
OK.. I guess i was all wrong about what Hayden likes,i just read this on moto gp.com:

The staunchest supporter of the pneumatic valve engine within the Repsol Honda ranks, Nicky Hayden´s requests for the usage of the new motor were finally granted in practice for the bwin.com British Grand Prix. The American promptly justified the gamble by recording the second fastest time of the Friday sessions, leaving Hayden content with the switch.

`There´s certainly a bit of work to be done; I´ve been wanting to use this engine for a while and they´ve told me that I need to be in the top three or four to use it, so it was a good feeling to able to do that,´ said the 2006 MotoGP World Champion, the only Honda rider using the engine this weekend.

His title defending year a write-off for all intents and purposes, a continuation of 2007 form holds little attraction for Hayden, who pushed hard to convince Honda to let him loose on the previously withdrawn power source.

`Last year´s engine I couldn´t really ride, and this year I wasn´t really going anywhere with it either. So we needed to make a change. People on the team and HRC thought that it wasn´t the time, but I had to try something,´ he reiterated, before explaining how the current version of the RC212V better suits his `pick up and grab´ style.

`It´s more fun being up towards the front, and the fact that instead of guys getting away on the straight we can stick with them. It hits harder and it´s a little more aggressive, but I kind of like that! It´s not easier to ride, but I don´t need something easier, I need something faster.´

Hayden will be using the pneumatic valve engine throughout the weekend in Donington, including a race baptism for the motor on Sunday afternoon.