Melandri IS done at Ducati.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (The Doc 79 @ Jul 1 2008, 08:38 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I think Nicky is a dynamite choice for Ducati.....a guy that likes to muscle the bike....the question is...who would ride for the evil empire?
To tell you the truth I could give a .... who rides for honda. Whomever it is I hope they take out Pedrosa like he did to Nicky.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ROCKGOD01 @ Jul 1 2008, 04:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>To tell you the truth I could give a .... who rides for honda. Whomever it is I hope they take out Pedrosa like he did to Nicky.

Bautista is on the top of my watch list to replace Nicky if he walks......he'd be the type that might give Pedrosa a run for his money as top dog at Honda.....but this all hinges on what happens in the next race with Melandri......

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (The Doc 79 @ Jul 1 2008, 03:38 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I think Nicky is a dynamite choice for Ducati.....a guy that likes to muscle the bike....the question is...who would ride for the evil empire?
doc nick is not going to jump to ducati until his contract with hrc is up. so after the season. dovizioso will replace hayden in 09.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (The Doc 79 @ Jul 1 2008, 03:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Bautista is on the top of my watch list to replace Nicky if he walks......
very doubtful. if & thats a big if bautista does go to the big class next season it will be with martinez on whatever machine they secure for the season. he's really not quite ready imo tho.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (frosty58 @ Jul 1 2008, 01:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>doc nick is not going to jump to ducati until his contract with hrc is up. so after the season. dovizioso will replace hayden in 09.

I have seen crazier things happen before. Its not likely to happen, but it would be exciting if it did. This is all part of the MOTOGP spectacte for me. When you have to wait 2-3 weeks for a race then its almost about what goes on off teh track as much as on it that is exciting. Especially in these last two season.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (frosty58 @ Jul 1 2008, 04:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>doc nick is not going to jump to ducati until his contract with hrc is up. so after the season. dovizioso will replace hayden in 09.
There's a winner, thank you frost.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (frosty58 @ Jul 1 2008, 04:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>doc nick is not going to jump to ducati until his contract with hrc is up. so after the season. dovizioso will replace hayden in 09.

nah dovi won't do it.........i'll stick with bautista and see what happens....

My 2 cents :
Melandri goes to Kawasaki to end the season there. But in 2009 he'll probably go back to Gresini unless he has really very good results on the Kawa, and the Kawa offers him a 3rd bike.
Meanwhile Gibernau would replace Melandri at Ducati Marlboro until the end of the season.
In 2009, Hayden will take the 2nd Marlboro bike and Gibernau could move to the satellite team, if he wishes to continue racing.
Dovi goes to HRC.
Bautista, Kallio, Gibernau and Canepa could be the Ducati satellite riders for 2009.
A good alternative to Bautista could be Simoncelli, in case Bautista goes to Kawasaki.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (J4rn0 @ Jul 2 2008, 11:46 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>My 2 cents :
Melandri goes to Kawasaki to end the season there. But in 2009 he'll probably go back to Gresini unless he has really very good results on the Kawa, and the Kawa offers him a 3rd bike.
Meanwhile Gibernau would replace Melandri at Ducati Marlboro until the end of the season.
In 2009, Hayden will take the 2nd Marlboro bike and Gibernau could move to the satellite team, if he wishes to continue racing.
Dovi goes to HRC.
Bautista, Kallio, Gibernau and Canepa could be the Ducati satellite riders for 2009.
A good alternative to Bautista could be Simoncelli, in case Bautista goes to Kawasaki.


That seems quite realistic, but I guess it will depend on the results of this season. If Melandri keeps sucking on the green bike as much as he does on the red one I think he wont find a bike in MotoGP next season. If Gibernau is not achieving decent results quick I think he will quit, he's only interested in coming back if he is competitive and he is not taking a satellite ride for sure.
I agree Hayden might go to Ducati, he needs a fresh start and if Gibernau is not competitive, Hayden is the best rider available for Ducati.
Dovi to HRC is becoming an obvious option. Unless Honda marketing department decides to keep an American on the bike.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (J4rn0 @ Jul 2 2008, 02:46 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>My 2 cents :
Meanwhile Gibernau would replace Melandri at Ducati Marlboro until the end of the season.
In 2009, Hayden will take the 2nd Marlboro bike and Gibernau could move to the satellite team, if he wishes to continue racing.

What if they don't use Gibby and they use someone like Canepa instead? What if Canepa pilots the bike to a handful of top 5, maybe even a rostrum at a Ducati Bridgestone strong hold, can Ducati really sign Nicky if they know they are about to get a cheap look at a rider who may be successful?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (mylexicon @ Jul 2 2008, 07:58 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>What if they don't use Gibby and they use someone like Canepa instead? What if Canepa pilots the bike to a handful of top 5, maybe even a rostrum at a Ducati Bridgestone strong hold, can Ducati really sign Nicky if they know they are about to get a cheap look at a rider who may be successful?

It really looks like they are interested in Gibby, just seems to be the trend that they are heading in. All the practice sessions and talk. Obviously he needs to be competitive or they will simply replace him.

My guess is that yes they are looking for Gibernau to get in the seat ASAP since melandri really has zero hope of recovering. You have to look at the track record for the year and since he has had only really one decent race, he isn;t excepted to do well and everyone knows this to be true. I think Livio Suppo made his comments in order to downplay the situation and not to be harsh. Melandri is a respectable guy and he is Italian so you know where this is going. Regardless of how Gibernau does this year if he gets on the Duc I think Nicky is still the first choice for the team. I don't know how they could justify the choice of Sete since he is not "MOTO GP FIT" at the moment. It is going to take a bit for him to get back to speed anyway.

In my opinion, if Nick can keep this pneumo engine cranking until the end of the season and snag a few more podium/4ths, he may be keeping his HRC seat. Up until this last race I was pretty resigned to the idea that he'd be on his way to Ducati/satellite Honda, but I think Repsol may keep their negotiating options open depending on how he handles these next few races.

Hayden's popularity and his passport combined with a few more decent results may keep him on the bike for 2009.

Some are saying he's already practically signed for Ducati, but I don't buy it.

I'm holding out hope. I think he can still go well on the Honda.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ThePhorest @ Jul 2 2008, 10:24 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>In my opinion, if Nick can keep this pneumo engine cranking until the end of the season and snag a few more podium/4ths, he may be keeping his HRC seat. Up until this last race I was pretty resigned to the idea that he'd be on his way to Ducati/satellite Honda, but I think Repsol may keep their negotiating options open depending on how he handles these next few races.

Hayden's popularity and his passport combined with a few more decent results may keep him on the bike for 2009.

Some are saying he's already practically signed for Ducati, but I don't buy it.

I'm holding out hope. I think he can still go well on the Honda.

Some good points for sure man...but also consider that HRC might want to bring up another 250 rider and they are using Hayden as a test mule.....wrong and ruthless...but that's HRC for ya....on the popularity front I agree....he's very "brandable" especially here in the states which Dorna has said is one of their primary target markets for growth.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ThePhorest @ Jul 2 2008, 08:24 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>In my opinion, if Nick can keep this pneumo engine cranking until the end of the season and snag a few more podium/4ths, he may be keeping his HRC seat. Up until this last race I was pretty resigned to the idea that he'd be on his way to Ducati/satellite Honda, but I think Repsol may keep their negotiating options open depending on how he handles these next few races.

Hayden's popularity and his passport combined with a few more decent results may keep him on the bike for 2009.

Some are saying he's already practically signed for Ducati, but I don't buy it.

I'm holding out hope. I think he can still go well on the Honda.

You sound like a Honda fan, not a Nick fan. Nick needs to start thinking about himself a little bit. We all know the story about the Honda-Nicky relationship so we don't need to go down that road. It seems like Pedrosa has Hayden's number at Honda and we all know where the marbles lie in that court. Nicky needs to start looking where he is possibly able to win another championship.

Nicky has been on track with both Stoner and Melandri and as he is probably not been able to follow Stoner too closely but he has seen the riding style. ON the flipside he probably has seen Melandri ride as well. I'm sure that Nick can probably make a pretty good decision based on what he has seen on the track whether he may be able to tame the Ducati.

The gamble is that if Nicky takes Marco's seat and doesn't come to terms with the Ducati then he would really hurt his career, possibly even be out of a seat in MOTOGP. It could be too big of a risk. I wonder what Earl is thinking

I think Nicky has given Honda a lot of good years and he did win them a championship after a barren spell...but I think Nicky should consider options at this point....testing the water may be a good choice at this point....

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SackWack @ Jul 2 2008, 10:36 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>You sound like a Honda fan, not a Nick fan. Nick needs to start thinking about himself a little bit. We all know the story about the Honda-Nicky relationship so we don't need to go down that road. It seems like Pedrosa has Hayden's number at Honda and we all know where the marbles lie in that court. Nicky needs to start looking where he is possibly able to win another championship.

Nicky has been on track with both Stoner and Melandri and as he is probably not been able to follow Stoner too closely but he has seen the riding style. ON the flipside he probably has seen Melandri ride as well. I'm sure that Nick can probably make a pretty good decision based on what he has seen on the track whether he may be able to tame the Ducati.

The gamble is that if Nicky takes Marco's seat and doesn't come to terms with the Ducati then he would really hurt his career, possibly even be out of a seat in MOTOGP. It could be too big of a risk. I wonder what Earl is thinking

Thats the thing. After seeing a front-runner like Melandri get hosed by the Ducati the way he has this season, I'd be extremely cautious if I were Nick. A Duc seat could spell the end of his career.

However, I think him getting the pneumo engine is a step in the right direction both by HRC and Nick himself. HRC have shown that they're willing to work with him and still want him to be up front. Nick has repayed that by running at the front in the past couple races. If that type of relationship could continue into next season with Nicky getting even more accustomed to the NH212V I can see good things happening. On the other hand I can see really BAD things happening with a Hayden-Stoner team for 2009.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ThePhorest @ Jul 2 2008, 08:22 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Thats the thing. After seeing a front-runner like Melandri get hosed by the Ducati the way he has this season, I'd be extremely cautious if I were Nick. A Duc seat could spell the end of his career.

Don't forget Melandri is known for being unadaptable. He couldn't ride the Yamaha, Rossi told him to move to Honda because it was easier to ride.

No one knows if Nick is adaptable to the Ducati, telemetry suggests he is, but you know how I feel about the usefulness of electronics. Even though Ducati is a huge gamble, I would still like to see him on a bike that is capable of winning. Pedrosa makes the Honda look good at home, but the RC212V still needs a lot of technological development in the engine department.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ThePhorest @ Jul 2 2008, 09:22 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Thats the thing. After seeing a front-runner like Melandri get hosed by the Ducati the way he has this season, I'd be extremely cautious if I were Nick. A Duc seat could spell the end of his career.

However, I think him getting the pneumo engine is a step in the right direction both by HRC and Nick himself. HRC have shown that they're willing to work with him and still want him to be up front. Nick has repayed that by running at the front in the past couple races. If that type of relationship could continue into next season with Nicky getting even more accustomed to the NH212V I can see good things happening. On the other hand I can see really BAD things happening with a Hayden-Stoner team for 2009.

Nick will develope the engine and then they will completely change the design for Pedro. That is the way the recent trends have been going. Do you disagree?

And I totally disagree with the bold print above.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SackWack @ Jul 2 2008, 11:52 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Nick will develope the engine and then they will completely change the design for Pedro. That is the way the recent trends have been going. Do you disagree?

And I totally disagree with the bold print above.
I've got to admit I've wondered how much of the delay involved in getting the Honda pneumatic out on the grid has been about Danifying its power delivery. Obviously the electronic mishaps in the first couple of races point towards it truly being not quite fully ready, but I still wonder how much of their effort in prepping it has been towards adapting it to Dani's preferences rather than polishing it to race-ready reliability.