Melandri IS done at Ducati.

Hmmm I wonder if a deal has been made with Gibernau yet?? The Ducati mystery continues as Gibs is able to come close to within half a second of Stoner's lap record at Mugello. He is 36 and this was his first test on an 800cc bike, WTF?? Well one thing is for certain the 800's are easy to adapt too, no? We saw this with the rookies coming in to this class and most recently with Spies and Gibernau. But is the Ducati as bad as the riders are portraying the bike to be? Gibs test says no. Maybe Melandri, Elias, and Guinters are just .... riders. Obvioulsy the setup was probably perfect for Gibs and he probably set his best time on a quali but he layed down some pretty impressive times. No one wants to hear that Melandri is a crap rider but his past says that if the bike isn't perfect he can't get around it. He displayed this on the Yamaha, then Honda and now Ducati. Elias is about right where we though he would be no? Only showing the rare occasion of good riding. Guints is about the same. Put a class rider on the Duc like Gibs and we see some very impressive results. I think that Hayden is looking real close at what Gibs was able to do on that Ducati. One thing is certain, I don't think that Melandri is going to do well in the next two races, so he is done. Also, what result would help Ducati change their mind on Melandri? Nothing less than a podium? Top 6-8? I wonder if Marco even wants to stay on the Ducati. I think that we are going to see a rider that has given up.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SackWack @ Jul 7 2008, 06:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Well one thing is for certain the 800's are easy to adapt too, no?

I wouldn't say so at all. Lorenzo is having a lot of trouble (broken ankles and concussion) as a result of his learning curve, while the other rookies get fairly standard results (no podiums between them). Look back and you'll find that there have been rookies performing well for over 20 years.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Tom @ Jul 7 2008, 10:33 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I wouldn't say so at all. Lorenzo is having a lot of trouble (broken ankles and concussion) as a result of his learning curve, while the other rookies get fairly standard results (no podiums between them). Look back and you'll find that there have been rookies performing well for over 20 years.

I didn't say that the bikes ride themselves and you get podiums. I would consider Dovi a fairly humble guy and he was the first to come out and say that these bikes were easy to ride. But I think that Spies summed it up best saying something along the lines of, the bikes are easy to ride but hard to ride fast. I think that setup needs to be down to perfect in order to win. I can't recall a season when I heard any comments like this about a MOTOGP bike. I only have heard "...." (as in the bike is really ....... fast and dangerous). Lorenzo, in seeking those few tenths, is pushing beyond his limit. Which as we may have seen, can be controlled by an engineer. In reference to Lorenzo not knowing what was up with his bike in Assen.

LINK

Brivio Quote on setup

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <div class='quotemain'>"Our target, as always, going into the weekend is the podium but we will work our hardest during practice to try and achieve the maximum on Sunday. I think when our package is at the same level as the others it is difficult to beat Valentino but currently in MotoGP everything has to be perfect.

"The rider who achieves this is normally able to dominate so we have to do our job in practice. It doesn't mean any more pressure than normal because we always strive for perfection and when you fight for championships this is what you get used to.

This is sort of the issue we are seeiing right now. I think with the 800 we are still in early developement. When teams start getting their data and setups perfected then we will start to see closer racing hopefully.

The point that I was trying to make was that although the learning curve seems to be fairly quick on an 800 (if you disagree it makes Gibs look even more talented), and Gibs picked it up quickly, he was also able to push the limits and jump into that region that had Lorenzo crashing and Spies saying was hard to get into. The fast times or higher than midpack so to speak. <u>And all this on the supposedly crap Ducati. </u>This just leads me to believe that Stoner is very ....... good and the other riders are mediocre or not that good at all for whatever reason.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SackWack @ Jul 7 2008, 06:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Hmmm I wonder if a deal has been made with Gibernau yet?? The Ducati mystery continues as Gibs is able to come close to within half a second of Stoner's lap record at Mugello. He is 36 and this was his first test on an 800cc bike, WTF?? Well one thing is for certain the 800's are easy to adapt too, no? We saw this with the rookies coming in to this class and most recently with Spies and Gibernau. But is the Ducati as bad as the riders are portraying the bike to be? Gibs test says no. Maybe Melandri, Elias, and Guinters are just .... riders. Obvioulsy the setup was probably perfect for Gibs and <u>he probably set his best time on a quali </u>but he layed down some pretty impressive times. No one wants to hear that Melandri is a crap rider but his past says that if the bike isn't perfect he can't get around it. He displayed this on the Yamaha, then Honda and now Ducati. Elias is about right where we though he would be no? Only showing the rare occasion of good riding. Guints is about the same. Put a class rider on the Duc like Gibs and we see some very impressive results. I think that Hayden is looking real close at what Gibs was able to do on that Ducati. One thing is certain, I don't think that Melandri is going to do well in the next two races, so he is done. Also, what result would help Ducati change their mind on Melandri? Nothing less than a podium? Top 6-8? I wonder if Marco even wants to stay on the Ducati. I think that we are going to see a rider that has given up.

He set his fastest time on race tyres. rather impressive if you ask me!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (simon.h @ Jul 7 2008, 01:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>He set his fastest time on race tyres. rather impressive if you ask me!

Nice!! I didn't know the details on it so it was just a hunch. I wonder why Ducati isn't saddeling him up for a wildcard entrance or something. I still don't think that we have the whole story.

Also, can someone explain these formal tests to me please. By formal I mean the ones that they announce to the press and they have official times, etc. Can Gib be running laps right now, conditioning himself for a full race and gettig used to the bike and setup? I guess I ask this because it would be nice to know if he has been testing on his own time getting ready for the official test but also practicing right now for Brno.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SackWack @ Jul 7 2008, 11:14 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I guess I ask this because it would be nice to know if he has been testing on his own time getting ready for the official test but also practicing right now for Brno.

imagine taking your R6 to a trackday at Brno, and getting your ... handed to you by Gibbers

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SackWack @ Jul 7 2008, 09:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I didn't say that the bikes ride themselves and you get podiums.

Sorry, i wasn't entirely clear. I wasn't suggesting you said the bikes ride themselfes, but that they are easy to adapt to. I disagree, despite the fact they might be relatively controllable bikes and they aren't hugely dangerous to ride i think motogp is as hard as ever. For a rider to get to up to speed now requires different qualities to what it did in the past, such is the constant progress in the sport but thats normal.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Tom @ Jul 7 2008, 03:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Sorry, i wasn't entirely clear. I wasn't suggesting you said the bikes ride themselfes, but that they are easy to adapt to. I disagree, despite the fact they might be relatively controllable bikes and they aren't hugely dangerous to ride i think motogp is as hard as ever. For a rider to get to up to speed now requires different qualities to what it did in the past, such is the constant progress in the sport but thats normal.

Okay, I will go with rider quotes and results and you can call them on thier .........

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (frosty58 @ Jun 27 2008, 04:21 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>good post jumkie. but the 125s & 250s are absolutely world championships. they are by far the best 125 & 250 riders in the world from around the world.
Nice try Frosty. But they are NOT the best 125 & 250 riders at any given time because the ones that bested the field are promoted to the next level. Keep in mind, the best 125 riders are usually promoted to 250s and the best 250 riders promoted to MotoGP. Does this mean when they are promoted that they magically are no longer capable of besting the field in the lower class they just left? Of course not. So then, those that remain are certainly NOT the best riders of their class. Its really quite simple, just because a college player plays with an aluminum bat doesn't make him exclusively unique when compared to a major leaguer. And thus the logic follows, the best 'baseball players' are in the major leagues. Comparatively, the best 'motorcycle racers' (for the sake of argument) are in MotoGP NOT in the lower classes. Therefore, the only real world champions (like the World Series) only come from the premier (major) class!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jumkie @ Jul 10 2008, 07:38 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Comparatively, the best 'motorcycle racers' (for the sake of argument) are in MotoGP NOT in the lower classes. Therefore, the only real world champions (like the World Series) only come from the premier (major) class!
I think your chain of logic on this point is fairly irrefutable. Even leaving aside any others, you would certainly think there is a fair chance that lorenzo would be going fairly well if he had stayed with his 2007 team for another year in the 250s.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jumkie @ Jul 10 2008, 03:38 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Nice try Frosty. But they are NOT the best 125 & 250 riders at any given time because the ones that bested the field are promoted to the next level. Keep in mind, the best 125 riders are usually promoted to 250s and the best 250 riders promoted to MotoGP. Does this mean when they are promoted that they magically are no longer capable of besting the field in the lower class they just left? Of course not. So then, those that remain are certainly NOT the best riders of their class.
Well if you look at each class as a snapshot, whoever wins that year should still be called a champion. The complication comes when you try to look at who is the champion on a "rolling" basis. I've always felt that the lower classes should not have the designation of "World" Champion for this reason.

Still nothing's certain.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <div class='quotemain'>Paddock rumour and gossip suggests a swap for Ducati from one former World Championship runner-up to another but, according to Melandri himself, nothing is a done deal yet.
http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2008/Melandr...Ducati+decision

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (mjpartyboy @ Jul 22 2008, 12:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Still nothing's certain.


http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2008/Melandr...Ducati+decision

Thx for the quote... for me it is die or move out for Macio, he could do no better in Ducati, I know he has a contract, and I know he is loved by Suppo and his crew, and Ducati just really want an Italian to be a champion on their bike, but his future is more important, I would love to see him in Honda or Kawasaki or wherever he feels comfortable and see him on the front grid... its must be very tough to be a loser suddenly this year.