I agree with this gaz, well the second part. Let me add that Dovi complements JLo as a teammate as well. What ducati is building for JLo is helping Dovi but it is also giving Jorge the direction to success. JLo managed the race today, I have to think that was partly at least because of watching dovis success and doing what he does.
I've heard you mention this now a few times, I've kinda glossed over it because I mean ok, yeah Jorge looks happier, so what? You were one of the first to mention this in post race reactions, Jlo's demeanor at Ducati. I originally didn’t know how to process that actually, I mean ok, yeah I've argued he traded Yamaha's toxic environment for happier pasture; but at a high cost: a challenging bike effectively taking himself out of a legacy in terms of for-sure chance at the title. Was it a good tradeoff? Well, it may actually turn out to benefit Dovi, Ducati, and himself as you say.
Actually Dub, i had a thought about Nicky reading your post, given nice guy Dovi's win today, and it made me think. Follow me here.
The point about impact of teammates acting like 'teammates' in the conventional sense is something that is impossible to measure, and rare, its easy to overlook, but I agree with your point that Dovi and Lorenzo are experiencing a symbiotic relationship--that is, mutually beneficial. It is actually impacting the results. 2016 Lorenzo looked like a guy who was just told his dog died, wife screwed his best buddy, and was diagnosed with terminal erectile dysfunction. Now, you see him doing stuff that in motorsport is unusual, for example, celebrating with your teammate (your first rival) who has beat you. Jlo has certainly been publicly more at oeace, consistently owned up to his shortcomings, candid about his performance, and more importantly, continues to plug away.
So is there any evidence that Jlo's smiling index is having a real positive affect on Ducati's GP presence? Well Dovi has scored 4 victories, particularly significant winning at Mugello, 2 Ducatis on the podium btw (Petrux) 3 Ducs in top 5 (don't forget Zac Efron AKA Alvaro), plus Jlo a podium, 6 secs off the win at Austria, 3.5secs from the winner at Silverstone, and so forth. So it's certainly an upward trend at the moment. So as to the effect of this symbiotic relationship...
Let's look back a bit. The last time Ducati scored more than a couple wins (last year 2) was in 2010 (Casey). I won't get any argument that Nicky was the ultimate team player, loyal, underrated (Valentino’s stint as Nicky's Ducati teammate proved this) and his unmatched work ethic is undeniable. 2010 (Casey/Nicky) and again in 2013 (Dovi/Nicky) was the last time Ducati had a genuine symbiotic relationship between its factory riders until 2017. In 2011-12, Valentino was something of a black hole, sucking up all the energy, resources, Nicky's collaboration was more akin to indentured servant, by virtue of the density of Rossi's yellow ego and importance to GP/ Dorna. That is, the farthest thing from a symbiotic relationship. Incidentally, Daniboy called Jlo's performance today one of an overpaid prima dona, i mention him because surely it's the prevailing assessment of the majority of the crowd Dorna is beholden to pander. Odd timing to make such a claim, given the fact Jorge was 3.5secs from the winner. But if we want to talk about overpaid prima donas, I submit Rossi was the gold standard: zero wins were scored by Ducati in the years Rossi rode under the Corse banner. Keep in mind, no rock was left unturned to help Rossi, who at the time was accepted as the GOAT. Zero wins. Worse yet, the wake was a lingering disaster that took years for Ducati to recover.
Things started looking better in 2013, Dovi and Nicky as factory riders started to pick up the pieces towards the long road to recovery. Let's face it, Rossi left Ducati at rock bottom. But you had two riders who epitomized work ethic, something overlooked until you consider the brink of disaster and disarray at Corse in Rossi's wake, so much that Ducati was outsourcing it's chassis for ..... sake. Think about that, it was embarrassment for a factory racing project to concede building it's own damn chassis. Unfortunately Ducati shot themselves in the foot by replacing Nicky with Cuntslow. Not only was the symbiotic relationship between Dovi and Nicky foolishly lost, but Ducati effectively hired a guy who quit almost immediately. Fact is Buttflow hasn't stopped complaining and resisting testing duties (revisit a parc ferme complaint of testing for Honda). The progress made in 2013 was all but dismantled, Dovi was basically the lone factory rider as Buttflow had already checked out, so severe was the free fall that Ducati tried to stop the bleeding and found relief from a stroke of luck, Cal Quitsmore wanted out halfway into his contract. If hiring Rossi was the worst thing Ducati has ever done, replacing Nicky with Shitflow was the second worst.
At the time, Ducati newly acquired by Audi, had another stoke of good luck, tapping Gigi to replace that German sounding guy, (forget his name but he worked for BMW.) Oh, and I forgot to mention, Rossi's disaster upon Ducati included the unceremonious shitcanning of genius Felipo Prezi; like I said, Rossi was a black hole, sucking the life out of collaboration. Symbiosis simply can't exist around him, as is tge case with parasites, hence why Lorenzo had to leave or be swallowed up. Gigi stopped the bleeding, swallowing pride and factory prestige by declaring Ducati an 'open class' (prompting Dorna to make 11th our rules and manipulations in category designation). Gigi also needed to fill the seat open by Quitflow, enter Iannone, who was already in the Ducati stable. Under Gigi's leadership, it's clear that symbiotic relationship and collaboration is a signature of his strategy. Hiring Casey Stoner was certainly both a stroke of luck as the Australian was surely disgruntled with HRC, and genius, Gigi still had to convince Casey that testing for Ducati would be significant collaboration.
Ducati finally scored 2 wins in 2016, ending a desperate drought that Rossi started. Coincidentally, it was another Italian, Iannone, that started to behave more like your typical teammate in the Rossi mold, i.e. an .......; increasingly adversarial than when he was originally promoted. I wonder how much of a change in Iannone's attitude was a contamination from Rossi's toxicity overwhelming him during the 2015 Debacle. Iannone seemed another man in 2016, barging into his teammate ala Rossi on Lorenzo. Perhaps brushing up with the Yellow Minions lining up to eat his unborn children after daring to race Rossi at Phillip Island changed him into a more selfish teammate, it ultimately cost him his job.
Gigi's strategy is collaboration, surely this was discussed when he interviewed and then offered the job to Lorenzo. Jorge was a man who was privy to the ugly opposite of what Gigi was undoubtedly selling. Has Lorenzo's happy index made a positive impact upon Dovi, Ducati, and himself? Between 2011 to 2015, Ducati scored zero wins. All of those years with the exception of 2013, were no symbiotic relationships or spirit of collaboration between teammates because one side of the garage was either sapping everything or not carrying weight. 2017 is by far the most successful since 2010. Ducati are leading the points for the championship well into the season. Simply put...
The numbers don't lie.
