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Jumkie
3591071377226941

True but he could also be the first man in history to have a GP & Wsbk title, and an AMA one to boot. I think there is value there. Hes got his hesrt set on staying in GP, unfortunately thst means battling for a top 10 and a chance at being the 2-dicks on a bike 'podium' CRT finisher. Staying in GP is a mistake.


Agree... Edwards looks more miserable every year. And Rossi isn't exactly looking exuberant these days either. The more I see of once great riders being ground down by downward slope of their fading careers looking more and more depressed - the more I think Stoner did the right thing. Agostini, Schwantz, Roberts and Lawson knew when it was time to move on.
 
Keshav
3591801377262233

Agree... Edwards looks more miserable every year. And Rossi isn't exactly looking exuberant these days either. The more I see of once great riders being ground down by downward slope of their racing careers looking more and more depressed - the more I think Stoner did the right thing. Agostini, Roberts and Lawson knew when it was time to move on.


+1


 


sito pawns :lol:
 
Keshav
3591801377262233

Agree... Edwards looks more miserable every year. And Rossi isn't exactly looking exuberant these days either. The more I see of once great riders being ground down by downward slope of their racing careers looking more and more depressed - the more I think Stoner did the right thing. Agostini, Roberts and Lawson knew when it was time to move on.


Not sure about all of those.


Agostini's final 2 years on 500's yeilded 1 win and 2 2nds, 7th & 6th overall in the WC


Lawson's final 2 years on the Cagiva only yielded the 1 win and 2 3rds, 6th and 9th overall


 


Not that I am suggesting either of them should have quit earlier, but quite different to Stoner. 


 


Roberts on the other hand I'd completely agree with.
 
Jumkie
3591211377235118

Those who think of it as less are mistaken. Either way, battling on a glorified CRT is madness and do so as pons of Dornas game.


While I don't disagree with you in the sense that I don't understand the appeal of riding around on a CRT or any bike that's not capable of a finish of better than seventh, I wouldn't say those opinions of WSBK are wrong or mistaken. Frankly, there isn't much credibility in that series right now. Every rider seems to be a BSB graduate or a MotoGP retread, regulations are moving in a Superstock direction to keep a gap to MotoGP, and the factories don't look particularly interested in the series anymore.


 


I've been saying for a number of years that Nicky should move to Ducati's World Superbike effort and continue collecting that factory paycheck while actually having the chance to win a race and a title. I said the same thing about Spies last year. I've been saying it about Toni Elias for two or three years now—imagine Toni on squishy Pirellis; it'd be wonderful. But it would seem to me that considering so many guys are so willing and eager to hang on to CRT/uncompetitive bikes, even past their prime, that the GP riders don't hold WSBK in very high regard for reasons I've outlined above or otherwise.
 
Austin
3591951377268272

While I don't disagree with you in the sense that I don't understand the appeal of riding around on a CRT or any bike that's not capable of a finish of better than seventh, I wouldn't say those opinions of WSBK are wrong or mistaken. Frankly, there isn't much credibility in that series right now. Every rider seems to be a BSB graduate or a MotoGP retread, regulations are moving in a Superstock direction to keep a gap to MotoGP, and the factories don't look particularly interested in the series anymore.


 


I've been saying for a number of years that Nicky should move to Ducati's World Superbike effort and continue collecting that factory paycheck while actually having the chance to win a race and a title. I said the same thing about Spies last year. I've been saying it about Toni Elias for two or three years now—imagine Toni on squishy Pirellis; it'd be wonderful. But it would seem to me that considering so many guys are so willing and eager to hang on to CRT/uncompetitive bikes, even past their prime, that the GP riders don't hold WSBK in very high regard for reasons I've outlined above or otherwise.


1. like thats a bad thing


2. he was .... when testing for bmw, seems like what he needs to go fast is his team manager negotiating with other riders rather than a soft front tyre
 
Mick D


It's uncomfortable on the bum shoulder. Once he's fully healed he's expected to be back in the Tech Air.


 


I did get a very close look at the leathers post-crash and the impact to the shoulder section was awfully visible.
 
cliché guevara
3591961377268488

1. like thats a bad thing


2. he was .... when testing for bmw, seems like what he needs to go fast is his team manager negotiating with other riders rather than a soft front tyre


 


It's not necessarily a bad thing. I just look at guys like Sykes, Rea, Haslam, Camier, Laverty, Baz, etc. and, while I like a lot of them, I just don't see them as the sort of guys who could make much of an impact in the GP circus given competitive machinery. I suppose that's more of a comment on the state of WSBK at the moment, and it wasn't meant to be a dig at BSB because it's a great national series.


 


Certainly the added pressure of contract season seems to do Toni wonders, but I wouldn't describe his test outing as ..... As I recall, he was a second and a half off, or something like that. And the BMW wasn't exactly the best bike on the grid, either. Sure, Haslam had a good-enough year on it, but the bike was finicky, inconsistent and didn't do any favors for anyone else riding one.
 
povol
3592101377276501

They dont seem to be very effective for shoulder injuries, ask Pedro and Jorge.
Apparently they are more for the type of soft-tissue injury as Spies latest... Not so effective on impact breaks.

 L8Braker
3592111377277443

Anyone see this from Spies twitter account?  Link from Superbike Planet.

 
http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2013/Aug/13082311.htm
That's a freakin' classic! I'll ask again - wft is goin' on in the Spies camp?

 

That deserves a full quote, LINK ABOVE.

 

by dean adams 

Friday, August 23, 2013

 

 

Reportedly, Ben Spies' Twitter account had a post yesterday which now has eyebrows fully raised in the MotoGP paddock.

Spies underwent surgery on both of his shoulders yesterday and is expected to be off the bike for an additional eight to ten weeks.

At one point, presumably before the surgery, Spies' Twitter account had a message which read Saw the doc today. not great. Off to surgery tomorrow! Bet Carlo is so excited he wont remember to wipe the powder off his nose.

Italian media translated this message to mean that Spies might be referencing Pramac Ducati exec Carlo Pernat in the message. In addition to having a management position at Pramac, Pernat manages several Italian riders including Andrea Iannone.

The post disappeared but not before many had screen-grabbed it.

In 2003, Anthony Gobert was forced out of the Austin Bleu Bayou Ducati team after he made derogatory statements about the team and the bike. The incident was then largely played off as a situation that "just wasn't working out" but it was learned later that the actual legal mechanics of him leaving the team were that Gobert's contract forbade him from criticizing the team. When he did, he was forced out.

Update: Spies' mother, Mary, said this morning that they were mystified as to the Tweet or if Spies had even posted it himself. She said he was still recovering from surgery, has been groggy at best, and was on pain medication before the surgery but was without his phone/Twitter app for much of it. She said that she knows Spies has at least six friends named "Carlo" and that if he did actually write and post the tweet, which she doubts, that he was making reference to Carlo Pernat.


EDIT: Warning: Never Tweet on opiates!
 
Holy .... that is a massive tweet, he wants out or he was pissed at him, but that is a shocker. edit, thinking about it I wonder if mad Mary tweeted it, she has said some crazy .... in the past.
 
Austin
3592051377273863

It's not necessarily a bad thing. I just look at guys like Sykes, Rea, Haslam, Camier, Laverty, Baz, etc. and, while I like a lot of them, I just don't see them as the sort of guys who could make much of an impact in the GP circus given competitive machinery. I suppose that's more of a comment on the state of WSBK at the moment, and it wasn't meant to be a dig at BSB because it's a great national series.


 


Certainly the added pressure of contract season seems to do Toni wonders, but I wouldn't describe his test outing as ..... As I recall, he was a second and a half off, or something like that. And the BMW wasn't exactly the best bike on the grid, either. Sure, Haslam had a good-enough year on it, but the bike was finicky, inconsistent and didn't do any favors for anyone else riding one.


i was fishing a bit ;) i like toni as much as any other nicky fan


 


but from what i remember (which could be totally wrong) ,  he was the SLOWEST of the riders having a go on it and that list included a badly battered neukirchner.


 


bsb is a whole different topic, i don't want to take this off topic too much but i think a solid case can be made that only those who join the gp feeder series have good chances. when it comes to best national SUPERBIKE championship,and hence best breeding ground for wsbk, bsb takes the cake hands down.
 
Keshav
3591981377269366

.... me! I had the same thought - but there's been such a backlash against grammar nazis around here - so I let it pass. :notworthy:


nah it's time to save the fine west-germanic language that is english. jum surely ..... it up on purpose.
 
1. like thats a bad thing
2. he was .... when testing for bmw, seems like what he needs to go fast is his team manager negotiating with other riders rather than a soft front tyre

It's not necessarily a bad thing. I just look at guys like Sykes, Rea, Haslam, Camier, Laverty, Baz, etc. and, while I like a lot of them, I just don't see them as the sort of guys who could make much of an impact in the GP circus given competitive machinery. I suppose that's more of a comment on the state of WSBK at the moment, and it wasn't meant to be a dig at BSB because it's a great national series.

Certainly the added pressure of contract season seems to do Toni wonders, but I wouldn't describe his test outing as ..... As I recall, he was a second and a half off, or something like that. And the BMW wasn't exactly the best bike on the grid, either. Sure, Haslam had a good-enough year on it, but the bike was finicky, inconsistent and didn't do any favors for anyone else riding one.

You know better than to have a dig at our national series Sir....

I do agree that WSBK may have lost a bit of something but that said, I would still rather be Sykes than Starring

 
cliché guevara
3592211377279817

bsb is a whole different topic, i don't want to take this off topic too much but i think a solid case can be made that only those who join the gp feeder series have good chances. when it comes to best national SUPERBIKE championship,and hence best breeding ground for wsbk, bsb takes the cake hands down.


 


I see what you're saying about feeder series, and I agree with you to an extent. After all, Crutchlow and Spies are both WSBK grads and have, at one point or another, looked to be very promising and successful riders in MotoGP. I'm just not certain I see that sort of potential in anyone in the series right now. And while I admittedly know very little about Aus Superbikes, I won't offer any arguments that the AMA is a stronger series than BSB. If you want to race Superbikes, or go that route, BSB is your best option, in my opinion—and that opinion is shared by a number of riders I've spoken to.


 
Willski
3592261377280193

You know better than to have a dig at our national series Sir.... I do agree that WSBK may have lost a bit of something but that said, I would still rather be Sykes than Starring


 


And you know better than to think I'd have a dig at BSB—it's where I got my start, as you're well aware. You know, before I hit the big time of BMW hospitality and camping out of your Volvo.
 
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