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Spies Assen Decision

As I've said before, I would have liked to see Spies ride Assen but I can't argue with his decision. And my opinion is that it doesn't matter where Spies would have finished at Assen (or Donington or Laguna or Indy for that matter), it's how he worked with the team and how he progressed.

And when I say it doesn't matter where he finished you must take it with a grain of salt, obviously if he is four seconds off the pace it's going to be lights out for his GP career. They are just looking for him to be relatively close and improving every time out and learning. I think his thought process is that there wasn't much he could learn in one practice session, one qualifying session, a warm up and race.
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Tom @ Jul 7 2008, 02:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Well he did over a 100 laps at Indy in the dry, far more setup time than he would have got in Assen. furthermore he will now get to return to Indy for a race, where he aims to make a bigger impact than he did at Donington or ever could have done at Assen. He is banking on making a mark at the American races to get him into motogp, rather than finishing last for default points at Assen. I think thats a legit decision

Its not like he had never been on the bike,hell,he had just finished a race 5 days earlier.They would have had a base line set up that fit his riding style in the books at that point.Considering the shrunken field at Assen,he probably stood a better chance at a points posistion than he will at Indy.Dont forget he finished 2nd to a test rider at Indy by a considerable margin.Nothing to sneeze at but lets face it,test riders are test riders for a reason.Again,it was his decision and it might have been the right decision.It just didnt impress the boss,nor me.Im sure he could give a rats ... what i think but he should give a rats what the future boss thinks and from what is being reported,he was not happy.
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (povol @ Jul 7 2008, 02:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Its not like he had never been on the bike,hell,he had just finished a race 5 days earlier.They would have had a base line set up that fit his riding style in the books at that point.Considering the shrunken field at Assen,he probably stood a better chance at a points posistion than he will at Indy.Dont forget he finished 2nd to a test rider at Indy by a considerable margin.Nothing to sneeze at but lets face it,test riders are test riders for a reason.Again,it was his decision and it might have been the right decision.It just didnt impress the boss,nor me.Im sure he could give a rats ... what i think but he should give a rats what the future boss thinks and from what is being reported,he was not happy.
OVERALL TEST RESULTS, JULY 1-2, INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY:
Pos. Rider Country Time Total Laps Manufacturer Day
1. Niccolo Canepa Italy 1:43.0069 181 Ducati July 2
2. Ben Spies USA 1:43.0912 224 Suzuki July 2
3. Erwan Nigon France 1:43.6276 171 Honda July 2
4. Olivier Jacque France 1:43.8188 162 Kawasaki July 2
5. William Costes Japan 1:44.0680 149 Yamaha July 2
6. Wataru Yoshikawa France 1:44.2975 184 Yamaha July 2
7. Nobuatsu Aoki Japan 1:57.9687 4 Suzuki July 1

Spies was off the fastest lap by less than a tenth. And isn't the rumor that Canepa has been faster than Melandri, Guintoli and Elias? Not that that's hugely impressive but still.
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Austin @ Jul 7 2008, 08:59 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>OVERALL TEST RESULTS, JULY 1-2, INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY:
Pos. Rider Country Time Total Laps Manufacturer Day
1. Niccolo Canepa Italy 1:43.0069 181 Ducati July 2
2. Ben Spies USA 1:43.0912 224 Suzuki July 2
Not only that, but Canepa has had lots of seat time on the Duke compared to Spies only having one race weekend, so 0.085 of a second behind ain't bad IMO.
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (yamaka46 @ Jul 7 2008, 02:14 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Not only that, but Canepa has had lots of seat time on the Duke compared to Spies only having one race weekend, so 0.085 of a second behind ain't bad IMO.

yeah no ....!
<
I bet Cantalope has a GP8 for commuting back and forth to work
<
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Austin @ Jul 7 2008, 03:59 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>OVERALL TEST RESULTS, JULY 1-2, INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY:
Pos. Rider Country Time Total Laps Manufacturer Day
1. Niccolo Canepa Italy 1:43.0069 181 Ducati July 2
2. Ben Spies USA 1:43.0912 224 Suzuki July 2
3. Erwan Nigon France 1:43.6276 171 Honda July 2
4. Olivier Jacque France 1:43.8188 162 Kawasaki July 2
5. William Costes Japan 1:44.0680 149 Yamaha July 2
6. Wataru Yoshikawa France 1:44.2975 184 Yamaha July 2
7. Nobuatsu Aoki Japan 1:57.9687 4 Suzuki July 1

Spies was off the fastest lap by less than a tenth. And isn't the rumor that Canepa has been faster than Melandri, Guintoli and Elias? Not that that's hugely impressive but still.

My bad,when i looked at times last week , i thought it was around 8-9 10ths.Didnt see the extra zero.

Still doesnt change how i feel,nor the boss.
 
i was a little dissappointed when Spies turned down the assen ride, i can understand why he did, but IMO it was a mistake.

1. he is more likely to injure himself badly on an AMA track than assen. have you seen some of those tracks? dangerous yes?

2. if he did injure himself and lose the AMA championship because of it, so what? he will be in GP next year (almost guaranteed) and AMA titles dont count for ..... or WSB or WSS titles for that matter.he's got 2 already anyways.

3. missing the indy test. ok, that would have been unfortunate, but you dont learn as much in testing
as you do in full race conditions. nothing is the same as racing against the rest of the field and that data is the stuff you need to get to the mythical 100% setup, not testing by doing 100 laps. that will give you a good setup which is close, but it wont be perfect.

thats my £0.02

<
 
If he has been entered into this years Indy GP how is he allowed to take part in this test it's an unfair advantage surely? I'm thinking back to Hayden doing the demo laps on the 07 bike so he wouldn't have an advantage (or to make people think he was the current champ as I like to think). How come, Spies isn't a test rider.
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (rgvneil @ Jul 7 2008, 05:41 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>If he has been entered into this years Indy GP how is he allowed to take part in this test it's an unfair advantage surely? I'm thinking back to Hayden doing the demo laps on the 07 bike so he wouldn't have an advantage (or to make people think he was the current champ as I like to think). How come, Spies isn't a test rider.

I read where if your a wildcard entrant and not full time,those rules dont apply
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Tom @ Jul 7 2008, 08:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Well he did over a 100 laps at Indy in the dry, far more setup time than he would have got in Assen. furthermore he will now get to return to Indy for a race, where he aims to make a bigger impact than he did at Donington or ever could have done at Assen. He is banking on making a mark at the American races to get him into motogp, rather than finishing last for default points at Assen. I think thats a legit decision
you make some good points tom.
why run at the back in assen when you can prepare for a popper competition at indy.
<
 
Povol and Al, I hear your pain. I would have much rather seen Spies at Assen. You both are right about injuries, it can happen anywhere. But just consider, I wonder how we would have felt if he had injured himself and missed the Indy test. I think we would have been saying, well he should have sat this one out, after-all, he missed two practice sessions, he may be in a rush, who convinced him to ride, his mom, what a stupid move.... (just maybe).

But yes, you have to take opportunities and the same time how much does wisdom play a role?

Oh, as far as those crapping on his mom (I thought it was funny too), well then, she has managed him in a rather dangerous sport (how many of your mom's would have said motorcycle racing is for you) and consider, she managed him to an AMA title. Not bad for a mom, eh.
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jumkie @ Jul 7 2008, 07:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Povol and Al, I hear your pain. I would have much rather seen Spies at Assen. You both are right about injuries, it can happen anywhere. But just consider, I wonder how we would have felt if he had injured himself and missed the Indy test. I think we would have been saying, well he should have sat this one out, after-all, he missed two practice sessions, he may be in a rush, who convinced him to ride, his mom, what a stupid move.... (just maybe).

But yes, you have to take opportunities and the same time how much does wisdom play a role?

Oh, as far as those crapping on his mom (I thought it was funny too), well then, she has managed him in a rather dangerous sport (how many of your mom's would have said motorcycle racing is for you) and consider, she managed him to an AMA title. Not bad for a mom, eh.
You cant argue with her and Bens success, but she is widly known in the pits as a pain in the ....But who knows,she might be considered a pain in the ... just because she is a woman in a mans world and doesnt let ANYONE call the shots for her son.Usually an outspoken women is considered a .....,especially in a testerone gorged sport like racing.
 
I think he should of taken the ride, just to show suzuki how keen he actually is. It's not easy to get a seat in motoGP, so take the rides, tests etc when you can. He's not going to lose his ride on suzuki in the US, and he's already one the last 2 AMA titles, showing that he is now a better rider than Mladin (who like it or not, is the yardstick to judge riders in the USA).
Even if he crashed and got injured, he's got plenty of time to win more AMA titles in the future. Losing the 2008 AMA title, if he got injured, in the big scheme of things isn't going to hurt his career. But, saying that, I can also see the reasons not to race and they're valid as well.
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Son of Doohan @ Jul 8 2008, 01:27 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I think he should of taken the ride, just to show suzuki how keen he actually is. It's not easy to get a seat in motoGP, so take the rides, tests etc when you can.

Well i know its not exactly the same, but i've seen more than one ex-f1 driver say they went to the sport too early and wish they'd been more patient because the oppertunities they were so keen to take did not showcase their talent in the best possible way. I think this is one of those situations.
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (povol @ Jul 7 2008, 12:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>It just didnt impress the boss,nor me.Im sure he could give a rats ... what i think but he should give a rats what the future boss thinks and from what is being reported,he was not happy.

Negative.

Somebody needs to call Suzuki out. They have been ruining riders careers since KRJR found himself the unexpected recipient of the World Champions trophy. If Suzuki want him to ride so badly they should sign him as a replacement rider, or better yet they should go out on a limb and sign him on full time.

Denning reminds me of Montgomery. Denning is always making grand plans but the primary is always a bridge too far. So Rizla fight the good fight, march on with dignity, and over analyze their failures. For God's sake, will someone call Patton already. Suzuki's objective (winning a dry race in the 4 stroke era) is going to take some balls. Get somebody new, anything is better than watching the Baby Blue ....... perform mediocre feats every season.
<
 
You can't worry about injuries in this sport, otherwise you're not going to be a focused rider on the track and you can't race tentatively.
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (mylexicon @ Jul 7 2008, 08:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Negative.

Somebody needs to call Suzuki out. They have been ruining riders careers since KRJR found himself the unexpected recipient of the World Champions trophy. If Suzuki want him to ride so badly they should sign him as a replacement rider, or better yet they should go out on a limb and sign him on full time.

Denning reminds me of Montgomery. Denning is always making grand plans but the primary is always a bridge too far. So Rizla fight the good fight, march on with dignity, and over analyze their failures. For God's sake, will someone call Patton already. Suzuki's objective (winning a dry race in the 4 stroke era) is going to take some balls. Get somebody new, anything is better than watching the Baby Blue ....... perform mediocre feats every season.
<


Thats not the issue weather or nor not he should be hired for this and that.He accepted the Assen ride,Cappy jumped back in and fell back out, and all of a sudden he didnt want the ride after missing 2 hour of practice.He is under contract with Yoshimura,so Denning cant just hire him.He is riding with permission from Yoshimura,the AMA title is the most important thing but dont make excuses because your pissed that the ride was ...... after being named as rider for Assen.He was going to ride Assen had it not been for Cappy rain,shine,infamiliar track,risk of injury or any other excuse.He rode in the wet on a track he had never seen the week before,why was that not a reason to say i didnt want to risk injury, and as far as setup,he qualified in the rain and raced in the dry so his setup for the race was useless as missing a couple of hours of practice at Assen.
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (povol @ Jul 8 2008, 06:20 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Thats not the issue weather or nor not he should be hired for this and that.He accepted the Assen ride,Cappy jumped back in and fell back out, and all of a sudden he didnt want the ride after missing 2 hour of practice.He is under contract with Yoshimura,so Denning cant just hire him.He is riding with permission from Yoshimura,the AMA title is the most important thing but dont make excuses because your pissed that the ride was ...... after being named as rider for Assen.He was going to ride Assen had it not been for Cappy rain,shine,infamiliar track,risk of injury or any other excuse.He rode in the wet on a track he had never seen the week before,why was that not a reason to say i didnt want to risk injury, and as far as setup,he qualified in the rain and raced in the dry so his setup for the race was useless as missing a couple of hours of practice at Assen.

Rizla Suzuki are in MotoGP, Spies is not.

Suzuki ran one bike at Assen, that is Denning's fault. Any attempt to shirk blame by calling a rider's commitment into question (worse, a rider who isn't even contracted with you for the 2008 season) is pathetic.

Suzuki have been failing miserably for quite a while, too bad Ben is getting caught up in their mess.
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (mylexicon @ Jul 8 2008, 09:28 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Rizla Suzuki are in MotoGP, Spies is not.

Suzuki ran one bike at Assen, that is Denning's fault. Any attempt to shirk blame by calling a rider's commitment into question (worse, a rider who isn't even contracted with you for the 2008 season) is pathetic.

Suzuki have been failing miserably for quite a while, too bad Ben is getting caught up in their mess.

Im more than aware who is in what series and i dont see what that has to do with anything.Spies ACCEPTED the ride,he was not forced,he was estatic to have the chance.Where Denning ...... up was allowing Capirossi to call the shots when he was not ready.He should have told him,i like your spirit but i have already promised the ride to Spies,get ready for the next round.And im not saying its a lack of commitment,its more like a you ...... me,i ...... you scenario
 
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (povol @ Jul 8 2008, 08:42 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Im more than aware who is in what series and i dont see what that has to do with anything.Spies ACCEPTED the ride,he was not forced,he was estatic to have the chance.Where Denning ...... up was allowing Capirossi to call the shots when he was not ready.He should have told him,i like your spirit but i have already promised the ride to Spies,get ready for the next round.And im not saying its a lack of commitment,its more like a you ...... me,i ...... you scenario
There's the winner.
 

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