Suppo Interview

Thanks Brake.

You gotta love superbikeplanet, they go straight for the jugular.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <div class='quotemain'>Q What do you think of the two most prominent rumors - one, that he doesn't want to ride; two, that he has some issue with the new bike and doesn't want to ride?


Q What do you think the chances are that he's going to make a full recovery?


Q On the subject of Nick Hayden, do you think it's possible for someone other than Casey Stoner to become competitive on the Ducati in just a few races, or in a season?


Q Podium.


Q Does that translate into a new contract?


Q You and I were in World Superbike together when Ducati decided to move Ben Bostrom off the factory team to NCR. And his results improved, because there was less pressure.


Q But that's a prevailing attitude in the paddock, don't you think, that the Ducati is too hard to ride? Simoncelli and others have -


Q The whole Melandri situation for you, on a personal level, must have been excruciatingly bad. This is a guy that you knew since he was 11 years old. You worked with him. He was your close friend, and someone you came into Grand Prix with, when he was a little kid. It must have been difficult to work with him in that situation, where that was the end result.


Q Do you still have a close relationship with him, or is it strained?

A With - ?

Q With Marco.


Q Yesterday, you made some interesting comments about current ideas on how to make GP racing less expensive by leasing engines. I thought it was very profound that you said that none of these meetings are ever about how to increase the revenues, how to increase the marketing of the sport. Could you expand on that?


Q It's interesting that some people think it's going to be some sort of a revelation that if they lease engines to a team that somehow, this is going to make a successful team. This is nothing new, because Team Roberts leased an engine from Honda, and ran it for, what, two or three seasons, and they're gone.


Q Another subject you touched on yesterday was the arbitrary technical rules. Looking at these rules again could also could be a way to reduce development costs, reduce running costs -


Q Last question. Your opinion. Was the move to 800 cc a mistake?


This is why I' an avid reader of this site. Look at these questions, no beating around the bush with these guys.

Interesting stuff. Apparently, Jorge and Dani were meant to replace Nicky b/c Ducati wanted 2 of the 4 people who can win races. I think collecting the top riders was part of Ducati's strategy when they went after Hayden---they wanted 2 of the 3 world champions on the grid.

It's funny to hear people slag Suppo b/c he has a tendency to throw people under the bus when he is under stress, but interviews like this show why he is the Ducati team principal.

The part about intake restrictors cracked me up mainly b/c no one ever talks about them and yet they are used in WSBK. How easy would it have been to simply add an air intake restrictor to the 990s rather than cutting fuel and then later reducing displacement?

We might still have a tire war. We might still see a paddock full of mechanical engineers rather than electrical engineers. We might still see riders getting sideways. KR might still be in the sport. Kawasaki might still be in the sport. etc. etc. etc.

It kind of makes you wish we could hop in a time machine and change the course of history.

Looks like my pneumatic guess might just be insane rambling. Suppo has no idea what the engine department are up to so I doubt revolution is coming down the pipeline.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (mylexicon @ Sep 4 2009, 12:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Interesting stuff. Apparently, Jorge and Dani were meant to replace Nicky b/c Ducati wanted 2 of the 4 people who can win races. I think collecting the top riders was part of Ducati's strategy when they went after Hayden---they wanted 2 of the 3 world champions on the grid.

It's funny to hear people slag Suppo b/c he has a tendency to throw people under the bus when he is under stress, but interviews like this show why he is the Ducati team principal.

The part about intake restrictors cracked me up mainly b/c no one ever talks about them and yet they are used in WSBK. How easy would it have been to simply add an air intake restrictor to the 990s rather than cutting fuel and then later reducing displacement?

We might still have a tire war. We might still see a paddock full of mechanical engineers rather than electrical engineers. We might still see riders getting sideways. KR might still be in the sport. Kawasaki might still be in the sport. etc. etc. etc.

It kind of makes you wish we could hop in a time machine and change the course of history.

Looks like my pneumatic guess might just be insane rambling. Suppo has no idea what the engine department are up to so I doubt revolution is coming down the pipeline.
It's odd how he can go from saying such moronic things and consistently putting his foot in his mouth to being extremely level-headed and dare I say, likeable.

Although, this made me laugh:

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <div class='quotemain'>Dovi won in Donington, but that's - is like Vermeulen won in France, or Loris won in Japan 2007.
Ouch.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (mylexicon @ Sep 4 2009, 10:24 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>The part about intake restrictors cracked me up mainly b/c no one ever talks about them and yet they are used in WSBK. How easy would it have been to simply add an air intake restrictor to the 990s rather than cutting fuel and then later reducing displacement?
Agree.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Austin @ Sep 4 2009, 12:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>It's odd how he can go from saying such moronic things and consistently putting his foot in his mouth to being extremely level-headed and dare I say, likeable.

Although, this made me laugh:


Ouch.
he's got a point tho...

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <div class='quotemain'>We need to develop the bike. But sure to develop the bike you need guys like Nicky that never give up, and try to help, not people that give up and "just the bike doesn't work."Ouch there too. There's no question that Suppo can be brutally blunt.

Very interesting.
Can't say I disagree with anything he said. Excellent interview.
Team managers / principles are probably under similar stresses to riders at times, and it is probably not surprising he has in the past suffered foot in mouthitis, when things are not running as they should.
Seems he definitely has respect for both Casey and Nicky, and obviously Vale, JL, and Dani.

But most interesting were his comments about Caseys throttle control. Pretty well the opposite of all of the pro-Rossi opinions that Casey is the traction-control king. Suppo says Casey would kill them without traction control. One big myth exploded once and for all.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Bunyip @ Sep 4 2009, 01:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>But most interesting were his comments about Caseys throttle control. Pretty well the opposite of all of the pro-Rossi opinions that Casey is the traction-control king. Suppo says Casey would kill them without traction control. One big myth exploded once and for all.

Yeah, I realized the kid could definitely ride beyond a shadow of a doubt at Mugello in 2008. He was having trouble with the engine braking so he was having to feather the clutch in every braking zone. He rode to a second place finish. Old school skills before the days of electronics.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Bunyip @ Sep 5 2009, 06:55 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>But most interesting were his comments about Caseys throttle control. Pretty well the opposite of all of the pro-Rossi opinions that Casey is the traction-control king. Suppo says Casey would kill them without traction control. One big myth exploded once and for all.

I don't think it had any credence at all, only in fairytale land maybe, from day one every single rider has said straight up " its not the bike its Casey" ...... its just many fans tend to believe as many things as possible, to explain why their fairytale is flawed

hhahahahha just open the throttle and hold on theory perpetuated by dumb ..... now hiding in the the closet on this forum. havent seen them around in a while since hayen said the uc required very fine throttle control

As is being said elsewhere it sounds as though casey is on the mend +/- has made up with ducati and they are expecting him back, as suppo seems to have been gagged recently until this interview, probably to avoid him saying something blunt as is his wont to offend casey.

I think he is being honest in this interview and I don't disagree with much of what he is saying, but he is still more blunt than most managers would be in his assessment of kallio and to a lesser extent nicky.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (michaelm @ Sep 5 2009, 11:25 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>As is being said elsewhere it sounds as though casey is on the mend +/- has made up with ducati and they are expecting him back, as suppo seems to have been gagged recently until this interview, probably to avoid him saying something blunt as is his wont to offend casey.
hahahahahha

Christ i miss Stoner kicking Rossi's ......

Great interview thanks for posting the link

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (gsfan @ Sep 5 2009, 01:38 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Christ i miss Stoner kicking Rossi's ......

But like Suppo says - every sport needs its heroes and Rossi certainly is one

Suppo is paid to do this kind of blah blah. His effort to bend reality his own way are sometimes pathetic though, like denying Ducati is a difficult bike to ride

Man I'm sick of talking about Ducati, Suppo and Stoner, Anything this guy says is coming from a Paid perspective. Its easy to jump on and agree with when its whats you want to hear. Taking his comments as gospel isn't the best way to assess MotoGP-example 1- Donnington!

I really don't want them to go down as the team that had the best one off 'field destroying' combination only to lose it and championships with it, however that's all we have from them at present.

The fact is Ducati, Hayden and Stoner are a long way from another championship win, and hopefully if we can .... off these dumb-... 800's, maybe they will be shot to compete again with a new package, but for now its all triple tuning fork.....and the odd Big 'H'.

Maybe if they can pull some strings with their not too silent partner, they might get the main problem out of the way and into F1

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Austin @ Sep 4 2009, 06:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Ouch.

Austin, I didn't read it as an ouch at all as all races involved wet weather and thus not an attack on riders but more the circumstances.

Could be wrong though - happens often, ask the wife.






Gaz

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Gaz @ Sep 5 2009, 04:20 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Austin, I didn't read it as an ouch at all as all races involved wet weather and thus not an attack on riders but more the circumstances.

Could be wrong though - happens often, ask the wife.






Gaz
Yeah I got that. I just would have thought maybe he wouldn't have mentioned that victory in the same breath as the others.