Who would you sign?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (roger-m @ Dec 11 2006, 09:36 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>"run wide biaggi" will let his own mind defete him if he doesnt start winning straight away. then he will have a tantrum and blame something or other.
wonder where he will go after he as pissed everybody off in wsb. bsb ama or back to motogp.
I reckon he'll bugger off and do touring cars.. just a feeling

Biaggi is fast, but not everywhere. And he can ride, just not everything. The assessment that he would be up front every once in a while I think is spot on.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (IsraeliRacer @ Nov 27 2006, 09:30 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I'm sure Dorna would appreciate me signing a British rider, so I'd go for Leon Haslam.

I pick...ME!!

I would sign the greatest rider on two weeks of all time: Travis Pastrana. I would also hire Evil Knievel (These guys are so fearless that it doesn't matter what they rode, it would have been first every time or we would have seen some spectacular crashes trying to get there.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Racejumkie @ Dec 13 2006, 06:38 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I would sign the greatest rider on two weeks of all time: Travis Pastrana. I would also hire Evil Knievel (These guys are so fearless that it doesn't matter what they rode, it would have been first every time or we would have seen some spectacular crashes trying to get there.


I am sure the sponsors would love to see their lovely liveries strewn about like a good looking prostitute on dollar day.

Yeah, Crashing didnt help LCR get sponsor attention last year

I'd probably sign Noriyuki Haga (obviously), Ben Spies or Ryuichi Kiyonari.

I'd love to see haga in motogp!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BEN @ Dec 18 2006, 04:07 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I'd love to see haga in motogp!
you mean back in motogp ben
Haga raced in MotoGP on a WCM Red Bull-sponsored Yamaha 500cc motorcycle in 2001, and on MS Racing's MotoGP Aprilia in 2003. He finished a disappointing fourteenth in the championships both years.

Yeah i forgot he rode fin GP.........I always associate him with WSB - doh

He just needs a good team in my opinion, I think he is incredibly underrated.

IMO Haga is fast when he needs to be.

Whats Hagas highest ever finishing position in WSB? He was there back in the Foggy days wasn't he? I'd hardly call his Yammie a dog aswell!

I'd sign Toseland(if he hasn't got a contract for 08 already), Smith if he does well in 125 and 250's.

Biased towards Brits? Me? Never!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (phleg @ Dec 19 2006, 02:05 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>IMO Haga is fast when he needs to be.

Whats Hagas highest ever finishing position in WSB? He was there back in the Foggy days wasn't he? I'd hardly call his Yammie a dog aswell!
Haga won the Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race in 1996 with American Colin Edwards as his teammate. He was the Japanese Superbike Champion in 1997, coupled with four top-five finishes in World Superbike (WSBK) while filling in for the injured Edwards.

In 1998 Haga was racing WSBK full-time, adopting the number 41 he has used ever since. He won five races (including 3 of the first 4) and finished sixth in the championship, despite lacking knowledge of most circuits on the calendar. He also scored an unexpected third place podium in a 500cc wild-card ride at his home race at Suzuka. Haga finished seventh in the WSBK standings in 1999 on the new R7 Yamaha. As Akira Yanagawa came 5th, he was not the highest placed Japanese rider, something which has never again happened since.

Nori improved his performance to challenge for the title in 2000. Many race fans feel he would have won the 2000 championship had he not been disqualified for testing positive for a banned substance. It was later learned that the banned substance was ephedrine, which occurs naturally in herbs used in the Ma Huang supplement Haga had been taking during the off-season to lose weight. As a result, Haga was stripped of his race win points at the opening round in Kyalami, South Africa, and was forced to sit out a 2-race weekend as punishment.
2002 was a winless season in WSBK, but in 2004 he returned to the series with Renegade on a Ducati and was in contention for the championship until the final round. For 2005 Haga has led Yamaha's factory team, finishing third in the championship and becoming the first rider to win a dry weather race having failed to lap fast enough to qualify for 'Superpole'.

In 2006 he is again Yamaha's leading man. After 7 rounds he lies 2nd in the championship to Troy Bayliss, despite not having won a race. At round 7 in Brno he took pole, but finished 3r and 4th in the 2 races, having been passed by Michel Fabrizio on the last lap of both. At round 8 in the UK, he won a race for the first time of the year. At Round 9 at Lausitzring in Germany Nori picked up two second places after battling for the win in both races, the first race was won by his good friend Yukio Kagayama of Alstare Corona Suzuki and the second race was won by Brit James Toseland of Winston Ten Kate Honda who has been his main rival for 2nd place in the year's championship.

I think Haga is a brilliant and majorly talented rider, and very very very exciting to watch. But i cant help but feel like he has had his moment and it didnt work out for him. WSB in 2000 was his, and he was really riding on another level to the others, its such a shame that it didnt work out. As for the gp career, i think staying with two strokes it could have gone somewhere, but obviously that wasnt an option, andt he aprilia gp bike was a mess, but he did outscore colin edwards many times.

I'd love to see Nori winning something big and provingme wrong that his moment has passed, but i'm not so sure its ever gonna happen

Haga is nuts

That's why we love him

I think you will see Haga fighting for the championship this year. At least much closer than the previous years. I don't think Baylis is going to be as dominant as he was, but probably still has the edge.

I just get so excited when I talk about WSBK because the talent pool is so deep. I think it is the best series to watch for sure. They have more stars than MotoGP.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Eagle088 @ Dec 20 2006, 11:40 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>They have more stars than MotoGP.

Watch out, fatty snakeman will give you a slapping.

WSBK can make for action due to control tyres and bikes that are so similar, but MotoGP has its days too.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Eagle088 @ Dec 20 2006, 01:40 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I just get so excited when I talk about WSBK because the talent pool is so deep. I think it is the best series to watch for sure. They have more stars than MotoGP.
well thats your opinion ,but not mine,i suppose it depends on which you follow as to who you think is a "star".
i quite like wsb,its like watching slow motion motogp.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (roger-m @ Dec 20 2006, 10:43 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>well thats your opinion ,but not mine,i suppose it depends on which you follow as to who you think is a "star".
i quite like wsb,its like watching slow motion motogp.

WOW!!

Slow motion? These are still the fastest 1000cc production sport bikes in the world we are talking about right?

Besides, I wouldn't care if they were on hot wheels 4-wheelers. When your on the track its man+machine vs. other man+machine. I do not mean to be argumentative, but the way I think about racing I would rather watch wsbk because they almost always produce the best wheel to wheel action with some of the best names in the sport. Do not get me wrong, but you very rarely see more than 2 guys in a fight for the lead in GP, but when you do it is incredible.

Hmm tough question, obviously with being English my first choice would be Neil Hodgson. But thinking Japanese, I'd try and bring back Youichi Ui, he is a 125 champion, so he knows what it takes to win. Plus his name is Ui, which sounds like wee.