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Motogp 2016 Season....with Spoilers


Mattie660

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Woot! Just realised Mike Jones will be on the Avintia Ducati at Phillip Island!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Could be a top ten... he is a serious talent, and knows the track. He did incredibly well at Motegi - actually finishing your first ever MotoGP race is quite an achievement when you've never even set foot in that paddock before.

 

He wildcarded at PI in the opening WSB round this year (he rides for the team Troy Bayliss runs, and was the 2015 ASBK champion) - he finished 14th in race one, and DNF'd race two.

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18 minutes ago, hotshoerob said:

Cal's major sponsor is Monster and Danni's is Red Bull. I can see a conflict of interest there.

 

Good point. :unsure:

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51 minutes ago, hotshoerob said:

Cal's major sponsor is Monster and Danni's is Red Bull. I can see a conflict of interest there.

In an interview with Nicky he also mentioned a conflict of interest with his sponsors but ultimately they worked it out.

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Watching the press conference for PI, Crutchlow was asked if he was disappointed that he wasn't offered Dani's bike and he basically said no and thought they should have offered it to Jack Miller, but was happy that it was Nicky who got it. He did bring up the Monster vs. Redbull sponserhip but also said he rides LCR and that's his team.

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Cal is already riding a "factory spec" Honda, so he would only mess up his support structure by working with Danni's guys for a single weekend.  I doubt the Repsol team would allow Cal's mechanics to work on their bike.

 

Good luck to Nicky and Mike this weekend!

 

Ciao,

 

 

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Still, if he's not coming back to nor has a future in Moto GP, nor will it be useful from a development point of view, I don't see the point.

Get some younger talent on the bike then. See what they're made of.

It serves no purpose.


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2 hours ago, Auspanglish said:

Still, if he's not coming back to nor has a future in Moto GP, nor will it be useful from a development point of view, I don't see the point.

Get some younger talent on the bike then. See what they're made of.

It serves no purpose.
 

 

Whether you agree or not Nicky Hayden is liked by a lot of people and still has crowd appeal. I think Honda knows this and wants to get more mileage from him. As far as purpose, to have as many capable riders on a Honda to help bring in the points for Honda.

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I'm fully aware that what I think will mean didley squat to Honda racing management.

As far as attracting crowds to Phillip Island, off the southern coast of the antipodes in the Antarctic Ocean, you either had it on your calendar and the flights and travel plans already made and paid for or you probably aren't going to make a last minute decision to go because Nicky Hayden is filling in for Dani Pedrosa. Those who might live (relatively) close enough are Australians, not 'Mericans. So that argument holds about as much water as a tea strainer.

As far as the latter point, Honda has the championship in the bag, at least on the rider front, which is what the general public remembers and sells motorbikes. Although I do get they may wish to consolidate the manufacturer's title for full merits. This is surplus to requirements.

Either way, there is no malice in my radical thoughts, it's a forum. I'm just brainstorming outside the box.

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42 minutes ago, Auspanglish said:

I'm fully aware that what I think will mean didley squat to Honda racing management.

As far as attracting crowds to Phillip Island, off the southern coast of the antipodes in the Antarctic Ocean, you either had it on your calendar and the flights and travel plans already made and paid for or you probably aren't going to make a last minute decision to go because Nicky Hayden is filling in for Dani Pedrosa. Those who might live (relatively) close enough are Australians, not 'Mericans. So that argument holds about as much water as a tea strainer.

As far as the latter point, Honda has the championship in the bag, at least on the rider front, which is what the general public remembers and sells motorbikes. Although I do get they may wish to consolidate the manufacturer's title for full merits. This is surplus to requirements.

Either way, there is no malice in my radical thoughts, it's a forum. I'm just brainstorming outside the box.

Are you saying that only 'Mericans like Nicky lol! I'm not saying that he's there to bring in more crowds, he's there because he's has a good following still and many find him to be a good racer. Honda may also want to have him in the spot light more to bring even more attention to him in WSBK. PI, according to Jack Miller's comment yesterday is a sold out event, I'm pretty sure it's not because of Nicky Hayden lol!

 

Maybe Honda is trying to get more sympathy for Dani from all of the Dani haters who felt his crashing into Hayden all those years ago is still an issue. Heck if Nicky can for give him then so can they! :wink:

 

Im not attacking your thoughts here just trying to add to the discussion. As much as I like Nicky, I too thought that Honda could have done with Crutchlow, like Ducati did with Babera but alas they are two different companies and in some ways the situation is different. As far a new or up and coming talent, who do you think they should have brought in?

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It was the term "crowd appeal" that led me to that conclusion. It is true that if there were anywhere in the world likely to have Nicky followers beyond the USA it would be Australia. Yet it's still no deal breaker to have the chance watch Nicky basically parade around the back of the pack, which is highly likely given the circumstances, the riders, the bikes, the current fierce level... hopefully he can make me eat my words but it's been a while since he was up the pointy end. Although Nicky will surely be honoured and chuffed. Maybe it's a thank you gesture from Honda. Maybe they don't want to risk putting someone with no experience on the black label bike but I think it could be interesting... as to who exactly I'd have to study the options but I was basically just challenging the weight of rigid guarded Japanese decision making in this particular genre, maybe they're missing out on discovering new potential.

Who knows. Just thinking out loud.

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I think they already know where potential is. At the end of the day, it's a show. Attention = money and a name like Nicky Hayden subbing in on a factory Honda will grab more attention than an up-and-comer whether it's positive or negative.

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Well, they may already know where talent lies, but what they don't know is how they will adapt to these very particular and special bikes... They don't always hit the bullseye, Toseland, Spies, they did quite well and obviously had bucket loads of talent but never really gelled with it to the point I'm sure was hoped by management on signing big money contracts... it could be interesting to them to apply a try it before you buy it approach.

It's a big gamble signing up new blood on a hunch. Testing runs are not equivalent to race day. Just like qualifying is not the same as race distance on the Sunday.

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2 hours ago, jhenley17 said:

I think they already know where potential is. At the end of the day, it's a show. Attention = money and a name like Nicky Hayden subbing in on a factory Honda will grab more attention than an up-and-comer whether it's positive or negative.

 

And I think CC has proved his potential this season and deserves a full factory team bike to see how he delivers. Whilst a one-shot offer might not suit Cal, cos if he binned it, that would effectively shut down any future promotion, it would be manna to a lot of fans. And I am a firm believer that the LCR Honda is NOT a FULL factory bike like the Repsols. It may have most/all the same parts but it doesn't get the same factory support. JMHO.

 

But he's not young and there is a lot of young talent emerging, so perhaps JM would be a better option, or someone else.

 

However, for whatever reason, they've gone, disappointingly for me, for NH. He's a great rider but having left Moto GP, how bad is it that they have to invite him back?

 

Maybe it's just me??? :blink:

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Only Honda knows why they invited Nicky back for this race...  But he's got a WSB race the following weekend (Qatar), so I wonder who will be on the bike at Malaysia?  (Dani is said to be unlikely to ride it.)

 

Ciao,

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Honda has been known to dip into the WSBK pool for substitute riders, they did so when Johnny Rae was called in to ride, for I believe Pedrosa then too. Since VDM is going to Yamaha and Bradl is currently on Aprillia (although on a Honda in WSBK next year) and considering any up and coming talent in the lower classes will already have their hands full this weekend, I don't know where else Honda would look for a substitute rider at the moment.

 

Personally I think the topic of Hayden being brought in is kind of being beat to death now, let's put it another way...Who would bring in as a substitute?

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Given that it's Phillip Island, I reckon Anthony West would have been a prime choice - he is actually quite capable of running top ten in MotoGP if given a factory bike.

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David Emmett's opinion on Hayden at PI:

 

https://motomatters.com/analysis/2016/10/20/2016_phillip_island_motogp_preview_a.html

 

An emotional return

 

Phillip Island also sees the return of a fan favorite. Nicky Hayden has been flown in from Spain to replace the injured Dani Pedrosa, after test rider Hiroshi Aoyama failed to make much of an impression at Motegi. Hayden has a lot going for him as a replacement at Repsol Honda: first, he has already had a weekend on the Honda RC213V, having subbed for the injured Jack Miller at Aragon. He is familiar with the bike, and more importantly, with the Michelin tires, and of course he is no stranger round Phillip Island, having held the track record at the circuit between 2008 and 2013.

 

He was not everyone's first choice. A lot of fans had called for Cal Crutchlow to take the ride, but sponsorship clashes prevented that – Crutchlow is a Monster rider, Repsol Honda is backed by Red Bull. (Hayden is also sponsored by Drive M7 energy drink, but he is getting round that by the simple expedient of removing his cap when appearing in public).

Taking Crutchlow from LCR would also leave the team with a massive problem: as a one-rider team, LCR Honda are very dependent on Crutchlow's success for their exposure. They could never have found a competitive replacement, and that would have caused problems for Lucio Cecchinello and his sponsors, especially given LCR's event sponsorship model.

 

Crutchlow himself suggested Jack Miller as Pedrosa's replacement. That would have made a lot of sense: Miller is an HRC rider, and has been riding the RC213V all year. He has already won a race, and has shown he can be competitive at other tracks. But Miller is still recovering from broken bones in his hand, and while he is mostly healed, the added pressure of his home race would not have been conducive to avoiding unnecessary risks.

 

So Hayden it is. The 2006 world champion is between race weekends on the Ten Kate Honda in World Superbikes, jetting straight from a test after the race in Jerez to be in Australia, before heading to the final round of the year in Qatar next weekend. It was an emotional moment, he said, seeing his number on the Repsol bike. Memories of the championship he won with the team ten years ago, and teamed up with a rider he had his picture taken with when Marc Márquez was still only a young kid. Now Márquez has grown, and has taken over the mantle of world champion for Repsol Honda. The circle of racing is complete.

 

 

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57 minutes ago, The Phantom said:

Given that it's Phillip Island, I reckon Anthony West would have been a prime choice - he is actually quite capable of running top ten in MotoGP if given a factory bike.

Well according to the commentators on MotoGP.com, AW was scheduled to take Remy Gardner's place in Moto 2. Their story goes that after 37 hours of flying to Australia, we was notified when he arrived, Remy would actually be racing instead! Ouch!

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Well FP2 was canceled yesterday and right now they're trying to get in practice before the rain returns...1 - 2 at the moment Marquez and wait for it...Hayden! 

 

Its still early though

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Wow, weather sure is playing a factor at PI. The top ten and those who will have to go through Q1 sure is unexpected! 

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