Ducati MotoGP: Rossi Gets Gold Mine, Hayden Gets The Shaft

It's not all because of the bikes. It's been easier to get a loan on a Ducati than on Japanese bike for a few years now.

 

I think part of it is that Ducati has made big strides in maintenance and reliability. I think a lot of people passed on Ducati in the past because of maintenance. Two of my buddies who bought Ducati's recently said this was a major factor in their purchase.

Also, Ducati has a much fuller line up now, so if you want to hop on a Ducati you've got a lot of options, and several of them are not much more expensive than the Japanese supersports. Especially now with the ridiculous yen/$ exchange rate.

Then you have the economic crisis that caused all of the Japanese manufacturers to pull waaay back on model development (except for maybe Kawasaki). That's the main reason I bought an 1199 instead of another 1000RR.

 

NASCAR absolutely LIVES off this fact. I have a couple friends who will only buy a Ford because their favorite NASCAR driver races a Ford.

 

yea i know... cause now there's a ton of people aged 26-35 making well over $100k a year, especially in the two cities i spend the most time (DC and LA) so what's $5000 more over a japanese liter bike when you could have the special italian one, especially when financed over 4 or 5 years? $60 more a month? its still the same game, just the expendible income age ground shifted down some more. its the US customer's demographic that's changed drastically in the past decade, not Ducati's specifically. they're just reaping the benefits.

bingo.

you know how many people i've heard talking about suzukis again just because of their $0 down 0% APR for 5 years commercials? nobody thinks about Guy Martin or Josh Brookes or the fact that there isn't even a MotoGP team at all anymore. they still buy em' cause that's where the deal is. in 08' (the last time i looked at the industry studies) Suzuki sold as many sportbikes as all 3 of the other japanese companies combined... i wonder why that was?

 

Or is their favorite NASCAR driver their favorite because they drive Fords?

 

Who is this Nicki guy and where did he come from?

 

If the rumour is true, when Rossi was talking to boss Audi he had boss Ducati leave the room.

 

I have had this argument many times.....Ducati timed their shit perfectly. When the switch to the 800's took place Ducati knocked it out of the box from the jump. Their bike was way faster than the Yamaha or the Honda and handled okay. Best example.....the race in Shanghai that year. Rossi was killing it in the corners, working his way past Stoner and keeping him behind him but every single time they hit the main straight Stoner came from multiple bike lengths back and passed Rossi. I think it was not until Motegi or Estoril (the second and third last races of the year) that the Honda with Pedrosa's light ass on it started keeping up with the Ducati's in the straights.

Not negating Stoner's talent. I noted his raw potential when he was still on a Satellite bike in MotoGP and racing at the front but the Ducati that first year had a clear speed advantage. Mix that with decent handling and a rider that was known for be a win it or bin it rider and Ducati got a championship.

Leslie

 

Raw power with a bike that handled like shit. If you watched the front end that season, Casey was a god and I'm not a casey fan but he would literally push the bike to a front end tuck in every single corner and then pull it back. Thats raw talent. It wasn't a win it or bin it attitude, it was him having to push the bike to the point of binning it in every single corner and every once in awhile he would lay it down

 

Rossi's helmet design says let's stick together so they are speculating that he will remain with Ducati. I'm hoping Nicky still has a chance to stay on a good ride in moto GP but I would like to see him in WSBK. Too many brits in WSBK at the moment.

 

Who is that a pic of on the helmet?

 

Some TV personality in Italy. They said his name but I'd have to watch FP3 to hear it.

 

If rumours were true, I would believe half the shit you type:up:

 

Don't believe a damn thing that cracka says!

 

I dont believe anything anyone with less than a thousand posts says

 

I'm shocked I've gone this long without a reset!

 

Someone here said at one race, if you looked at the telemetry he was actually crashing 5 times a lap, and recovering it somehow every time. Casey is definitely a god, I hope he gets restless and comes back to whoop on The Janitor and everyone else in 2014.

 

Oh yeah, Stoner has talent for days, no doubt about that. If for no other reason than he managed to win on a bike no one else has been able to. His winning season he was still the only Ducati able to win.....I think Caporossi was his teammate and could not get near Stoner.

Leslie