do you think Rossi made a bad choice going to Ducati ?

[hornetmike]

He was firstish last year all through testing, 13th this year, I don't think the bike is up to it.

I am a Rossi fan, I like that he is not scared of getting close on the track because he is never on the edge of his skill.

1. Casey Stoner AUS Repsol Honda Team 1m 55.681s (46)
2. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team 1m 55.745s (39)
3. Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing 1m 56.294s (45)
4. Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m 56.433s (70)
5. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 1m 56.439s (58)
6. Randy de Puniet FRA Pramac Racing Team 1m 56.445s (67)
7. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha Factory Racing 1m 56.707s (48)
8. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 56.716s (57)
9. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 1m 56.726s (68)
10. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m 56.740s (73)
11. Hector Barbera ESP Mapfre Aspar Team 1m 56.798s (62)
12. Alvaro Bautista ESP Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m 56.931s (63)
13. Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Marlboro Team 1m 56.988s (50)
14. Loris Capirossi ITA Pramac Racing Team 1m 57.345s (62)
15. Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 57.730s (28)
16. Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing 1m 57.846s (49)
17. Toni Elias ESP LCR Honda MotoGP 1m 58.536s (57)
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87 Honda CG 125 - 97 ER5 - SR 50 -81 Z250- 96 CBR 600 F- 94 GPX600R 88- GPX 400R- 87 GS 125 - 2006 Honda CB600F- 2003 ER5 - Honda CBF 1000 2009 - Honda CBR 600 RR 2011
Current BMW R1200GS 2010

[MarJay]

Absolutely not. Rossi has done poorly in pre season testing before. I don't understand why people were suddenly expecting him to get on a Ducati and go mental-fast. I suspect the bike is not configured to his liking and he needs to spend a bit of time developing it.

My guess is that the first half of the season will be very disappointing for Rossi fans. Hor-Gay will dominate and then Ducati will bring in the new frame, or the big bang engine, or the stiffer swinging arm or whatever and Rossi will put up a helluva fight. He might not be champion this year, but I suspect we're in for an exciting season.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[Acemastr]

Rossi has done this before, been shit pre-season, getting people in the frame of mind that he won't be any competition, then pretty much owning the entire field.

He's extremely good at screwing with his opponents heads.

I personally can't wait to see him battle his way through
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2017 KTM 350 XC-F - 2014 Yamaha R6 - 2005 Yamaha YZ125
2016 Toyota Tacoma Limited

[Dazbo666]

I'm guessing that Rossi gets a lot of his motivation from developing and improving the bike, and adapting his riding etc

It may be that Rossi fans won't be happy at the beginning of the season, but I believe he'll soon have the bike tweaked and developed to his preferences very quickly
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1st bike (Sept'06 - May'10) : 1991 GPZ500S / Current bike (since Nov 2009) : 2003 Suzuki Bandit 600N
Word of the day : DILLIGAF

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

His shoulder Op didn't go as well as expected, so he's always got that excuse to fall back on.

Only Casey seemed able to hustle the duc(still got that dodgy front end tho). Gonna be interesting to see how Rossi tames it...Ex World Champion Hayden can't quite do it. (read that the pit garage dividing screen will be no more...maybe sees Nicky as less of a threat)

Stoner....upto speed from the off.

I personally want to see Cal finish in the top 10 Spies in 3rd by the end of the season. Maybe Mad-Marco in 2nd and Dani Yes i'd like Pedrosa to win this time.
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[Maruchino]

Michael Schumacher at Ferrari springs to mind

[Blue_SV650S]

I have no doubt that come the first race, Rossi will be there or there about.

One of Rossi's strengths is being able to diagnose what is wrong with a bike and relaying that to the engineers.

He is also a showman, so I wouldn't put it past him to be be 'Hollywooding' a bit at the moment so he looks cooler when he produces the goods!
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The purpose of life is to fight maturity.

[Clanger]

Not at all, just goes to show the bloke has balls, for him it's all about showing what can be done, what can be acheived. Like when he joined Yamaha - everyone questioned 'what's he done?'...'the oh noes'.

But what did he do...? He turned it on it's head, got the bike just how he liked it, and rode the arse off it and won, may times over and over, just showing what a skilled biker he is.

So what if he does/doesn't do so well in practice, Rossi is one of those riders who will ride up mid-pack and give you some damn fine racing to watch.

If it was all about leading from the front, he wouldn't be a joy to watch and admire all these years...!!!
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss

[pinkyfloyd]

Love him or hate him Rossi is a natural tallent on 2 wheels. The Schumacher of bikes, if you will. Everyone said he'd made a mistake leaving Honda all them years ago and he turned Yamaha around and made them a winning team. Just like Shuey did for F1 and Beneton and Ferrari.

Jorge Lorrenzo has been riding on what Rossi brought to the team for years and without Rossi to give the team input I'd be interested to see what Jorge can do on his own.

Stoner is a tosser. (sorry) When he stays on the track he's not a bad rider but way too inconsistant and good at falling off.

My tip for this season is Ben Spies. He'll be the one to watch.
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[MarJay]

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

[Maruchino]

[hornetmike]

Rossi love's a challenge hopefully he will tame the Ducati, I bet on Marco Sicco because he was 80/1 at the time and there is a chance he could win.
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87 Honda CG 125 - 97 ER5 - SR 50 -81 Z250- 96 CBR 600 F- 94 GPX600R 88- GPX 400R- 87 GS 125 - 2006 Honda CB600F- 2003 ER5 - Honda CBF 1000 2009 - Honda CBR 600 RR 2011
Current BMW R1200GS 2010

[pinkyfloyd]

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

Dunlop was..err how can i put it without sounding disrespectful...He was crap on track.

MS was sooo lucky to be in Ferrari at the right time...not a patch on Senna..both would rather crash than lose tho.

Rossi has it all. I can't compare him to anyone really. Suspect he could make anything with wheels finish faster than most. (F1 testing and he was only 1second a lap slower than MS IIRC).
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[Gerrard]

I don't suppose Rossi's shoulder has helped in anyway, but dont look too much into his slow times in practice.
Should be a good season all the same, its just sad that only a few riders will have bikes capable of winning the championship.
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Chillin near Malaga.
Marco Simoncelli 58

[pinkyfloyd]

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

On Eurosport they've been showing him on the SP1...He comes into the pitlane..dabs foot and into the pit. When his visor is removed he takes a bottle of drink and pours it into his helmet..visor replaced..and off. The other riders were using tubes.

Lovely riding style...Rutter reminds me of Joey in that respect.
____________________
Diabolical homemade music Bandcamp and Soundcloud
Singer songwriter, Artist and allround good bloke Listen to Andrew Susan Johnston here
The Harry Turner Project

[stigger]

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

Schumacher was, and always will be a jammy german bastard.

To be fair..he can ride a bike pretty good too...for a german.
____________________
Diabolical homemade music Bandcamp and Soundcloud
Singer songwriter, Artist and allround good bloke Listen to Andrew Susan Johnston here
The Harry Turner Project

[stigger]

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

Yeah..shame that..

Seen that Rossi has been gobbing-off abit.

[Gerrard]

So what do the bookies say on the odds anyone know?
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Honda Blackbird the great all rounder.
Chillin near Malaga.
Marco Simoncelli 58

[pinkyfloyd]

[Gerrard]

Senna for me..
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Honda Blackbird the great all rounder.
Chillin near Malaga.
Marco Simoncelli 58