Hayden to Ducati

[R.W.]

After months of speculation, Hayden signs with Ducati, I hope the kid can do something on the Duc and give Honda the big ...



MOTO-RACING - MOTOGP: Hayden to Ducati Announcement Expected Soon - SPEEDtv.com

[Longerfellow]

Looks like I'll be a Ducati guy now as far as Moto GP is concerned.

[WhiteKnight]

In most of his interviews, it seems there is always something wrong with the bike. I have not yet seen (or heard, but that doesn't mean I didn't miss something) him say that his poor performances this year are any fault of his. Don't get me wrong, I hope he does well next year, but at some point one has to look at teh rider as well. I mean, come on, Pedrosa is walking all over Nicky.

[Bubba Zanetti]

NO! (Adam Sandler style)

Man that bums me out. O-well, hope he does well and I'm with you Vinny.

BZ

[sidlives]

It's about time!!

[goinphaster]

As good as Honda is about making awesome machines, they have never been good to their racers. Good examples are Valentino Rossi, Collin Edwards, and now Nicky Hayden. How do you let the team mate of you leading rider cause a crash that nearly kills any hope of a championship? How do you secretly sabotage you leading rider by giving him a bike that is all new instead of tried and true (expecially when the new isn't working?)? none of it has made sense, except when the rider leaves Honda. I still love the bikes, but I will be rooting for Nicky next season- even if he is riding a Duc.....

[reg71]

I'm with goinphaster. They (Repsol) as good as slapped NH in the face. Honda also has more or less stomped on the toes of our local racer, too. I'm not sure if any announcement has been made, but JZ may be riding Italian next year. They were supposed to be in Italy looking at houses this month according to his wife.

[SilverSurfer800]

Originally Posted by reg71

I'm with goinphaster. They (Repsol) as good as slapped NH in the face. Honda also has more or less stomped on the toes of our local racer, too. I'm not sure if any announcement has been made, but JZ may be riding Italian next year. They were supposed to be in Italy looking at houses this month according to his wife.

Hayden was even questioned about the bikes he was given and Honda was quoted as saying the new bikes were not built for him! This was AFTER he won the 06' GP! I'm surprised he stayed another year with Honda after a statement like that. I don't think Honda ever supported Nicky as well as they should have. I wish him the best of luck at bringing the Moto GP Championship back to Owensburo!

Don't even get me started on Pedrosa almost ruining Hayden's 06' Championship!

[RWB25]

Once again, Honda's ignorance and stupidity has surfaced. The last time I checked the rider with the MotoGP World Championship under his his name was Nicky. He rightfully earned the # 1 rider spot for Honda yet time and time again, Mr. Smurf Pedrosa seemed to rule the roost in the Honda paddock.

Yes, Mr. Pedrosa has won at the 125cc and 250cc level but not at the MotoGP level. Respect is earned, not given. Honda has it completely backwards. Honda always put a bold face on and said they treated both riders equally and valued both of their riders equally but they obviously favoured Pedrosa because of his better performance this year ignoring the fact that Pedrosa has NOT won them an MotoGP title....yet...possibly.

And speaking of Mr. Pedrosa's peformance....let's have a look at the riders,

Pedrosa - 160 cm / 51 kg - 5' 2" / 112 lbs

Hayden - 173 cm / 69 kg - 5' 8" / 152 lbs

Neither of these boys are huge. Hell, my left leg weighs more than Pedrosa and is about the same height.

Everyone here can instantly tell you how much difference a bike will react/perform when you have a rider that is 6" shorter and 50 lbs lighter. And on these GP bikes, that is a HUGE difference. Weight is everything in GP! When engineering a bike/engine for HP/torque you use the optimum parameters....weight and size. The smaller and lighter the better for both the bike and rider. The bike is just quicker. It seems MotoGP is going to all lengths to find the smallest dwarfs that can reach the grips and foot pegs. And Honda has even said (not in as many words) that the current bike was not built with Nicky in mind. You do the math.

Mr. Pedrosa has clearly shown his true temperament and ability to work with others....other riders (not just Honda riders either) and team Honda technicians/officials. IMO, he's a little punk ass that needs to be introduced to some manners. It's not what you say, it's what you do. Shut up and ride and win the dam MotoGP Title. Then we'll listen to what you have to say. I think we all remember the "incident" between Dani and Nicky during Nicky's championship year.

Honda clearly has issues with respect to treating their winning riders.






But back to Hayden. I am NOT surprised one bit Nicky is bailing on Honda and I would too. Honda clearly has their priorities backwards and are anointing Mr. Pedrosa as their # 1 rider. And that is their prerogative. Honda has not been the same company since Soichiro's death and unfortunately his son, Hirotoshi, never really grabbed the reigns of Honda and rather went his own way with his own company, Mugen. We'll ignore the whole tax evasion arrest. He was found innocent though.

The U.S. market is the world's single largest market for Honda....hell for any company. Honda relied on Nicky for North American advertisement and publicity. Now what? Dani? Good luck with that. Send Dani down to Kentucky and ask him to promote Honda there. I'm sure he would get a very nice, warm welcome from the folks in Kentucky. You don't have to be a marketing genius to figure out that people like to support "their own". So I think you'll see more Ducati's sold in North America next year. Especially if Nicky does well on the red beast.

I wish Nicky all the best with Ducati. I can't say I'll cheer for him, well for him yes but not for Ducati. But I can't say I can cheer for Honda much either with their continuing soap opera and Mr. Smurf still their # rider. And I will especially love it when Nicky does better and possibly win a second MotoGP title with Ducati. Then we'll see some PR moves from Honda like you've never seen before. Who knows, maybe Nicky will convert me over to Ducati. Stranger things have happened.

Thanks for listening and allowing me to vent. Apparently, this has been festering inside me for a while now. Sorry, I just couldn't stop typing. And NO! I don't need Dr. Phil! Unless he's going to give me a 1098! But I do think I need a hug. Screw that. Beer and pizza!

Even better. Going to go for a nice, long ride. Then beer and pizza!!!

I feel much better now.

Thanks.

[vfourbear]

Nicky and Ducati are a good match. Honda has obviously decided that that little fart Pedrosa is their Euro popular guy, so screw em . Nicky will kick ther asses. I...can't...wait!!

[vfourbear]

It is alo my fervent hope, that sometime next year, Nicky lowsides that shit Pedrosa out of the race.

[reg71]

Originally Posted by vfourbear

It is alo my fervent hope, that sometime next year, Nicky lowsides that shit Pedrosa out of the race.

hehe. now wouldn't that be ironic...

[RWB25]

I throw some Lira down to see that!

[vfourbear]

If there were some way he could do it at Laguna, or even better at Indy. Oh yeah, Spain would be the place!

[RVFR]

Originally Posted by sidlives

It's about time!!

Yea man this is good news, I'm more in the thinking that it was Repsol that was the problem. Maybe now this will make things very interesting.

[cynyc]

I'm happy for Nicky. Even to an untrained eye, watching him race his current setup...you could tell the bike was not built with him in mind. Its always seemed as though he was fighting the bike instead of racing it. I wish him nothing but the best with Ducati.

Now this is going to be quite a coup for Ducati. Having Stoner and Hayden on Ducati's is like an all star team. Just add Rossi and call it the Dream Team.

[Molsan]

Bah humbug.

I won't chear for the arrogant punk ass smurf. He's an ass.
I want to cheer for honda but now can't, i won't watch that jerk.

Ducati was always a favorite...
reminds me i saw a nice used ST4

[ILVFR75]

good for Nicky! Honda can't seem to get it right these past couple of seasons. I wish him the best on the Duc.