[deez]

from Cycle News, Colin Snr. posted this on Colin's site, enjoy.

You will find them at the opposite ends of the tact scale. One, a polite young Kentuckian with a mop of mousse-matted hair framing a creaseless complexion, the other a slender, buzz-cut Texan with a few lines around the eyes that glint with mischief and quick humor.

Nicky Hayden is likely to be political, the root of which is polite, which he and his family are to a fault, though sometimes you might find Rog on the fringes (see DiSalvo, Jason). Colin Edwards is not. Edwards admits his brashness may not be the greatest career builder, but he’s done all right. There are the two World Superbike Championships and the three Suzuka 8-Hours wins.

Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) expected to steamroll its wayward Valentino Rossi, in this year’s MotoGP World Championship. Leading up to and following his defection to Yamaha, senior staff voiced confidence in the product, the mighty RC-211V. They would flood the grid with the all-conquering machine – there were six this year – and Rossi would do well to finish seventh. It was David and Goliath; the equivalent of bringing a slingshot to a tank fight. What was missing in this equation was something Honda has misunderstood more than once, the human element.

The key to this year’s World Championship is not Valentino Rossi. The key is a wizened crew chief from Australia named Jerry Burgess. Burgess began his GP career under the tutelage of Erv Kanemoto, quickly moving through the ranks. It was he who helped Wayne Gardner to his 1987 500cc World Championship. That winter he told me in a phone conversation from his home in Adelaide that he was thinking of taking on a young Australian by the name of Mick Doohan. Five World Championships later, a string that would have continued had Doohan not suffered career-ending injuries at Jerez in 1999, he found his next rider – Valentino Rossi.

Burgess said at Welkom in South Africa that developing the much-maligned Yamaha MI into a GP winner in a matter of 12 weeks was the hardest thing he and his crew had ever done. Without them, it would not have been possible. Without Burgess and the boys, Rossi’s victories in Welkom and Mugello and Catalunya wouldn’t have happened. With another crew chief, he would eventually have gotten to the front. But not this quickly and not this often.

Word in the paddock is that Yamaha doubled the salaries of Burgess and his crew. A powerful incentive to be sure, but not one that Honda couldn’t have neutralized. What Honda should have done is hand Nicky Hayden to Burgess. It would have accomplished two things” First, it would have accelerated Hayden’s learning curve, and secondly, it would have prevented Rossi from developing a winning machine. Maybe Honda didn’t want to take Hayden away from his current crew chief, Trevor Morris. But for a company spending tens of millions of dollars on racing to be so sensitive to the feelings of one employee seems down-right human.

With Rossi and Burgess developing the RC-211V, there was a direction, and it was the right one. They refined the best Grand Prix machine in the world. It wasn’t perfect, and Burgess got in trouble for pointing out the flaws in the rear suspension. But almost anyone could win on it.

Honda’s philosophy was to build the perfect machine, one with less adjustability than the others, less chance to go gliding down the wrong path. The Yamaha, on the other hand, is a chameleon, eminently adaptable to the vicissitudes of racing.

For 2004, Michelin designed a fatter rear tire that takes advantage of Yamaha’s adjustability. The tire is less of an advantage to the Honda, even though it offers more side grip. The increased contact patch does things to the front of the Honda that riders don’t like. Edwards has been outspoken about the front-end chatter. Any time championship leader Sete Gibernau is shown talking to his crew chief during qualifying, his hand gestures suggest the same. The cure is a geometry change, something the Honda doesn’t allow.

“At the moment we have fixed everything.” Edwards bluntly says. “You can’t change anything. We have to change. We have to. If we don’t, Yamaha are going to win the championship.”

Hayden is less strident.

“I’m pretty limited,” he says. “HRC, one thing this weekend, basically I got the bike and can change a few clickers, but they basically got their bike and want me to ride it.”

Great things were expected from both riders this year. The other Americans were never going to be world beaters. The Suzukis of Kenny Roberts Jr. and John Hopkins are much improved, a lot owing to the influence of Erv Kanermoto, now working with Roberts. But the Bridgestone tires aren’t a match for Michelins. And the GSV-R is 15-20 horsepower down, Roberts says. Kenny’s younger brother, Kurtis, is in even more dire straits. He won’t discuss the problem of the Dunlops, but his father will, saying the team is “basically out of business until we can come up with a tire that’s a lot better.” In Kurtis’ hands, the Proton KR V-5 has been unridable and prone to problems. From the side of the Catalunya circuit, ht was obvious he couldn’t get on the gas without the rear stepping out, though he’s always had a heavy throttle hand.

What’s keeping Hayden from winning? “I’d say it’s just the pace really,” he says with his characteristic honesty. “Some people won’t admit it. Other riders I’m sure won’t admit it., but the pace has stepped up a lot this year from last year.”

Hayden says you might not realize it back in America watching on television. “But you go ask (Neil) Hodgson, who was World Champion last hear ahd he’s 17th today. I think it’s just that the rider talent is really high right now.”

Edwards didn’t look like himself at CAtalunya, hasn’t all year.

“You see me on the track, and it looks like I should be in 15th, and I’m winning a race,” he says about the smoothness he’s shown all these years. That’s how Rossi and Gibernau looked at Catalunya.

The bigger Michelin doesn’t turn on the same radius as the front on the Honda. The contact patch is moved. They have to figure out how to get the front and rear turning on the same arc.

“Like Yamaha’s done, piece of cake, no chatter, everything’s beautiful, smells like roses.” Edwards said. His machine is quite different from Gibernau’s. “From the swingarm pivot back, our bikes are identical. From the swingarm pivot forward, everything you can think of is different. This comes with the territory. You win races; that’s what happens.”

That said, Edwards says, “Sete’s got chatter out the ying yang.”

A smaller rear rim boosted Edwards’ confidence, though he lost some side grip, and he and Hayden were testing the day after the Catalunya race. It’s only a matter of time before they’re back in their customary spots at the front.

“I’ve got to get some front confidence and start being smooth, and when that happens and I start feeling in my element, it comes.” Edwards said. “When I’m aggressive and fighting it and I feel like I’m going warp speed, that’s not me.”

For Hayden, “It’s been frustrating. I mean, sure, I’m getting a lot of flak because my results haven’t been good, but nobody hates it worse that I do.”

HRC is not known for its patience. He says the company has been “pretty cool” but wants results. There’ve been a few meetings that haven’t been the most fun.

The Honda execs know he’s trying they know he’s learning. They know whether they’ll admit it or not, his problems are of their making.

“It has not been what I wanted.” Hayden says. “I’ve had, essentially, would have had three front rows, a couple of top fives. I crashed out fighting last week (in Mugello) and Le Mans was terrible. Yeah, a lot of flak. That’s all right. Put it on me. I can handle it.”

[Rios929]

cool read

[Big Kahuna]

Nicky Hayden finished fifth in the championship his first year out. I think that is pretty damn good. He started out slow last year but had some great finishes and a few podiums at the end.

Edwards just needs a few more wet races to climb the ranks. Both Edwards and Bayliss are truly incredible in the rain.

The other top "Carrier" GP guys have been running these tracks for years. They started on the smaller class bikes and have moved up and indeed have a much greater familiarity with the tracks. I think Hayden's performance last year was incredible since it was basically the first time he's ever seen the tracks and had to deal with such a grueling schedule.

[asiliat]

Like I said in the Assen spoiler thread, I think both gents are doing fine. I think you Americans are a little too harsh on your own on this one.

[The Sook]

Problem is, that we and Colin both, expect him to be up front. It's just not right seeing him back inthe ranks. And after reading lots of info from Colin and others from his site, it seems they've been getting rheemed by Honda from the start. Anyway, once Col gets the confidence back, in the tyres, he'll be up there for sure.Nicky only has til the end of the year for his contract to expire and Col has a 1 year deal with a 1 year option at Gresini's option. I just hope Col get's some results toward the end of the year so they'll want him back. He doesn't have the money that Sete has behind him.

[Heavy-Dee]

Nicky was on an incredible tear at the last race. If he would have qualified better he would have been up there.

I'm sick of "what if's", but he's still doing awesome IMO. I hope HRC sticks it out w/ him.

HD

[zenblader]

Originally Posted by asiliat

Like I said in the Assen spoiler thread, I think both gents are doing fine. I think you Americans are a little too harsh on your own on this one.

Agreed. I give Colin and Nicky a lot of credit for having the guts to challenge the Euro riders on their own tracks. Like Big kahuna said, those guys grew up on Assen, etc. Americans want Americans to win all the time and it just ain't gonna happen. It's a big world with talented people from all countries. I wouldn't expect to see either Colin or Nicky on the podium more than four or five times this year and maybe six or seven next. IMO that would mean they were doing very well. Until Rossi gets bored and moves on to four wheels, he's the king of the hill. After that, probably Sete, Marco, maybe even Xaus down the road. I like Nicky. If he hangs in he'll have a shot at the top but not for another two-three years. Much depends on Honda. If they feck around and piss on Nicky, he may just come home.

[Baketech]

For those of you that rode Grattan for the first time this weekend, maybe it will put a little perspective on Nick's 5th place finish last year. Nearly every one of those tracks were new to him every week....

[Heavy-Dee]

Dude, if Nicky came home to race....whoa Nelly!