[.OrgOwner]

As we suspected Nicky Hayden will be riding with Ducati in 2009.

Ducati have confirmed former MotoGP world champion Nicky Hayden will replace Kawasaki-bound Marco Melandri as team-mate to Casey Stoner for next season.
The Repsol Honda rider, who won the world title in 2006, announced his decision to leave Japanese manufacturer on Monday.
"We are really happy to have Nicky join us," said Claudio Domenicali, Ducati Corse CEO. "We are certain that his never-say-die attitude, riding style and character will be great additions to our team in 2009."
Hayden will take part in a Ducati test straight after the final MotoGP round of the season which takes place at Valencia on October 26.
Domenicali added: "I would like to thank HRC for allowing Nicky to start testing our bike immediately after the Valencia Grand Prix.
"I would also like to thank Marco Melandri for his professionalism during a difficult year, which was below all our expectations.
"Unfortunately his feeling with the Desmosedici was never good enough to allow him to ride as well as he can. We wish him all the best for the future."

The Press Association: Hayden lands Ducati role

[setanta]

Do you think Nicky will get the bike he deserves??

[jkobflys]

well i don't see why they wouldn't give him at least the same bike, or why would they give him a better one, the current bike has been developed more by Stoner to fit Stoner, lets wait and see if Nicky can develop his and make it more for his riding style and set up, then let see who can ride it faster they both come from a very similar dirt track background so it should fit him well. Maybe Ducati is looking for total domination with Hayden coming aboard, shall we see nothing but red in 2009?

[lanbrown]

Originally Posted by setanta

Do you think Nicky will get the bike he deserves??

It's not the bike, it is the rider. Rossi has changed his riding style to adapt. Do you think the 500cc GP bikes was like the 250? Do you think the 990 was like the 500? Do you think the 800cc is like the 990? The answer is no to all of them. Rossi has adapted and has won. Nicky keeps trying to ride the 800 like the 990 which is not going to work.

The reason why Nicky did so well at Indy, the rain. This reduced the corner speed of the other riders and allowed nicky to ride the bike how he wants. In the dry he struggles. The rain is always an equalizer.

[spiral]

I see your point but I think the Ducati will suit Nicky better the Honda is all about Pedrosa, he rides nothing like Nicky. The Ducati is all about Stoner, he rides a bit like Nicky. The Ducati also seems to take a bit more 'bullying' that should suit nicky too. Its the best bike in the paddock for him to be on.

[djer73]

Originally Posted by spiral

I see your point but I think the Ducati will suit Nicky better the Honda is all about Pedrosa, he rides nothing like Nicky. The Ducati is all about Stoner, he rides a bit like Nicky. The Ducati also seems to take a bit more 'bullying' that should suit nicky too. Its the best bike in the paddock for him to be on.

WRONG. nicky hayden is one of the few riders in moto gp that uses a relatively small amount of electronics. he likes to feel the bike spin and slide, this helps him find the limit. to ride the ducati anywhere near the front you need trust the electronics totally. by this i mean forget everything you can feel and ride ignoring what the bike is telling you, stoner seems to be the only one able to do this. caporossi and melandri are 2 great riders and they couldn't master riding with their brains out. hayden won't be able to either.

[low-rider]

and who will replace nicky in repsol honda team?

i would like to see rossi back to honda but that will never happen.

there is something you said about adapting the bike. if u take 5 persons and 1 bike you will get 5 different oppinions about that 1 bike. so everyone has his own riding style and that style suits some bikes and some doesn't. also there is something about riders dimensions and weight and bikes dimensions. rossi is tall comparing to lets say pedrosa and i think m1 is a bigger bike then pedrosa's rc so... some riders can make slight changes in their riding styles to adapt different bikes but some can't or can but they need time. we'll see what happens with nicky in ducati. i wish him luck because he seems ok like a person. and i respect him like every other motogp or wsbk rider because any of them rides way better then i ever will.

[nedro]

Hayden joins Ducati for 2009

Monday, 15 September 2008
Nicky Hayden has been confirmed as Ducati factory rider for next season, in a deal announced on Monday.

http://resources.motogp.com/files/im...pg.preview.jpg
2006 MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden has been officially announced as a Ducati rider for next season, joining current titlist Casey Stoner in the Italian manufacturer´s star-studded factory team lineup.
The announcement follows Hayden´s first podium of 2008, taken at last Sunday´s Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix.
`We are really happy to have Nicky join us,´ declared Claudio Domenicali, Ducati Corse CEO and Ducati Motor Holding Product Director. `We are certain that his never-say-die attitude, riding style and character will be great additions to our team in 2009.´
The `Kentucky Kid´ will have his first chance to ride the Desmosedici GP9 after the final race of the season at Valencia, the scene of his 2006 title triumph. He has received special clearance from HRC to make the seamless switch. Domenicali thanked the Honda and outgoing Ducati rider Marco Melandri in the short statement
` I would like to thank HRC for allowing Nicky to start testing our bike immediately after the Valencia Grand Prix. I would also like to thank Marco Melandri for his professionalism during a difficult year, which was below all our expectations. Unfortunately his feeling with the Desmosedici was never good enough to allow him to ride as well as he can. We wish him all the best for the future.´
Hayden joins the squad after a long association with Honda, for whom he picked up titles in AMA Superbike and 990cc MotoGP competition. The Japanese factory issued a press release confirming Hayden´s departure, in which both parties expressed their gratitude for their time together. Like Ducati´s acknowledgement of Melandri´s tough time with their 800cc bike, Honda also made mention of Hayden´s own difficulties with the RC212V.
`We wish to thank Nicky for all he has achieved for Honda both as a rider and a man. Nicky and Honda have shared much success and a few disappointing days but in each case Nicky has always behaved cheerfully and has led the team in a positive way. His warm-hearted character has been much loved by all who have worked with him,´ stated HRC president Masumi Hamane.
`Nicky raced the 990cc RC211V with great success but since the technical regulations reduced MotoGP engine capacity to 800cc, both Nicky and HRC have tried our best but we have been unable to find the best balance between rider and machine necessary for Nicky to show his full potential, so we have decided to part company at the end of the season.
`We want to thank Nicky who always tried positively under tough conditions. We respect him for his brave challenging spirit. We wish Nicky good luck for the future with his new challenge. Nicky is a good guy loved by all, but also he is a tough competitor and I am sure he will be tough to beat next season.´

Hayden himself singled out Honda for praise, although he would not talk about the 2009 season just yet with four more races to go in the current campaign. `(My time with Honda) It´s something I´ve enjoyed a lot. I want to thank everybody there, all the guys from tyre technicians to crew chiefs and all the way up. Sure, it hasn´t just been one big holiday, along the way there´s been some tough days but a lot of good days too,´ said the American.
`I´d just like to thank everyone, and the best way to thank them is to put up some results these last few races. That´s the plan.´

[nedro]

I missed this last week.
Funny comments from the article:
Pedrosa threatened to not race unless he got Bridgestone.
Hayden told he was no longer needed after Donnington.
Hayden was told not to even try to ask for Bridgestones, it won't happen.
MOTO-RACING - The Online Motorsports Authority - NASCAR Racing Schedule - F1 - Formula 1 - Drag Racing - Motorsports - Indy Car - SPEEDtv.com

[lanbrown]

Originally Posted by low-rider

there is something you said about adapting the bike. if u take 5 persons and 1 bike you will get 5 different oppinions about that 1 bike. so everyone has his own riding style and that style suits some bikes and some doesn't.

We are talking about racers.

Originally Posted by low-rider

also there is something about riders dimensions and weight and bikes dimensions. rossi is tall comparing to lets say pedrosa and i think m1 is a bigger bike then pedrosa's rc so...

You really don't want to go there as the 211 and 212 are almost identical in dimensions. The 212 is not a smaller bike over the 211. You can find the dimensions on the Internet and on the Honda site.

Originally Posted by low-rider

some riders can make slight changes in their riding styles to adapt different bikes but some can't or can but they need time. we'll see what happens with nicky in ducati. i wish him luck because he seems ok like a person. and i respect him like every other motogp or wsbk rider because any of them rides way better then i ever will.

Rossi just doesn't make the engineers do all the work; he adapts. This is why Rossi is the greatest GP racer to date. He adapts and if you are slow to adapt, then you are not the best. If you think that Nicky is slow to adapt or just can't, this is why he is a paper champion. You can't have it both ways.

[low-rider]

Originally Posted by lanbrown

We are talking about racers.
Rossi just doesn't make the engineers do all the work; he adapts. This is why Rossi is the greatest GP racer to date. He adapts and if you are slow to adapt, then you are not the best. If you think that Nicky is slow to adapt or just can't, this is why he is a paper champion. You can't have it both ways.

funny thing is that less then year ago you all were saying that rossi is finished, that he is gone, that his winning form is thing of the past, that everybody in the grid r better riders (from stoner to pedrosa to hayden to jorge lorenzo etc.). there was even topic about is rossi finished and most of the people said yeah. i said that he is not finished and that he will get back to winning. back then i said that he is my favorite rider of all times. the same thing can happen with hayden. he wasn't so good after he won in 2006. but everything can change. maybe he will be in the first 3 next season. hayden is not my favorite rider, neither is pedrosa or stoner or lorenzo or anybody else. rossi is and rossi was even last year when stoner was dominating and rossi was going up and down with his form. all i'm saying don't be so sure that hayden or anybody else can't come back. with ducati he will have bridgstone tires and we've seen that most of the riders perform much better on bridgestone's. that helped rossi a little. i think ducati is more agressive bike which suites hayden because of his agressive riding style. he doesn't like electronics much but maybe he can adapt to that. ducati is a bigger bike (at least it seems like that when you see it next to honda).maybe he will have there more freedom and chance to participate in changing the bike to suit him more. all those details help a rider to get some points in championship.

one more time...hayden is not my favorite rider. rossi is and will be but i'm just saying don't rush with conclusions like you did last year with rossi.

[low-rider]

Originally Posted by lanbrown

We are talking about racers.

even among racers there are some bikes (or tires) that doesn't feel right to some racers. u said it urself that there r riders which adapt fast or slowly or don't adapt at all.

[low-rider]

i would like to see if stoner would do good on hayden's honda with michelin tires

[dicknose]

Originally Posted by setanta

Do you think Nicky will get the bike he deserves??

No - he will get a much better one!

[dicknose]

Originally Posted by low-rider

the same thing can happen with hayden. he wasn't so good after he won in 2006.

Difference is Rossi has won a lot of races over a number of years at different tracks, in different classes etc.

Hayden has won 3 motogp races at 2 tracks.

I never doubted Rossi was the best rider, just last year he wasnt as good a package as Stoner. Did that make Stoner a better rider - no. Just his combo of bike and tyres worked better with him that Rossi could do.

Now the ducati might work for Hayden and suit him.
But the guy has never been a regular race winner, even at his peak on the Honda. So Im not sure if a change of team is suddenly going to do this.

[dicknose]

Originally Posted by low-rider

i would like to see if stoner would do good on hayden's honda with michelin tires

He might not do as well as Hayden.
But that doesnt mean Hayden will do better than him on the Ducati.

I wouldnt be surprised if Stoner would be faster than Rossi on the Ducati, but I dont doubt Rossi is the better rider. Just that some bikes suit some people and they can get the most out of the bike.

[low-rider]

rossi is the best. there is no question about it. he was riding in different classes, different bikes and different engine concepts (2 stroke, 4 stroke etc.). and he was good on any of those bikes in any class. he is great rider. he has a talent, he has a skill and style.

stoner is also good rider. you can't win championship and so many races if you are not good. bike doesn't do the wining by itself.

but i would like to see stoner on other bike and maybe michelin tires just to see how good he is. i'm not sure if he would adapt to some other bike. he wouldn't be last. that's for sure. but maybe on some other bike he would be middle class rider in motogp.

what about james toseland? he was almost invicible in wsbk last year and year before (as i remember). he won wsbk last year and moved to motogp this year where he didn't make some high results. also kenan sofouglu was last year's wss winner by long way and moved to wsbk this year where he is almost invisible. they are both professional riders which didn't adapt to new surroundings and bikes. when i said that 5 persons can have 5 different oppinions about 1 bike you said that those are proffessional riders. james toseland and kenan sogouglu are proffessionals.

ok now i'm off topic here. i like every season to be unpredictible and surprising.

nobody answered...who will replace nicky in repsol team?

[ldavis]

Originally Posted by low-rider

and who will replace nicky in repsol honda team?

first leads are pointing to dovi from the 250's..

[low-rider]

dovizioso? he is good rider.

[nedro]

Originally Posted by setanta

Do you think Nicky will get the bike he deserves??

Originally Posted by dicknose

No - he will get a much better one!

Typical Australian Bias. But what else would I expect. I suppose "Crash Test dummy Stoner" has a better bike than he deserves also. 'Cause that was his M.O. before he got on the Duc.

[jkobflys]

Originally Posted by nedro

I suppose "Crash Test dummy Stoner" has a better bike than he deserves also. 'Cause that was his M.O. before he got on the Duc.

I think there's still quite a bit of that left in him, he's crashed 2 out of 3 races lately falling out of the title race, and if pedrosa where in better sahpe he might push him out of second place, maybe he will with bridgestones.

[spiral]

Originally Posted by djer73

WRONG. nicky hayden is one of the few riders in moto gp that uses a relatively small amount of electronics. he likes to feel the bike spin and slide, this helps him find the limit. to ride the ducati anywhere near the front you need trust the electronics totally. by this i mean forget everything you can feel and ride ignoring what the bike is telling you, stoner seems to be the only one able to do this. caporossi and melandri are 2 great riders and they couldn't master riding with their brains out. hayden won't be able to either.

WRONG. Who told you to ride the bike anywhere near the front you need to trust the electronics TOTALLY?????? Unless you are one of the people who has ridden the bike, which I don't beleive or you know someone who has ridden which I don't beleive either. You have no idea how much a rider needs to trust the electronics. Loris and Marco ride nothing like Nicky and they never have, that comparison doesn't even compare.

[low-rider]

ok guys. no need for fighting. next season will be mostly about four riders...rossi in the first place, pedrosa, stoner and lorenzo.probably rossi will be dominating and those 3 will be fighting among themselves. similar to this season. and of course injuries will play a part. because if somebody crushes bad then he is not able to race some time and he is loosing points and when he gets back he is not in shape so he can't make excellent results for some time.

[nedro]

Pedrosa doesn't seem to be doing much of anything these days. And he has never had to be a tester, so he knows nothing about developement. And next year will be much more difficult since Repsol's lone tester will be gone.
Why are you giving him so much credit?

[jkobflys]

well i think the pod bot even with his pea like personality does posses racing skills, hes had the best results out of all the Michelin riders and if wouldn't of been for the crash he'd be in second place right now, it's not like he can't race the **** out of the Honda.

[dicknose]

Originally Posted by nedro

Typical Australian Bias. But what else would I expect. I suppose "Crash Test dummy Stoner" has a better bike than he deserves also. 'Cause that was his M.O. before he got on the Duc.

MotoGP records of both:
Hayden - race wins = 3 (from 83 races)
Stoner - race wins = 11 (from 36 races)
Melandri - race wins = 5 (from 79 races)

Its not aussie bias, its based on simple facts.
Hayden was on the Honda for a few seasons when it was the best bike and all he managed was 3 wins, 2 of which were at Laguna Seca when it was a new track to MotoGP.
Yes Hayden is good, but he isnt a race winner.
Is there any reason he would do better than Melandri (who Id argue is a better rider and won more races on the non-factory Honda than Hayden did on the factory bike)

Maybe the bike will suit Hayden and he will do well.
But he doesnt have a record that says he "deserves" very much at all.
A world championship with 2 race wins!?
List the current MotoGP riders by race wins and were does Nicky come in?
Top 3, top 5?
Hmm - who is ahead of him
Rossi, Stoner, Pedrosa, Capirossi, Melandri

Whats next - saying Edwards deserves a better bike because he almost won a race once!
So maybe instead of looking for Aussie bias, maybe you guys should be looking at US bias! Your rider hasnt done enough to deserve a good bike.

[dicknose]

Originally Posted by nedro

Pedrosa doesn't seem to be doing much of anything these days. And he has never had to be a tester, so he knows nothing about developement. And next year will be much more difficult since Repsol's lone tester will be gone.
Why are you giving him so much credit?

Because he can win races!
And thats the idea of racing.

[lanbrown]

Originally Posted by low-rider

funny thing is that less then year ago you all were saying that rossi is finished, that he is gone, that his winning form is thing of the past, that everybody in the grid r better riders (from stoner to pedrosa to hayden to jorge lorenzo etc.). there was even topic about is rossi finished and most of the people said yeah. i said that he is not finished and that he will get back to winning. back then i said that he is my favorite rider of all times. the same thing can happen with hayden. he wasn't so good after he won in 2006. but everything can change. maybe he will be in the first 3 next season. hayden is not my favorite rider, neither is pedrosa or stoner or lorenzo or anybody else. rossi is and rossi was even last year when stoner was dominating and rossi was going up and down with his form. all i'm saying don't be so sure that hayden or anybody else can't come back. with ducati he will have bridgstone tires and we've seen that most of the riders perform much better on bridgestone's. that helped rossi a little. i think ducati is more agressive bike which suites hayden because of his agressive riding style. he doesn't like electronics much but maybe he can adapt to that. ducati is a bigger bike (at least it seems like that when you see it next to honda).maybe he will have there more freedom and chance to participate in changing the bike to suit him more. all those details help a rider to get some points in championship.

one more time...hayden is not my favorite rider. rossi is and will be but i'm just saying don't rush with conclusions like you did last year with rossi.

I never said Rossi was finished; so don't use the word "all."

If Nicky doesn't do a thing on the Ducati; at least the Nicky supporters can always say the bike wasn't designed for him.

Originally Posted by low-rider

even among racers there are some bikes (or tires) that doesn't feel right to some racers. u said it urself that there r riders which adapt fast or slowly or don't adapt at all.

Racers adapt; riders don't.

Originally Posted by dicknose

Maybe the bike will suit Hayden and he will do well.
But he doesnt have a record that says he "deserves" very much at all.
A world championship with 2 race wins!?
List the current MotoGP riders by race wins and were does Nicky come in?
Top 3, top 5?
Hmm - who is ahead of him
Rossi, Stoner, Pedrosa, Capirossi, Melandri

Whats next - saying Edwards deserves a better bike because he almost won a race once!
So maybe instead of looking for Aussie bias, maybe you guys should be looking at US bias! Your rider hasnt done enough to deserve a good bike.

Hayden hasn't earned his keep. He was pretty much forced on HRC and hasn't done much.

I would expect more out of Edwards than Hayden.

[.OrgOwner]

So is anyone going to tip Hayden / Ducati for a top 3 finish in 09?

[jkobflys]

this is my tip for 09

Rossi, Pedrosa, Lorenzo, stoner and Dovizioso but not necessary in this order, i know theres not allot of experience within these five except for Rossi but i think these are the top five now. and can be the top 5 in 09.
The rest of the guy's are also great riders but they've been around longer than these 5 and haven't showed as promising in my opinion.