[nedro]

What a complete Ass Hat! Looks like my prediction for Repsol next year is already starting to come true.
Puig even starts to divert the Factory heat he is feeling twards Danni. What a great guy!

Puig blasts Hayden. | MOTOGP News | Crash.Net

[Maholli]

What a tool...

[Grover130]

Respol - Honda need to get rid of that pig. No team spirit!

[bonham]

Oh, brother. I thought this was going to have something to do with motorcycle racing.

[TattooedGQ]

I can't stand Hayden.....good riddance.

[Grover130]

Maybe the bike is not up to the task.

[denzee]

Looks like Nicky is going to have to copy Stoner's set-up now. Give me a break, what a bunch of BS from the midget and his manager.

[jkobflys]

blah blah blah blah blah blah blah!
coming from someone that finished 5th on his best ever season....


what a dick!

[MACI4LIFE]

a.) i hope nicky beats both repsol bikes.
b.) is Repsol really improving their team by adding Delicioso to their team?

[nedro]

Originally Posted by MACI4LIFE

a.) i hope nicky beats both repsol bikes.
b.) is Repsol really improving their team by adding Delicioso to their team?

Yes, he will finish in front of DP.

[nedro]

More info here. Puig is a prince!
Puig: "Hayden Is A Hypocrite, And Can't Set Up A Bike" | MotoGPMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks
Puig: "Hayden Is A Hypocrite, And Can't Set Up A Bike"


Submitted by Kropotkin on Wed, 2008-10-08 17:37.
in

• <LI class="first taxonomy_term_11">Dani Pedrosa <LI class=taxonomy_term_1>Honda
• Nicky Hayden

It was universally acknowledged that you were unlikely to find a happy, family atmosphere in the Repsol Honda garage. But just how bad things were is only now starting to appear, as the end of a long and unhappy marriage looms at the end of three years. For now, the partners involved are starting to speak out.
Nicky Hayden has been the most reticent of the two sides of the garage so far, refusing to criticize Honda for their treatment of him since he won them their last world title. But in a recent interview with the Spanish daily newspaper El Pais, Hayden spoke out about what he believed was a fundamental flaw in the Repsol Honda setup.
Hayden felt that the team wasn't functioning as a team, with each side of the garage functioning independently and not sharing data to help develop the bike. "I don't like the fact that there's a wall separating the garages and that we're not sharing information," he told El Pais. "We're both on the same team, and we should be working together."
The problem, Hayden said, was not Pedrosa, but his manager. "[Alberto] Puig has too much influence on the team. In theory, he works for Dani, not Honda, but ..." he told El Pais. When asked how much credit Pedrosa still has with Honda, Hayden replied "Dani is great rider, with a lot of talent. But Puig is the guy with all the power at Honda, not Dani. Unfortunately, it's Puig who runs Honda. I know I'm not supposed to say so, but that's the truth."
It seems that Alberto Puig was not at all pleased after this interview appeared in the Spanish press. For today, Puig has struck back in an interview with the official MotoGP.com website, blasting Hayden with some damning comments. When asked about Hayden's objections to the wall dividing the garages, Puig told MotoGP.com "all I can say is that Hayden may be bothered because now he can't access information and telemetry data from Dani's bike. With this information he was able to improve his riding, as he had all of Dani's references and now he can't use that any longer. He was simply copying as he never knew how to set-up a bike."
He also accused Hayden of being a hypocrite in saying he has no problem with Pedrosa. "That's not the case. Everything changed with the incident in Portugal (in 2006), where Dani made a mistake during the race and apologised for it afterwards. Nicky eventually won the title and Dani did what he had to do in Valencia, which was to help him. But from that point -even if Hayden denies it- all he's been doing has been talking about how Dani was 'weird' and bringing the people around Pedrosa into the subject. He shouldn't act like a hypocrite and say that he doesn't have a problem with Dani, because since that incident in Portugal I think he has talked to him about twice."
Puig rejected the claims by Hayden - and repeated by other sources inside the paddock - that it is Puig who pulls the strings at Honda. "In my opinion, those who say that just lack respect to Honda and the work that they do. All I can do is bring my experience of racing like Honda has asked me to do, as I've been working for a long time with Pedrosa and Honda, forming the 125cc and 250cc teams and winning three titles with them. If you refer to Hayden saying that I'm the one who's in charge or used to be in charge, then he has to understand that in this job and in this paddock, anyone who believes he is in charge of anything is simply wrong. Nobody has control over things or is in charge of anything -results decide everything and put the people in the place they are."
And in a sign of what Andrea Dovizioso can expect when he joins the team next year, Puig made his position absolutely clear. "It is a logical step for a rider who has ridden for Honda his entire career, through 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP. He has shown loyalty to the factory, and now he gets a perfect move for him. As for how it will affect us? It really won't change much and won't affect our way of working. He will be another rival on the track."
Clearly, there is a clash of ideologies at work here. For Nicky Hayden, a team is a team, and should stick together. In his vision, everyone on the team, including the two riders, should be working together to improve the motorcycle and make it more competitive. Hayden's views are borne out by his work during 2006, when he was both chasing the world title he eventually won, whilst simultaneously developing the bike that was to become the basis for Honda's 2007 RC212V.
Puig, on the other hand, believes that each rider is an individual, and competes on his own merits. The team structure is a flag of convenience, a tool to help sponsors promote their products, and ensure that the team has everything it requires. Puig believes that a team is just a manner to achieve economies of scale, and that each side of the garage is on their own in terms of setup and data.
The two very different visions provide an interesting pointer to how Repsol Honda's two current riders will fare in the future. Nicky Hayden is heading off to Ducati, a team which has a lot of the family atmosphere he craves, and which has helped Casey Stoner become so competitive on the Italian machine. Dani Pedrosa stays where he is, and if we are to believe Puig's claims that their way of working won't change for next year, then we can expect to see the wall remain in place in 2009, despite both riders being on the same tires. Andrea Dovizioso is likely to receive the same treatment from Puig and Pedrosa that Hayden had to endure.
But Puig's words may yet turn out to be prophetic. "Results decide everything," he told MotoGP.com, and so might they decide the future of Dani Pedrosa and Alberto Puig. Paddock rumblings that Dani Pedrosa and Alberto Puig have one more year to win a championship are getting louder. The mid-season switch to Bridgestones cost a good portion of Pedrosa's paddock capital, and is as yet unproven.
What's worse is the pressure coming from Repsol, the Spanish sponsor of the factory Honda team. Repsol also applied pressure on Honda to force the switch to Bridgestones at Misano, and gave us the remarkable - and unique - spectacle of a major sponsor giving a press conference at a MotoGP race explaining why they wanted the change to be made.
For Repsol is getting increasingly desperate for a Spanish MotoGP champion, and may be mulling over the wisdom of their current investment in the series. Just how desperate Repsol are is clear from an advertising campaign currently running on Spanish TV, shown below.
In it, Dani Pedrosa is seen taking to the track, with a line of former Repsol champions behind him, pushing him on. A powerful image, but one which makes Pedrosa's failure painfully obvious. All of the bikes behind Pedrosa's all bear the #1 plate. Pedrosa's bike bears his current number, #2. Just how long Repsol are prepared to tolerate that situation remains to be seen. And with a rejuvenated Valentino Rossi, and Casey Stoner still in imperious form, Pedrosa's chances are looking frankly rather slim.

[MACI4LIFE]

Originally Posted by nedro

Yes, he will finish in front of DP.

but is it enough to get the championship? Delicioso was already on a honda, so i can't see there being profound changes from his old ride to a repsol. ( i know repsol bikes do get the latest greatest ).

[nedro]

Everyone has something to say about this.
Pedrosa is BATBOY!
Soup :: Jimola: MotoGP Shocker--Pedrosa Is Bat Boy! :: 10-10-2008
Jimola: MotoGP Shocker--Pedrosa Is Bat Boy!
by jim mcdermott
Friday, October 10, 2008
This week, Alberto Puig (pronounced like "Dooge", but with a P), manager/handler to Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa, did an "interview" with Motogp.com, wherein he was hyper-critical of DeePee's outgoing teammate, Nick Hayden. Puig accused Hayden of being "jealous of" and "acting like a hypocrite" about Pedrosa; and claims that Nicky "may be bothered because now he can't access information and telemetry data from Dani's bike".
How to shift the perception that you're a spoiled kid, whose screechy parent can't hide the fact that you've been given everything but can't deliver? Stir the sh*tpot and splash it somewhere else. Deflect. Distract. Change the subject. Don't be surprised if next week, the Weekly World News has the headline: "MOTOGP SHOCKER - DANI PEDROSA IS BAT BOY!"
Obviously, someone has pissed in Alberto's paella. Recently, Hayden did an interview with El Pais, the most widely circulated daily newspaper in Spain, where he said that essentially, Puig controls Honda Racing. Nicky's playful, tongue in cheek comments at Indy about the strife at Repsol HRC since Pedrosa's arrival may have been a catalyst. Or perhaps the media criticism of Dani's mid-season switch to Bridgestone tires, speculation over Puig's part in those machinations and DeePee's erratic 2008 results have taken their toll, and he just felt like ragging on someone. Maybe it was all those boos for Dani at Indianapolis....or was it Hayden's switch to Ducati for 2009, a move which garnered almost universal approval from pundits and paddock peeps alike? Podium finishes for #69 in the last two races, all these good vibes around Nick.....the perfect time to drop a fistful of "amargo caca" in the punchbowl.
It's doubtful that Nicky will fire back at Puig, it is just not the guy's style and he predictably takes the high road in such unpleasantness.
Reading the Puig interview, the questions come off as decidedly "lead in", leaving the door wide open to take shots at Nicky. MotoGP.com's interviews aren't typically controversial or gossipy— conspiracy theorists might do the sums as follows: Spanish Manager of Spanish Rider Interviewed by Website of Spanish Series = unchecked slagfest.
In a way, you can feel Puig's pain. Dani's been in the premier class for 3 seasons now, and his success or failure must have an impact on Puig's position of strength with Repsol and HRC. Alberto Puig never secured the MotoGP championship during his career as a rider, winning just one race (Jerez 1995); he can only taste the champion's champagne vicariously. Since the debut of the RC212V, Pedrosa has certainly had better results than Nicky, who finished 8th in 2007 with Dani as the series runner up to Stoner. Nicky has never really got on that well with the 212, a bike which looks like it was hit by Doctor Shrinker's Shrink Ray. Curiously, Puig blames Hayden for the flawed development of the machine, stating that he "never knew how to set-up a bike", comments which Pedrosa has aped as well. Of course, Hayden did win the Championship in 2006, solely developing the RC211V "lab bike"; the RC212V looks like it was tailor-made for Pedrosa. But Pedrosa hasn't been able to bring home the title on it as of yet.
Puig's statement that Hayden relies on Pedrosa's data and settings seems patently ludicrous. Firstly, Hayden has been running the pneumatic valve engine for some time, which has entirely different power characteristics and weight distribution than the valve spring engine Pedrosa has used for most of 2008. The pnuemi' is also a thirstier bike, which means different tuning. Secondly, Hayden's dirt-track influenced, back-it-in style is markedly different than Pedrosa's, who came up through the 125 and 250cc ranks - the suspension settings would need to be entirely different to accommodate each rider. Lastly, Hayden is physically heavier and larger than the tiny Pedrosa, who could "represent the Lollipop Guild" if taken by tornado to Oz. So it's highly doubtful that Nicky could use much of the information Pedrosa's side of the garage might provide.
But the most damning fact about data sharing in the Repsol garage is this: knowledgable sources say that Dani Pedrosa re-upped his contract with HRC last year, and in that agreement, he stipulated that he would have full access to Nicky Hayden's data (or any rider on a Honda who is fast)...while also stipulating that his own data would be kept private. Therefore, Pedrosa can view Nicky's data anytime he wants, but Hayden has not been able to view Pedrosa's data all year long. This kind of information would certainly help solve setup issues in a shorter timeframe.
It would be no surprise if Hayden were bothered by this less-than-equitable arrangement, and certainly provides a clue as to why a team environment currently seems an impossibility at Repsol HRC. And it doesn't look as though it will be any different next year for Hayden's replacement, Andrea Dovizioso. Although Puig has been respectfully dismissive of Dovi in the press so far, there are rumors that he has taken steps to ensure that Dani remains the #1 rider, and that there will be no development resources allocated to Andrea. Dovi wore a helmet at Indy on Sunday which had the phrase "Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark"" written on it in Italian. There were whispers that the message was directed at the shadowy gamesmanship of Puig and Pedrosa. Hayden is quite friendly with Dovizioso, so despite #69's exodus to Marlboro Ducati, fans will still have a rider to cheer on in the Repsol Honda squad in 2009. And Dovi is a steady, aggressive rider who will bring the fight to Dani, #2 status be damned.
One has to wonder if Dani Pedrosa's legendary soggy-diaper demeanor is the true nature of his personality, or if under Puig's Palpatine-esque tutelage, his Pampers have gotten leakier. Alberto's swipe at Hayden seemed a bit like having your mother wait at the bus stop to berate the kids who pick on you. Some feel that the Puig/Pedrosa camp have built their castle on a swamp of toxic entitlement—could this attack on Hayden be a cheap diversion tactic, pulled from the Public Relations 101 playbook? The switch to Bridgestones was surely orchestrated by Puig, although Dani took much of the heat in the press. The strategy was sound, given the fait-accompli switch of the entire paddock to the Japanese tires in 2009. But certainly, the embarrassment caused to HRC and Michelin was real, and let's not forget that all the other Michelin riders (including Nicky, Toseland, Edwards, etc) are finishing out the season on the French hoops, toughing it out. Even Valentino Rossi, a rider with both hands firmly on the tiller of MotoGP, refrained from switching mid-season when unhappy with the Michelins, and it certainly was within his power to change.
How to shift the perception that you're a spoiled kid, whose screechy parent can't hide the fact that you've been given everything but can't deliver?
Stir the shitpot and splash it somewhere else. Deflect. Distract. Change the subject.
Don't be surprised if next week, the Weekly World News has the headline: "MOTOGP SHOCKER - DANI PEDROSA IS BAT BOY!"

ENDS

[djer73]

Originally Posted by nedro

Yes, he will finish in front of DP.

i dont think hayden will finish in front of dp next season, maybe 6th overall....first season on a new bike, tyres he's never raced on too???? at least theres two things to look forward to. dovi beating dani in the standings next year (4th)and honda getting pissed with all the spanish whining sending puig and pedrosa to the nearest welfare queue.

[nedro]

I was refering to Andrea, not Nicky. Nicky will beat both of them, be it in 6th or otherwise.

[Grover130]

Pedrosa gets pole in malaysia

[SodaO]

S*d Honda until they get rid of that Puig – isn’t it a conflict of interest that Puig is employed by Honda AND one of the rider’s managers? What happens when Dovi starts beating the grumpy dwarf next year and Takahashi on the satellite Honda starts pushing for a factory ride? If Honda don’t start asserting some authority over those two, I’ll be ordering my 1198S. In fact, I don't think I'm even goign to wait for that, I'm really pissed off with Honda. What respect can Honda expect to have from people if they allow themselves to be told what to do by some journeyman?


As far as Pedrosa's ability is concerned, 20kg in weight is worth more than that in HP on a bike that puts out more than 1000BHP per tonne.Not to mention that 20kg less also means he can use less fuel for the same speed (considering the 21l limit) so Pedrosa can probably have a bike producing more power for longer during the race. Imagine Hayden had an extra 20-25 extra BHP? He would destroy Pedrosa.

[03swanman954]

Nicky is an aggressive rider and everyone loved him on the 1000cc bike but with the 800's Honda just could give him what he needed. Who knows maybe Ducatti can,,,but eitherway, Hayden is a winner , just like his brother Roger, who once healthy will dominate again! To me you cant spell HONDA without HAyDeN,,,it just wont be the same,,but doesnt mean I will buy a ducatti either,,,lol Peaceout!

[tammerz]

Puig is a prime example of why some mothers eat their young.
But the blame lies with dani, he needs to man up and speak for himself instead letting that asshead do it. But the Repsol honda team has been everyman for himself since before vale left. so it isnt all Puig. Until they pull together an team attitude they wont win. They were lucky in 2006, that luck wont be back with dani getting all the factory stuff. Dovi is a good consistent rider and will do well on the honda if given the chance. He should have been Rookie of the year this year, he was much more consistent than Lorenzo, Jorge is just flashier.