richardlpalmer

So what do you think this is all about?

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2008/G...ion+at+Mugello

GixxerPete

Maybe they think Sete can help them develop the bike so it works well for someone other than Stoner? I can't imagine they'd want him as Casey's teammate when they have the possibility of picking up someone like Hayden that hasn't had one Valentino Rossi put the whammy on them so they can never win again.

richardlpalmer

Kind of what I'm thinking, too. But I don't get the value otherwise. I mean they have test riders so unless this is a publicity stunt, what's the point? And if it IS a publicity stunt, what's the purpose?

Tdawg

Ducati's tester Canepa seams to get along better than Mlandri and maybe Sete. His times at Indy's first tests were tops. That said he was a wildcard in WSB so who knows.

Don't see the value either. Maybe this is just a second opinion. Traditionally they've always had 1 Italian rider on the GP team, which makes the Hayden/Sete rumors interesting. Hope to see Hayden there next year.

GixxerPete

Gibernau = Spanish

Tdawg

Exactly, Capirossi, Mlandri, Canepa (iirc) and a few of the 250 riders are Italian, which is why I don't get the Sete Giveupnow thing. Is there a time limit on the curse

watskooo

Ducati as a factory is having some problems, so I'm not surprised to see them doing more testing. The Stoner/Ducati combination is very impressive, but Melandri has been so dog-slow it's embarrassing to them. They're on the same team and one is racing for podiums and the other is racing not to come in last. I can't see how they wouldn't want to figure out why Stoner is the only one who can ride the bike fast. Or whether the bike is good and they should be able to get decent results with their other riders.

richardlpalmer

Yes. I believe the wording basically worked out that Sete will never win while Rossi is still racing. So I guess there's a chance once Vale retires...

You're probably right. We've all seen how Stoner rides the thing and how he rides in general. Explains why he wasn't as impressive on his previous ride (which required some finese comparitively speaking) and miraculously does so well on the Duc. It also explains why Melandri was doing so well on the Honda (remember when Hayden and him looked like the new top dogs near the end of the '05 season?) but is doing so poorly on the Duc.

I remember watching Hayden when he was first on the 990. He had way too much dirt trackin' style to get it to work fast. It was only the smooth guys that extracted the most from it -- Rossi being the best. Over the next couple of years he reeled it back in but you can still see that style come through now and again -- it seems to lose him time everytime it happens, too... This is the main thing that leads me to believe he might be able to do alright on the Duc.

xrdotimcr

I see him being a perfect fit for the Duc, Hayden that is. Sete is just testing for right now, as Melandri, sadly, is thought to return to finish the season off.

richardlpalmer

Right, which brings me back to the original question of this thread. Why is Sete testing the Duc 2 years after his retirement?

slow-rr

because he can! not costing him anything and he gets to ride a MotoGP bike.

GixxerPete

Perhaps you need the question rephrased for clarification:

"Why would *Ducati* want Sete testing the Duc 2 years after his retirement?"

richardlpalmer

Fuk' I thought this was freakin' obvious!

(But thanks for restating it).

slow-rr

i'm going to go with: stoner doesn't give enough feedback to help develop the bike for other riders and all their other riders can't ride the damn thing.

the chemist

I was talking to Ciao once upon a time...and we came to a realization...



Schumaker (on his one ride) was just about as fast as Marco.

mnewell

That is a really interesting hypothesis.