Rossi Fastest in Practice Jerez... But Look at Nicky!?!?

vegaseric · 05-01-2009, 09:52 AM

Soup :: Rossi Fastest In First MotoGP Practice At Jerez :: 05-01-2009

Pos. Rider Team Bike Time
1 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Yamaha 1:39.647
2 Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki Suzuki 1:40.011
3 Casey Stoner Ducati Marlboro Ducati 1:40.268
4 Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Yamaha 1:40.441
5 Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Honda 1:40.601
6 Colin Edwards II Tech 3 Yamaha Yamaha 1:40.703
7 Randy De Puniet LCR Honda Honda 1:40.866
8 Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki Suzuki 1:41.063
9 Marco Melandri Dornasaki 1:41.182
10 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Honda 1:41.208
11 James Toseland Tech 3 Yamaha Yamaha 1:41.461
12 Sete Gibernau Grupo Fransisco Hernando Ducati 1:41.531
13 Alex De Angelis San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1:41.557
14 Mika Kallio Pramac Racing Ducati 1:41.584
15 Tony Elias San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1:41.736
16 Yuki Takahashi Scot Racing Honda 1:41.898
17 Nicky Hayden Ducati Marlboro Ducati 1:41.916
18 Niccolo Canepa Pramac Racing Ducati 1:42.063

I was expecting big things for him on the Duc, but he has failed to deliver so far.

ars0n750 · 05-01-2009, 10:05 AM

yeah i dont see him lasting to much longer..

2upFZ1 · 05-01-2009, 10:14 AM

That's because he on a Ducati.

Nicky should have done what Spies did. Move up to WSBK before jumping all the way to MotoGP.

beansbaxter · 05-01-2009, 10:43 AM

Everyone says that Ducati is a tough bike to ride, including Hayden and Capirossi. But those arguments prove invalid after what Casey "The Sledgehammer" Stoner has done with the bike.

I'm not a Nicky Hayden fanboy by any means, but I would say give him some time to get better with the Ducati beast and I expect to see him get better as the season progresses.

And keep in mind, during qualifying before Qatar this year, he wrecked the Ducati and he highsided over the top, and his upper chest hit the windscreen hard enough to require stitches, and thats with him wearing all that fancy shmancy kangaroo leathers ya know.

beansbaxter · 05-01-2009, 11:16 AM

Just read this on another forum:

Quote:

Originally Posted by theJrod

Interesting interview with Stoner and Hayden in one of the rags this month (can't remember which, SR maybe?).

I'll paraphrase Stoner - He doesn't use the TC that much. Basically he tries to avoid the TC if at all possible, since just sitting on the TC on corner exits will lose him about a second per lap. It's still faster, even on a MotoGP bike, to avoid the TC.
To paraphrase Nicky - His issue is the B'stone front. It has insane grip, and he's having trouble finding the edge (without it pitching him).
To paraphrase both - the GP09 has trouble with stability coming off the corner. They're both fighting with that early this season.

LilBitDvl · 05-01-2009, 11:51 AM

Rossi's my hero!

SHWELL · 05-02-2009, 01:30 PM

Didn't Nicky win a championship just 2 years ago? Only 2 or 3 years after getting there?

How does that equal not being ready? That argument has too many holes to be valid.

I think a lot of the decisions made off the bike is what has held up Nicky to a certain point, but I think he will be fine. Time is the best teachers assistant.

Alot of riders n the GP don't measure up to the standards that Rossi seems to establish, he is one of the few that can change bikes every year and still have success. He is a rare talent.

2upFZ1 · 05-04-2009, 08:20 AM

True dat. And Nicky won the Championship his rookie year in MotoGP. Just don't ask me how.

SHWELL · 05-04-2009, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2upFZ1

True dat. And Nicky won the Championship his rookie year in MotoGP. Just don't ask me how.

I do not think it was his rookie season, but he def one a championship.

2upFZ1 · 05-04-2009, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SHWELL

I do not think it was his rookie season, but he def one a championship.

You're right Jerry. I didn't realize that he'd been in MotoGP so long.

2002: AMA Superbike Champ
2003: 5th in MotoGP
2004: 8th in MotoGP
2005: 3rd in MotoGP
2006: MotoGP Champ

vegaseric · 05-05-2009, 10:08 AM

Nicky's comments after the race:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nicky

NICKY HAYDEN (Ducati Team Ducati/Bridgestone, 15th): "I was nervous that physically it would be a tough race, but it turned out to be a lot worse than we expected. In the beginning, I struggled a lot again with a full fuel load and I made a mistake on the first lap. I was trying to make some positions up, and I actually lost some. I tried to recover, but something was wrong with the setup of the bike. I can't make the harder compound work well with my bike and I have to go with the softer one, but today even those didn't start to work well until I got a lot of heat into them. I did my best time on the 17th lap, so there is something we have definitely to work on with the team. We need to look at the data and think up something different for the next one."

He's riding hurt, so that definitely doesn't help things. I hope to see him step it up as the season progresses.