Spies Wanted the Pani

This article was posted on another forum and thought I should post it here as well. Check out the second to last sentence in the article. I think Spies takes a shot a Rossi? LOL

Ben Spies Leaves Yamaha For Ducati- MotoGP News

Oh yes - I love these quotes:

"Last couple of years, they’ve been headed in a direction that may not have been the best for them."

"I think riders need to remember they aren’t engineers. They need to ride the bike as hard as they can, give feedback and let the engineers fix it."

I agree and though I respect the man, I never liked what Rossi was trying to do or that Filippo Preziosi would let him - make the Ducati a Yamaha. I have to think that this whole Rossi failure is one factor in Filippo being ousted back to the factory.

Ducati is completely to blame for all of their troubles in MotoGP, they needed to wake up years ago and get with it- understand that the Japanese manufacturers know what it takes to win in MotoGP, based on the bikes they build that are better suited to the MotoGP rules.. Spies is a great rider but I feel sorry for him. Because even though Ducati has shown they are willing to make dramatic changes to their MotoGP program (like they did with Rossi and the Aluminum frames) they are going to need a at least a couple years to get those changes to work well, and equal a strong, consistently fast bike. Yamaha and Honda have many years experience doing this.. Ducati is just starting this process.

Different mentality between Ducati and Honda/Yamaha. Caters to the different consumer market.

Ducati build beautiful bikes that go fast. Honda build fast bikes.

When do you hear Honda riders say their bikes are sexy or beautiful and sounds good? They simply put their visor down and ride.

I think that with Audi's backing big things are coming, Stoner found a way to win on the Ducati, I would love to think that Spies will to. I wouldn't really surprise me to see Spies race the Panigale in WSBK at one point or another.

Good article..it does explain some things..

I don't normally voice my opinion about such things, however mr Spies needs to calm down with his mouth and get back to riding the bike... He has not performed on what is unquestionably the most rounded bike in the paddock, intact both sat riders rode better, with more commitment.. I did not here Crutchlow bitching when he crashed at silver stone and still rode his race...

Whilst Rossi has not performed either the reality is sometimes the technical package is not quite right and if the rider is used to a specific balance then it lowers confidence.

Some riders have the ability to ride around or through an issue, stoner was able to do that, and before you all shoot me for bringing up stoner, I am only talking about capability not liking the guy...

Spies may get on ok with it, but its not the same bike as the 2007, and not the same bike Troy won on in 2006. Both riders were very physical with the bike, so it may suit Ben, but as with Rossi he should shut up and let his riding do the talking...

Just my opinion for what it's worth... Don't forget stoner walked in to a new team and won the championship, so Ducati must know a thing or two about building bikes, and my pani's are the best out of the crate bikes I've had in years of racing...

Last word is every person on this site has a preference for tyres, they write about grip and how the bike feels better on Michelin or Q2's, it's the same for every rider, we all have a preference that gives us confidence... They (the so called aliens) are no different.

I will get back to my bikes now... Phew!!!

I am over predictive txt, hear not here and infact not intact

Technology sucks ;-)

Bowdy69 said:

I don't normally voice my opinion about such things, however mr Spies needs to calm down with his mouth and get back to riding the bike... He has not performed on what is unquestionably the most rounded bike in the paddock, intact both sat riders rode better, with more commitment.. I did not here Crutchlow bitching when he crashed at silver stone and still rode his race...

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I think that's a bit harsh. While I agree he hasn't lived up to expectations on the Factory M1, the bike did fail a half dozen times. Besides he hasn't said much as he was still under contract with Yamaha until after the 1st of the year. Cut the guy some slack.

rm4two said:

I think that's a bit harsh. While I agree he hasn't lived up to expectations on the Factory M1, the bike did fail a half dozen times. Besides he hasn't said much as we was still under contract with Yamaha until after the 1st of the year. Cut the guy some slack.

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Agree - Ben towed the Yamaha line while under contract, but you can't blame him for being a little jaded or that he lost confidence with all the gremlins.

Now lets see if he can come to terms with the Desmosedici GP13..

Bowdy69 said:

Spies needs to calm down with his mouth and get back to riding the bike...

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I agree. There were times when he looked like he was phoning it in last year. Crutchlow really impressed me with how hard he was working, sometimes a bit too hard!

Guys, I'm not attacking Ben, when he rode in supers and AMA he never complained, just got on with the job of trying to win...

There are riders who would give their nuts or at least one of them for a factory ride.

By bitching about the manufacturer Ben is potentially reducing his options regarding bikes and teams for the future... I would say the same to messers Rossi and burgess... Don't for a moment imagine Ducati wanting them back in a hurry...

Less bemoaning and more getting on with the job.... For us mortals who have to pay for bikes and the privilege of racing a Ducati the bitching is a smack in the face...

If Ben wants to prove a point get his .... together and go out and beat the others... Again, sorry if this offends...

Bowdy

Bowdy69 said:

Guys, I'm not attacking Ben, when he rode in supers and AMA he never complained, just got on with the job of trying to win...

There are riders who would give their nuts or at least one of them for a factory ride.

By bitching about the manufacturer Ben is potentially reducing his options regarding bikes and teams for the future... I would say the same to messers Rossi and burgess... Don't for a moment imagine Ducati wanting them back in a hurry...

Less bemoaning and more getting on with the job.... For us mortals who have to pay for bikes and the privilege of racing a Ducati the bitching is a smack in the face...

If Ben wants to prove a point get his .... together and go out and beat the others... Again, sorry if this offends...

Bowdy

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No offense taken. But you can't blame the guy for losing confidence in the bike. I mean it blew an engine, broke a rear suspension piece, fried a clutch, smoked the brakes and chunked tires all in within a few weeks of one another. Then on top of that an exec says your faking and not getting the job done. That's a tough pill to swallow.

with the technological advancements in Motogp introduction of electronic rider aids, ever more difficult for guys to over ride their bikes and compensate for deficiencies in the package. Both the rider and the bike has to be at 100% to win in GP, there's no way around it. Since

Ducati hit their mark in 2008, their fuel mgmt was a step up from everyone else, limit power on the slower parts of the track to save fuel, rev it on the straights. Given stoner was able to ride the hell out of that bike, but at the same time, Loris wasn't too shabby either, 4 podiums and 1 win. But each subsequent year, Ducati has lost their superiority and eventually moved further back in the pack.

For every engineer Ducati has committed to their GP program, Honday probably has 5.

i think the only way for guys like Spies and Rossi and Hayden to consistently win in GP, take away traction control.

Love the idea, after years of racing production bikes I totally agree, did not have traction control when I did the IOM and NW 200 in 96... Just scared the crap out of ur self heheheheh

Still like my TC on though, no way I'll be able to ride the Pani without it, throw in ABS as well.

jyli19 said:

Still like my TC on though, no way I'll be able to ride the Pani without it, throw in ABS as well.

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+1

Bowdy69 said:

Guys, I'm not attacking Ben, when he rode in supers and AMA he never complained, just got on with the job of trying to win...

There are riders who would give their nuts or at least one of them for a factory ride.

By bitching about the manufacturer Ben is potentially reducing his options regarding bikes and teams for the future... I would say the same to messers Rossi and burgess... Don't for a moment imagine Ducati wanting them back in a hurry...

Less bemoaning and more getting on with the job.... For us mortals who have to pay for bikes and the privilege of racing a Ducati the bitching is a smack in the face...

If Ben wants to prove a point get his .... together and go out and beat the others... Again, sorry if this offends...

Bowdy

Click to expand...

Couldn't have said it better myself...Bravo

Bowdy69 said:

I don't normally voice my opinion about such things, however mr Spies needs to calm down with his mouth and get back to riding the bike... He has not performed on what is unquestionably the most rounded bike in the paddock, intact both sat riders rode better, with more commitment.. I did not here Crutchlow bitching when he crashed at silver stone and still rode his race...

Click to expand...

The problem with Spies last season is that his bike suffered far more mechanical failures than anyone else's did, or even that I can remember in recent history. As a factory rider having his seat break, suspension collapse, engine grenade, and brakes overheat all in one season is too much. Then, to make matters worse you have your team principle talk ........ to you when you're out there risking your life to ride while you have food poisoning.

Ben certainly could've road better but any motorcycle racer will tell you, confidence is everything. If you can't trust your bike it will affect your riding. Ben certainly crashed a fair bit last season and maybe that weakened some of the parts on the bike to the point that they failed during the race. But even if that was the case, this is the highest level of racing in the world. How is it that the team couldn't inspect the bike and identify these problems before the race?

Ben's 2012 season sucked by any measure, but even then he is the ONLY rider other than Pedrosa/Lorenzo/Rossi/Stoner to have won a race in the dry since 2006. He's no slouch.

However, I don't think the satellite Ducati was the right move. I made a pie chart of the performance of the satellite Ducatis up through 2011. The stats ain't pretty:



Spies is a better talent than any of the other previous satellite Ducati riders but it's still a huge gamble to get on that bike. Ducati Corse can promises changes all they want, doesn't mean they'll make any headway next year.

Technically it's not a satellite team anymore, it's a "Jr" team lol. All will be on factory GP13s next year, whereas before satellite teams got factory leftovers. Nevertheless, Stoner likes to throw his bikes a round and bit; sliding the back-end in and out of corners. Spies has a similar style so hopefully he'll have some success?