MotoGP 2014

**motobob** · 6th May 2014, 23:06

So if Stoner had not retired where would he be? OTOH is this the reason he retired. Australians have provided Honda with many Championships since Gardner.

**Crasherfromwayback** · 7th May 2014, 08:56

Originally Posted by motobob

So if Stoner had not retired where would he be? OTOH is this the reason he retired. .

Sulking at the back of the pits playing with his remote controlled car,

**pritch** · 7th May 2014, 09:05

Originally Posted by motobob

So if Stoner had not retired where would he be?

He'd be wondering where Marquez went, the same as everybody else is. Things have moved on.

This from David Emmett's Motomatters:

"The measure of just how complete Marquez' domination of MotoGP is can be seen in the lap charts. Even on the laps where Marquez was four or five tenths quicker than the men behind, he was still losing time in the second sector, which runs from halfway between turns 4 and 5, and the speed trap along the back straight. There is only one corner there, yet he was still managing to give between one and two tenths of a second there. The problem, Marquez said in the press conference, was on the entry to the corner. He could feel the bike pushing too much, and didn't feel safe going in at the speed he wanted. So he was almost stopping the bike, then getting it stood up and sliding over the kerbstones seeking extra grip from the rough painted section.

To fans, and even educated followers like myself, it seems entirely illogical to be looking for grip on the kerbstones, so I asked him to elucidate during the press conference. Could he explain to us mere mortals, as it didn't seem to make sense? Sitting beside him, Dani Pedrosa piped up with 'Yes, for us also!' "

In his Backmarker blog this morning Mark Gardiner suggests that Hayden will retire before the end of the season. That'd be a sad end to his career.

**Crasherfromwayback** · 7th May 2014, 09:07

Originally Posted by pritch

He'd be wondering where Marquez went, the same as everybody else is. Things have moved on.

.

Hard to imagine any other outcome.

**roogazza** · 7th May 2014, 09:43

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2014/May/140606pedro.htm

In his Backmarker blog this morning Mark Gardiner suggests that Hayden will retire before the end of the season. That'd be a sad end to his career.

Not the winningest of careers pritch, but the writings on the wall with the younger guys coming up.

**pritch** · 7th May 2014, 10:43

Originally Posted by roogazza

but the writings on the wall with the younger guys coming up.

That, an uncompetitive bike, and a recurring wrist problem that now requires surgery again.

I wasn't a Hayden fan, but I felt his gentlemanly behaviour while the Repsol team was completely dominated by the Machiavelian machinations of Puig to the advantage of Pedrosa, even though Hayden was champion at the time, showed him in a new light. (And despite all of which Pedrosa failed to deliver.)

Was reminded of this late last year when Kiwi Pete Benson, Hayden's crew chief back when Hayden won his title, was asked why he would not accompany Redding to MotoGP as the rider wished, and he replied to the effect that his previous experience with Honda was distinctly unpleasant and he had no wish to repeat it.

**roogazza** · 7th May 2014, 10:51

Originally Posted by pritch

That, an uncompetitive bike, and a recurring wrist problem that now requires surgery again.

I wasn't a Hayden fan, but I felt his gentlemanly behaviour while the Repsol team was completely dominated by the Machiavelian machinations of Puig to the advantage of Pedrosa, even though Hayden was champion at the time, showed him in a new light. (And despite all of which Pedrosa failed to deliver.)

I suppose Pedrosa would swap a few wins for a Title, Hayden can say he got one, huh.

**HenryDorsetCase** · 7th May 2014, 11:07

Originally Posted by motobob

So if Stoner had not retired where would he be? OTOH is this the reason he retired. Australians have provided Honda with many Championships since Gardner.

Doohan & Stoner.

Who else?

**Shaun Harris** · 7th May 2014, 11:17

Originally Posted by HenryDorsetCase

Doohan & Stoner.

Who else?

Gardener, even though he is a wanker

**Bender** · 7th May 2014, 12:07

Hayden conducted himself with class during the Ducati years, not that it got him anywhere.

It looks like his replacement, Cal Crutchlow, is heading down the Ben Spies route. Surely he must have known the bike was uncompetitive. It was clear to us keyboard warriors so it must have been clear to him.

Maybe the millions of dollars in salary still isn't enough - it was a really bad look the way he was belting the tank as he withdrew from the race. I understand that it must be frustrating for him but there's no need to act like at wanker. Can't see it getting him anywhere, just puts his crew on edge and if there is one constant positive for the Ducati team, it's that they work really hard. Every rider has said that so far.

These are the things that will amuse us this year. There's no excitement left in trying to guess who is going to win.

**Kiwi Graham:Me** · 7th May 2014, 12:48

So Crutchlow on the factory Yamaha that HorHay leaves to ride the Honda.......has silly season started yet?

**pritch** · 7th May 2014, 13:10

Originally Posted by Bender

It looks like his replacement, Cal Crutchlow, is heading down the Ben Spies route. Surely he must have known the bike was uncompetitive. It was clear to us keyboard warriors so it must have been clear to him.

But it would have also been made clear to him that Gigi Daligna was taking over the racing effort and that a new bike would be forthcoming. Eventually. It has been reported that Daligna was gathering data for the first several races bfore starting work on the design of a new bike.

As for Crutchlow's fit of pique, he had spent two weeks doing everything possible to heal his hand before the race, including spending hours in a hyperbaric chamber, and he was riding with some discomfort if not pain. All this for the bike to fail. Only a saint wouldn't be pissed off.