Kawasaki quits MotoGP

[wbks]

Haha I thought of that as soon as I read the articles. I'll have to start racing eleectric motorsicles. You can just yell really loud engine noises for the good time noise

[racerhead]

Well not in the short term. Dorna have been treating MotoGP as a cash cow and not all of the changes that have been wrought have been to the good.
Not surprising really, these days MotoGP is run by people who know nothing about motorcycles or motorcycling. There was a brief but illuminating interview with Carmelo Ezpeleta, the Mr Big of MotoGP, in the September issue of BIKE. Not at all encouraging.

Kawasaki is not the first team to pull out of MotoGP, Roberts couldn't raise the money for the start of this year. Ilmore and WCM(?) have fallen by the wayside in the four stroke era because of cost.

Sponsors are hard to find because sometimes only the first three bikes get shown on TV. Rarely do the tailenders make an appearance. No encouragement for potential sponsors there, and it has been reported that this was what cost Roberts his big sponsor.

With the dropping of the 250 two strokes KTM have announced that they are going to take their leave and move to SBK. So the numbers in MotoGP are shrinking to the benefit of SBK. If the latter doesn't lose too many teams they will start to look really good compared to Moto GP and when the sponsors notice that, Dorna might have a real problem.

Here's hoping it doesn't all get too fraught, but a fairly substantial shake up might not be all bad. Whatever happens, Rossi will probably keep on winning...

Well in the past few years WSBK has emerged as a stronger series with alot of good racing. Its also fairly cost effective with privateer teams being able to mix with the factory teams from time to time. Here in europe the GP's have a very loyal following as does WSBK and in the past few months due to a couple of decisions made by dorna including who gets tv rights and dropping the 250's alot of people are starting to prefer WSBK including me.
They have larger grids, better racing and a big thing for me is two races per day so its twice the fun. The way things are going dorna are going to have to make big changes to keep ahead of WSBK and at the moment I cant see that happening. It looks like the manufacturers also think this as WSBK is after gaining 3 new teams while moto gp lose teams

[AlBundy]

Yeah, bugger about the big K leaving GP...

Having had a few and with one in the shed, there's an amount of GREEN blood in my veins...

[Mully]

Hmm, hope MotoGP doesn't lose too many teams - Skidmark wont have a bike to ride otherwise.

[wbks]

His name gets banded about on here... carbon copy carver? (no offense, carver)

[Shaun P]

http://www.fasterandfaster.net/2008/...ll-out-of.html


The worldwide economic crisis seems to have claimed one more victim – the Kawasaki MotoGP team. Though there has been no official announcement from Kawasaki, according to various reports circulating on the Web, the Japanese company will not be a part of the 2009 MotoGP season and will disband its MotoGP team with immediate effect.

With poor performances in 2007 and 2008, Kawasaki have been perennial backmarkers in MotoGP, and the ZX-RR has not really been up to the task of taking on the YZR-M1, RC212V and GSV-R. Developing the bike further might have meant investing huge sums of money – something which probably wouldn’t be possible in the current, grim economic scenario.

With Kawasaki pulling out of MotoGP, John Hopkins and Marco Melandri – the two riders who’d signed on to ride for Team Green in 2009 – will be left out in the cold. And since Ducati, Yamaha, Honda and Suzuki seem to have all their riders in place already, it doesn’t look like the Kawasaki duo will find other MotoGP rides for 2009.

With Honda already having pulled out of F1 and AMA Superbikes, and now with Kawasaki leaving MotoGP, motorsport seems to be in a spot of trouble right now. The FIM mandates a minimum of 18 bikes on the MotoGP starting grid, and with Kawasaki's departure, only 17 bikes will be left in the fray. Will the FIM change its rules? Can Kenny Roberts and/or Ilmor make a surprise comeback to MotoGP? Or will Kawasaki change their minds and stay on in MotoGP after all? Stay tuned for further updates on this one…

[AlBundy]

Repost...

See discussion here...

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ad.php?t=89209

[CHOPPA]

Repost...

See discussion here...

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ad.php?t=89209

More relevent to the racing thread id say but cheers for the link!

[pritch]

His name gets banded about on here... carbon copy carver? (no offense, carver)

Eh?



(10 characters)

[wbks]

Skidmark
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[Mully]

Skidmark
(10 characters)

Yeah, kind of like Carver. I think Carver has a licence though.

[wbks]

Wasn't he the one going on about teaching carver a lesson and how he has stoped riding like an idiot and opted to live? (seemed a little dramatic, like someone doing a season on streetstock and then publicly announcing their streetstock career retirement because they feel accomplished

[Cleve]

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...=72890&page=43

It is also a repost from the discussions at the end of this thread...

[Mully]

Yes, repeatedly.

Marks MO was generally thus:

Do something stupid (either in a KB group, or videoed and posted to Youtube)
Brag about it.
Be told to pull his head in or he'll kill himself
Hurl abuse
Do a 'fuck off KB, I'm leaving' thread
Return because he can't stand not having the attention
rinse, and repeat.

Although haven't seen him here recently, so maybe he has left permanantly.

[Skunk]

Off Topic guys...