Maybe Ducati should give Petrucci Jorge’s bike and give the Pramac ride to an up and coming rider?

They would save themselves a lot of money if they jettisoned their underperforming acquisition at the end of the season but they would lose face by doing this.

Jorge backed himself into a corner when he got involved with the Marquez v Rossi feud and the subsequent court case. Rossi goading Jorge into going to Ducati was quite the masterstroke IMO.

The Suzuki is a bike that might suit Jorges riding style – the RCV definitely wouldn’t and the Ducati couldnt be more different to the M1, hence his current failure to adapt.

Good to see Rossi bag a win today but I do feel bad for Danilo. 😕

I’d like to claim Chesters post as my own please.

I thought Petrucci was going to Aprillia next year? Lorenzo is on $17m a year & apart from his elbows I’m not sure what he brings to the table. His worst laps were 5 seconds slower than his team mate today and he’s supposed to be one of the aliens? To put it into perspective, Lorenzo even got beaten by Abraham today.

Let’s keep it in perspective, Lorenzo is an alien, simple as that.

Ok, he’s having a tough time on that bike, but he’s massively quick and as worthy of Alien status as the next alien.

Had he been signed by Ducati rather than yamaha when he moved up we may have never known he was an alien. I bet there are half a dozen secret aliens who pass for crap right now…

Indeed, we see it with different riders on different bikes etc, think back to Corser winning WSB on the Alstare after being a donkey on the Petronas for example.
I guess Petrux is the latest in the big boys paddock. I assume the managers etc know the score as to who’s proper quick, but Lorenzo being this bad is quite a shock.

I dislike George as much as anyone but you can’t deny he is a supremely quick and talented rider deserving of the ‘alien’ epithet.
However his riding style is very (VERY) specific and requires subtle yet precise feedback from the bike (all about edge grip).When he does’nt have this he is lost and unable to ride around issues (he’s suffered worse than he did today on the Yamaha on multiple occasions).
The Ducati is pretty much diametrically opposed to how he rides naturally. Putrucci rides like a brute anyway and Dovi is in his 5th season on the Ducati (and he struggled far more on the GP13 than George is now).
Ducati are unlikely (even at 17mil a year) to radically alter the bike to suit him (they would’nt do it for Vale) as it works bloody well at the moment.
That said….it makes me chuckle seeing him struggle

“Alien”?

When the 800’s were introduced (2007?) only four riders ever won races in the dry – Rossi, Lorenzo, Stoner and Pedrosa. A handful of other riders won races in the wet. Eventually, Randy dePuniet coined the term “aliens” to describe them as they were ‘otherworldly’. Finally, Ben Spies managed a dry win at Assen in 2011 (although he never repeated the feat).
Once the bikes switched to 1000s it was hoped that a wider variety of riders would get to the top step of the podium.And wins by Cal,Dovi,Mav,Crazy Joe and Miller have born this out.But so far the four aliens have remained the same, except for Stoner being swapped out for Marquez (and there’s an argument that Dani has been usurped by Maverick though I reckon that’s yet to be proven).

Gotcha. Thanks.

It has been said that Lorenzo had the M1 set up like a big 250. Spies and Rossi, on his return from his Ducati own nightmare, both had trouble riding the Lorenzo-era bike

I think Kenny Roberts said it best…

That 250 style can get you on the pole, but when the tires are worn, you are ******

http://www.cycleworld.com/2014/01/10/dirt-track-training-with-kenny-roberts-and-influence-on-top-level-grand-prix-racing#page-2

Lorenzo is a joy to behold on the right bike with the right tyres but he doesn’t enjoy riding a bike which moves around too much.

Looking at the results – Lorenzo got lapped.

Haven’t seen that happen to a top rider for a long time – unless they have crashed.

^^^^ It started to rain, at about 2 thirds race distance, so he and several others took a punt and changed to their second bike with a full wet setup.

It didn’t rain enough for their gamble to pay off.

Holy cow what a last lap in Japan 😯

Aye, was very good 🙂

^^^ +1 Really enjoyed seeing Dovi making a monkey out of the SFB. 😆

Dovi is one cool dude, played that perfectly.

Rubbins racin 😀

Great race, better for some than others obviously.

Incredible race this morning, glad I got up to watch it.
Philip island always seems to provide a spectacle!

I have to make do with reading about races these days as I cancelled my BT subscription due to the melt that is Keith Huewen. Sounds like watching highlights tomorrow evening will be a good idea though. Volume will be switched off though…

Going down to the wire

Glad it is going to the last race and looked like a genuine double save I think but “Mapping 8” with your long awaited first win in sight. Obviously not an unexpected situation and had been discussed before hand but what would you do ?

Still a very slim chance for Dovi but looking doubtful. ‘mapping 8’ only ‘suggested’ so im wondering what Jorge would have done as well, never won there before, 1st win on a ducati for him, hmmm…

Marquez ‘uncrashing’

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY0zJrk5ZnQ[/video]

snaps – Member
Marquez ‘uncrashing’

I remember watching Mick Doohan smoking his tyres trying to do a save like that at Phillip Island.

Almost did it.

There’s no doubt Marquez is going to go down as one of the greats IMO.

Now all he has to do to tie the championship up is to stay on his bike at Valencia.

Watched my first race today (Japan) and was amazed at how exciting it was- the two lead guys were swapping places all the way to the end of the last lap, great stuff. I’m def gonna be watching more..

Last weekends race had 76 overtakes between the lead bunch of 5