Let me continue..
1. Hayden to Ducati. Everyone is saying that this is a done deal, but no official confirmation from any source is forthcoming yet. Honda is notoriously persnickety when it comes to contracts (remember when they insisted on the “letter of the law” when they prevened Rossi from testing with Yamaha until his contract had fully expired?) so Nicky may have to wait quite a while longer until he can announce the deal as being done.
2. Melandri to Kawasaki. Announced by Marco; not yet confirmed by Kawasaki.
3. “All change” at Pramac. The Pramac Ducati team are set to announce a complete change of rider roster, expected to announce that they will sign Finnish rider, Mika Kallio and, hopefully, Marco Simoncelli. The 250 star, however, is apparently anxious to spend one more year in 250’s and, if he does, their fall-back position looks likely to be Nicola Canepa, last year’s WSBK Superstock 1000 Champion. Canepa has already tested with the team and has impressed. The sticking point here is likely to be that the talented Italian is also being touted as a possible replacement for Troy Bayliss in the WSBK team having tested favourably there too. I personally believe that Nicola is too young yet to assume such an onerous task, so this one looks like a long shot.
4. Where to for Ben Spies? Just about everywhere if reports coming out of both Europe and America are to be believed. First it was Grand Prix Suzuki, but that door looks to have closed with the probable re-signing of both Vermeulen and Capirossi. Then it was suggested that he would sign with Gresini Honda with financial backing from American Honda. That one looks like a lost cause too with AMH announcing overnight that they have no plans in that area. The next one looks far more likely. Spies to replace the underperforming Yukio Kagayama at Suzuki in Francis Batta’s WSBK Suzuki squad. This would be a good move as it would allow him to learn the European way of doing things and the tracks while waiting for a suitable MotoGp seat to become available.
Next idea is the possibility of Spies taking Troy Bayliss’s place at Ducati WSBK. This one looked really good until it became clear that Spies, enormously well-paid at American Suzuki, is asking a HUGE salary at Ducati and that this has become a sticking point.
5. Chris Vermeulen to stay at Suzuki at half-salary. Despite his stunning performances at Suzuki this year, there is widespread talk that the hugely-talented Aussie is going to be cut loose from Rizla Suzuki at the end of the year. I find this quite bizarre, but anyway, it seems that his recent form has changed the team’s mind and they are prepared to keep him on, but at 50% of his 2008 salary. So much for gratitude and loyalty and for giving the team its only MotoGp victory. If Vermeulen decides not to stay under such humiliating terms, he also has some options. One is WSBK as a replacement for Troy Bayliss, a “plum” assignment, but not one for a rider who plainly still feels that his career is on the “up”. CV would be crazy to give up any sort of MotoGp ride, no matter how much a WSBK team could offer. And, apparently, he has some other options, at Gresini Honda and at Kawasaki. The first one seems ideal for the rider who was spurned by Honda after his final WSBK year. Kawasaki would be a very BAD career move, in my opinion.
6. Dovizioso on the loose. Despite all the talk about Andrea Dovizioso being a “sure thing” at Repsol Honda, it now appears that Dovi and his manager are less than happy with the prospect of playing second fiddle to Pedrosa. Dovi’s manager feels that Pedrosa’s manager, Alberto Puig is already too strongly entrenched at Honda and that his charge wouldn’t get a fair shake there. Should CV decide not to demean himself at Suzuki, it now seems that Dovi is on Rizla’s shopping list. Just who Repsol Honda would then replace him with is moot. Could Chris Vermeulen be on the shopping list?
7. And now the “biggie”. Reports out of America tonight are no suggesting that Repsol Honda are set to switch to Bridgestone in 2009.
