I was planning on doing something interesting today but the day has dawned overcast and bleak and now it’s started to rain. Oh well, the housework DOES need to be done so I guess I’ll do that.
visordown has published a very interesting interview with Valentino Rossi overnight. Some of his comments are most illuminating and reflect just what a difficult time the superstar is having now that the GP11.1 experiment appears to have foundered a little. Just how desperate Ducati are to try and solve their woes is illustrated by the fact that they are planning on taking 8 bikes to Laguna Seca this weekend.
In WSBK news, the repercussions of the drug bust on the Paul Bird Motorsports transporter a couple of months ago are still being felt with Kawasaki announcing overnight that 6 teams and organisations have been selected to be considered as the “works” Kawasaki team in WSBK next year. As I’ve noted many times before, the Japanese factories have VERY long memories and offending them or causing them lose face usually results in long-term consequences. Expect Paul Bird to lose the “works” team in 2012. Interestingly, one of the names mentioned as a possible recipient of official support is Francis Batta, of Alstare Suzuki fame. Batta is known to be increasingly disenchanted with the “support” he is getting from Suzuki and the consequent lack of results. Batta is a known winner with a WSBK world title under his belt already. Kawasaki would do well to keep his name near the top of the list, especially if, as expected, Suzuki pull out of MotoGp at the end of the year and further scale back their WSBK involvement. While overnight news says that Suzuki is going to build a new assembly plant in Japan (a welcome sign that confidence is returning, post-GFC) I wouldn’t expect that this is a signal that they’re about to start spending up big on motorsports, quite the contrary, in fact.
And, in a bombshell overnight, the rumour that Phillip Morris (Marlboro) are prepared to stump up SERIOUS amounts of money to get Marco Simoncelli to Ducati next year. Apparently Livio Suppo has already made some tentative approaches on the matter. This raises all sorts of questions like, does this mean a 3-bike team or will Hayden be shown the door? We already know that rumours are circulating that Honda want to scale back to a 2-bike “works” team next year with Stoner and Pedrosa, so that would put Dovizioso on the sidelines. The obvious place for him would be Gresini, in place of the hairy one. Remember, that he nearly ended up at Gresini this year except that his lawyers rattled the sabre and reminded HRC of the “performance” clause in his contract that ensured him of a “works” ride if he scored a certain number of points in the 2010 championship.
So, Hayden out or supplemented by Simo at Ducati, and Dovi to Gresini with “works” support (as is the case this year)? Could it happen? Possibly, but it’s VERY early for the Silly Season to start, that’s for sure.
Finally, a wonderful Bill Meyer picture from the great days of speedcar racing in Australia, the 60’s. The late Bill Meyer was the doyen of speedway photographers, lugging heavy cameras and flash equipment around the tracks of Australia (and the USA) recording millions of priceless images, like this one. This one from the Sydney Showground Speedway.