Topic: What Would Mat Mladin Do?

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2016/Feb/160215wwmmd.htm

[bwaller]

No nonsense response, about what you'd expect from Mladin. He is probably spot on about how "controlled" the atmosphere is. Want to be a rich GP movie star, line up puppets. They're under a microscope and everyone is still talking about what should have or would have been handled privately not that long ago. Is it any wonder Stoner walked.

[754]

Sounds like too much BS...too political..
If you want to get away from it try flattrack or better vintage flattrack.... Probably save you money too..

[bwaller]

Not many of us racing MotoGP frank. Vintage RR is a no BS show all the way!

I'm sure the same can be said for vintage FT too.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

There are a couple of guys I know racing Hooligan class flat track (stock frame twin).  Fun to watch, close racing and everyone pretty much gets along great in the paddock -- and something that doesn't cost and arm and a leg to do.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Mladin is refreshingly unfiltered and blunt - as he was when racing.

[simon#42]

i doubt any gp racers will care much for maladin's opinions , an average gp rider that first took the money to race a cagiva then when that didnt work buggered off to the racing
backwater that is the ama . being a big fish in a small pond impressed no one . in the time he was racing in the ama  america only produced two class riders nicky hayden and ben spies
both wiped the floor with him .

[bwaller]

Agreed Simon, he was a crotchety bugger and rose to the top with a good team when there wasn't much else.

Still the point is well made. The world's ultimate motorcycle race class is understood by few but receives scrutiny by all. More & more I just want to watch them race then "turn off the tube" until the next one.

[simon#42]

The world's ultimate motorcycle race class is understood by few but receives scrutiny by all.
[/quote]

a great quote and very true , an hour on the internet and everyone is an expert

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I don't know if I'd call AMA Superbike class (when Mladin arrived on the scene) as backwater -- although it was neutered since.  I think that Spies was the only guy that pushed Mladin to his limit, and when Spies left to WSBK, it was lame (as were the neutered bikes).

[Retro Rocket]

No nonsense response, about what you'd expect from Mladin. He is probably spot on about how "controlled" the atmosphere is. Want to be a rich GP movie star, line up puppets. They're under a microscope and everyone is still talking about what should have or would have been handled privately not that long ago. Is it any wonder Stoner walked.

Bingo...!!

i doubt any gp racers will care much for maladin's opinions , an average gp rider that first took the money to race a cagiva then when that didnt work buggered off to the racing
backwater that is the ama . being a big fish in a small pond impressed no one . in the time he was racing in the ama  america only produced two class riders nicky hayden and ben spies
both wiped the floor with him .

Its a shame there's no big money in superbike racing here in Australia, a few of these guys would get a huge wake up call racing here, lots of real fast nobodies...

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

It's sad what has become of US Superbike racing -- in the largest market for sportbikes.

[simon#42]

everything changed , in the old days you raced a superbike in your domestic championship then went off to take on the world
now no one cares about domestic championships you have to start early on the gp circuits or you cant get a decent ride
motogp are desperate for a good american rider but the american system is not helping them . wayne rainey is trying to
change things but it will not happen overnight . keep an eye on p j Jacobsen for my money he is the real deal .

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Hey, Mick.  Tell us if you spot Casey testing in P.I. over the next few days.   If so, that would put odds in favor of an Australian GP wildcard ride. ;0

[Retro Rocket]

Hey, Mick.  Tell us if you spot Casey testing in P.I. over the next few days.   If so, that would put odds in favor of an Australian GP wildcard ride. ;0

I expect him to be testing, he is Ducati's fastest rider, even if he isn't competing...

Just read that he won't be testing at PI....

[petercb750]

I heard he won't be at the island for testing...

But I still think he'll get a wild card in October 

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Casey is always a contender at PI -- Test be damned!!  I hope Ducati gives him the WC at the Island and that he smokes Marquez. 

After leaving Honda, Casey revealed that Marquez nixed his chances to ride in place of an injured Dani Pedrosa for 2 races, because Marquez's people didn't want the threat he might be upstaged and beaten by Casey (then 2 years retired).  What a douche bag!

[petercb750]

Ducati must be paying him a sh1tload....when he left them it was not under the best of circumstances, there was some ill feeling on both sides....so to get him to come back... $$$$.

[bwaller]

Don, don't believe half of all this. To hang everything negative on Marquez cannot be logical. Like Peter says Stoner left Ducati on rough terms, now he's back likely because of money, who's a douchbag now? 

I like Casey and I don't care where he goes, honest. These guys all have such huge egos. From our side of the world think of Roberts, Spencer, Cooley to name a few. The more things change the more they stay the same.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Don, don't believe half of all this. To hang everything negative on Marquez cannot be logical. Like Peter says Stoner left Ducati on rough terms, now he's back likely because of money, who's a douchbag now? 

I like Casey and I don't care where he goes, honest. These guys all have such huge egos. From our side of the world think of Roberts, Spencer, Cooley to name a few. The more things change the more they stay the same.

Sheene, Doohan, Lawson, Rainey, Schwantz -- I think an ego is a job requirement to risk your hide to ride GP bikes to the limit.

You have a good point about Stoner leaving Ducati on very bad terms.  He was extremely public about how they treated him when he suffered his lactose intolerance.  Apparently, Honda did something to upset the apple cart last year, to keep a lock on him as a test rider.  Fast forward to now, you would never know how upset Stoner was with Ducati.

[simon#42]

Casey is always a contender at PI -- Test be damned!!  I hope Ducati gives him the WC at the Island and that he smokes Marquez. 

After leaving Honda, Casey revealed that Marquez nixed his chances to ride in place of an injured Dani Pedrosa for 2 races, because Marquez's people didn't want the threat he might be upstaged and beaten by Casey (then 2 years retired).  What a douche bag!

a strange post , do you really believe that hrc allow its riders to decide who rides the bikes ?
also the one person who wants stoner to race more than anyone else is marquez , he is the one rider he has never beat . he does not want to get to the end of his career and people say .. ah but casey was better .
last year would have been ideal for marc as they would have been on the same bike and there would have been no excuses . will it happen this year i dont know but one thing is for sure neither is scared about racing the other .
before you post about what racers think it might be better to try and think like a racer .

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Casey is always a contender at PI -- Test be damned!!  I hope Ducati gives him the WC at the Island and that he smokes Marquez. 

After leaving Honda, Casey revealed that Marquez nixed his chances to ride in place of an injured Dani Pedrosa for 2 races, because Marquez's people didn't want the threat he might be upstaged and beaten by Casey (then 2 years retired).  What a douche bag!

a strange post , do you really believe that hrc allow its riders to decide who rides the bikes ?
also the one person who wants stoner to race more than anyone else is marquez , he is the one rider he has never beat . he does not want to get to the end of his career and people say .. ah but casey was better .
last year would have been ideal for marc as they would have been on the same bike and there would have been no excuses . will it happen this year i dont know but one thing is for sure neither is scared about racing the other .
before you post about what racers think it might be better to try and think like a racer .

I guess you know these things better, and have an insight that Casey lying to the press.

Note: this was not MY conjecture about what Casey was thinking.  It came from Casey Stoner's (who can think like a racer) own mouth.

Casey did ask to ride for Dani, and the HRC press statement was non-sensical -- that Honda didn't want Casey to risk sub-par results since he had not "raced" and only tested for over a year -- especially when Casey said it he had no expectations of winning.  Now that Casey is released from Honda, he says it was Marquez who nixed his chance to ride for Dani. 

Simon, why do you think Casey would make this up?  He has an ego, but why would he outright lie to the press about something Marquez could so easily refute.  Note: Marquez has said nothing in response.

[simon#42]

where did casey say this ? 

[Retro Rocket]

where did casey say this ?

He didn't, what he said was 

"“I felt ready for Austin. (HRC vice-president Shuhei) Nakamoto told me he was sorry, but he was taking responsibility for deciding towards a different solution.

“At this point then, I think other people must have put pressure on him in order for me not to race. Someone did not want to see me race.

“I have no grudge against Honda. And I have great respect for Nakamoto. As a matter of fact I’m certain that our relationship has not deteriorated for this and that we’ll get on well.”

 

[simon#42]

thanks mick , strange how the internet experts twist things around

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Hmmm.  The plot thickens . . .

As of January 11, 2016:

"Last week Casey Stoner was widely quoted as saying that the reason Honda did not allow Stoner to race at the Austin round of the championship last season was because, Stoner said, Marc Marquez felt threatened by Stoner and the group behind MM93 would not allow it. Stoner also suggested that part of it was that Honda did not want him back in the MotoGP team."
 

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Here are some quotes from Stoner's interview with Motosprint published in several publications.  These articles were all published on or about January 6, 2016.

(http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/122383):

"It's not the same," he told Motosprint when asked how the Ducati role would compare to his Honda position.

"At Honda I was just an occasional tester, I did not have any other role and, to tell you the truth, they never took full advantage of my potential.

"I think Marquez and all his entourage felt threatened by me. I don't know why they thought that, but that's my feeling."

"I was at Honda to do some testing, to try new things that could then be transferred to the works riders, so I was there to help Marc.

"But it's also true that the number one rider is the one everyone must follow.

"I have no grudge against Honda. And I have great respect for [HRC vice president Shuhei] Nakamoto. As a matter of fact I'm certain that our relationship has not deteriorated for this and that we'll get on well."


http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/225999/1/stoner-marquez-felt-threatened.html:

"At Honda I was just an occasional tester and wasn't being used to my potential," Stoner said to Motosprint. "I loved working with the HRC guys but I think Marc and his crew felt in some way threatened by me and I don't know why. I was just there to test and help.

Fox Sports Australia (http://www.foxsports.com.au/breaking-news/motogp-casey-stoner-believes-marc-marquez-felt-threatened-by-his-presence-as-hondas-test-rider/news-story/b43a0777efafdfd21824af9068e5b98a)

“I think Marquez and all his entourage felt threatened by me. I don’t know why they thought that, but that’s my feeling.

[Retro Rocket]

In both those  quotes he says he "thinks", I've never seen it reported as a fact as he clearly says " I think other people must have put pressure on him in order for me not to race"...  Where does it say that, "  that Marquez nixed his chances to ride in place of an injured Dani Pedrosa for 2 races"..

Here's some more about Aoayama, the guy that replaced Pedrosa..

Here’s a rundown of why Aoayama got the call, and the others didn’t.

Hiroshi Aoyama

Aoyama arrived in MotoGP in 2010 as the last ever 250cc world champion, having taken the final two stroke title before the class was replaced by Moto2. He failed to set the world alight, struggling to adapt to four-stroke bikes after many seasons racing two strokes.

After a brief stint in World Superbikes, he returned to MotoGP last season to ride Honda’s RCV1000R production racer. Out of a job at the end of 2014, he was recruited by HRC to work as their test rider, and help push the development of their MotoGP project.

Though Aoyama is unlikely to come in to the Repsol Honda team and start taking podiums, he is sure to acquit himself respectably. He has recent experience of racing in MotoGP, testing experience with the factory Honda RC213V – he tested the bike at the first Sepang test, where he ended as 14th fastest overall.

He has experience of the 2015 Bridgestone tires, and he has raced at both Austin and Argentina. Knowledge of those two tracks is important: both circuits feature only on the MotoGP calendar, Austin being added in 2013, and Argentina in 2014.

Riders coming in from other series would face some formidable obstacles.

Not only would they have to learn the formidable Honda RC213V MotoGP machine, they would also have to learn the Bridgestone tires – not as hard as it used to be, but still requiring some experience to master – and the layout of two new circuits. Aoyama’s experience is what gives him the advantage.

[petercb750]

Yeh, I think it's pretty clear that it's more about Stoner's perception than MM saying "no no we don't want him competing against us"...well not publicly saying that anyway. And let's face it...as much as I admire Stoner he probably isn't the easiest guy to work with (as was Doohan apparently), so there'd be some mutual dummy spitting on both sides.
Still, it's not like he needs more money, and Ducati would have to be paying him several million anyway, so maybe he just enjoys being back on a bike and sticking it up the regulars....would LOVE to see him beat rossi at PI if he gets the gig 

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I know that Aoyama had some experience with the Argentina and Austin tracks, and is a HRC test rider, but he's NEVER come close to Stoner's speed.  He's never podiumed a MotoGP premier class bike.  He was a 250 champ, but never made it to "alien" status like Old Number 27.