Barros to Honda

Barros is almost certain to be Nicky's teamate, according to:

http://mcnews.com.au/latest.htm


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I wish I knew. Time will tell.

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WTF? Why would Abe still be around. There is enough
talent in the world without letting Abe have a ride. Mike Hale
is another person that seemed to get chance after chance
(that he didn't deserve).

 

On his website, Abe has stated that he will be riding in MGP this year,
so I guess the rumours are true.
Abe didn't do too bad, after all, he only rode 5 races last year and
finished the championship 16th ( in front of KR Jr and McCoy, who did a
complete season )

Phil ( glad to have another spectacular rider return to MotoGP )

 

Good point. I guess the KR giving him a chance on the KR3
is why I used his name. But yeah, Checa is another one that
doesn't deserve to be in MotoGP. I would rather have an
unknown element on my team that just might turn out to be
a winner than to have a proven loser. This kind of stuff happens
in every form of racing. It is like they are thinking that if they
can't get the top 2-3 riders, then they just settle for a "safe"
alternative that will give them consistent finishes in the
rear of the top 10. And of course the fact they they
are spanish or japanese sure doesn't hurt.

 

Randy Mamola at the end of the year rode both the Honda and the Yamaha, and
said that he developed a deep respect for riders like Carlos Checa who could
keep up somewhat on it.

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About your sticking to put a I between the J and the S above, are you able
to name even one Italian rider who had been allowed to ride on factory
bikes in MotoGP/500 too long based on their performances?

I would say that, until a few years ago, it was just the opposite.
Many top Italian riders from the late '80s-early '90s, who could have won a
lot given the right bike, were given no chances at all (Pirovano, Falappa,
Romboni) or too few (Chili, Cadalora, Reggiani), in the sense that they
were kicked out of the top class when they still could score better than
your average spanish, japanese or the back then so popular aussies.

 

Bah, they also happen to be very good riders, and in every case you could
also mak the point they're there on legitimate merit. Certainly not only
based on nationality, that's one silly assertion. Every team wants to get
results, and they will not hire people without talent just because they
happen to be a certain nationality or happen to bring in money.

And if you have a good relationship with commited sponsors, you don't *have*
to go out proving at every opportunity how talented you are. You don't have
to risk your neck. That's modern racing for you. Is Mladin, for one, really
as mediocre as his MotoGp career indicates? Or perhaps there's something
else in effect, and the days when kamikaze riders would get notoriety and
"prove their talent" riding to the front on crappy material are long gone?
Perhaps even slight differences in material relegate people to certain
positions, and *any* of the top 15 riders could win a race given top
material? I think the latter is much closer to the truth.

And don't forget there was a very long lasting era where Spanish and
Japanese riders were confined to the smaller classes. They were perceived to
be natural 125cc riders.

All those criticizing the Spanish and Italian riders simply lack visibility
into how these riders came up as kids. Believe it: somewhere, sometime they
did prove their talent in a very competitive environment, and the Spanish
and Italian junior leagues are incredibly competitive.

The simple fact is that Italy and Spain have the largest pool of motorcycle
riders, and they also have federations that know how to nourish talent with
an endless series of racing from very early on very methodically.

....pablo

 

He didn't do too well when he was on a Honda either. What
was Mamola's excuse for him then? I will say again that
Checa is a proven loser, just like many others in the MotoGP
field.

 

And that's all? Odd how they manage to hang in there, with no riding skills
and all, and not be several seconds behind on every lap. Good to see you're
more capable to assess riding skills from your seat than GP managers are. If
you think any GP manager doesn't want *results* first and foremost you were
dropped on your head, heard, as a little baby. They'd let Bin Laden ride a
friggin' bike if he won races for them.

....

I guess Doohan got the Spanish citizenship many yeard back, unbeknownst to
us all, since he was a maintay there and all.

At this point, it's obvious you're applying a double standard. If Roberts'
Suzuki was so damn lowly when he got the title, he ought to be achieving
some sort of result even now.

So? He got a shot at impressing somebody, and didn't back then. It's
obviously somewhat tougher than you assume, and there might be many aspects
you or I have no visibility into. But to claim any GP rider isn't immensely
capable is idiotic.

Works for Kenny Jr, doesn't it? I am joking: actually, yes, I think it is
immensely stupid for a rider to constantly push the limit - it's never been
a recipe for success.

Checa is fast, there's no doubt about it. But he falls off. He's too damn
eager, that's why his results suck. He's proven time and time again he can
hang with the very best on a given day, but then he'll get too cocky and
overcook it. You are confusing results over a season with the ability to go
fast. Checa hangs in there because team managers hope he'll eventually be
able to control his over-effort a bit more. And you're actually talking out
of both sides of your mouth: demanding results over a season, yet also
demanding someone prove he's fast by winning races as often as they somehow
can when they don't wind up in hospital (which they'd do quite often if they
raced by your expectations).

And you have to learn some GP history before you out your foot in your
mouth. Spanish riders brought about an excitement to 250cc when they were
allowed in that in damn outshone 500cc for a few seasons in the late
80s/early 90s. Pons, Cardus, Garriga and some others, aided by cadalora and
Wimmer and Roth - those were some of the *best* races in GP history. Awesome
shit. They did walk alright. You're claim is ridiculous.

And now they like to lose. What a silly claim.

You're being silly. There are simply riders that rule for a certain period
of time. Doohan did. Rossi has. The fact the other Spanish or Italian or
Japanese guys don't beat them doesn't mean that more Australian or US rider
would have beaten them. Especially since when they did get their shot they
didn't outshine said Spanish or Japanese riders. Hayden has done great, but
again hasn't fared any better than the guys that have been around for a
while, and it's only next year or the year after that we'll see if he's
genuinely better. And how many other riders at hayden's level are there in
the USA? Not (m)any. But that's what it takes to hang in GP.

....pablo

 

I swore I wouldn't reply to MN's posts again, but this was too good to
miss.

Over the last 15 years or so there have only been four winners in
500/MotoGP and everybody else was just a bunch of losers who shouldn't
even have been there. Two of those winners had an unfair advantage so
they don't deserve their titles. One of the others was a Spaniard and we
all know Spaniards can't ride and only get a chance because of the easy
money behind them. So that leaves Kenny Roberts Jnr. As an American, he
ain't shit, and if it wasn't for the conspiracy, he would have won
everything he'd ever entered.

It's the same old, same old, Mark. Don't you ever get bored with it? I
certainly do.

 

Read the last interview of Barros about the Yam! Checa is fast and deserves
respect, even if he will never win the title. And Val will have some hard
time.

 

What's the url?


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I've no url, just pick up from mcn board (author sandroreis)
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As I did last year, when Barros went to Yamaha, after being dismissed by
Honda/Michelin, here's the story of how he will be back to Honda in 2004.
(Source: Revista da Moto!, no. 109). I'll traslate to you some relevant
parts, not in full, sorry.

End December, São Paulo, Brazil. Barros was tunning his Audi S3 to 500cv,
with 1,7 bar turbo, and nitro. Yes, he care for autos too. But the
conversation gets hot only when he begins speaking about bikes. Specially
the new HRC spec RC 211 V, he is about to get in February.

Everything went too fast:

Q: HRC pilot. You didn't see it coming, right?

Barros: It all went too fast. When Valentino's manager didn't show up at the
Malaysia GP, when he was due to sign Vale's contract, the people at HRC went
to talk to me, to know if I could ride for them. I said I'd love to, only
that I had a contract for 2004 with Altadis, e that the breaking fee was too
heavy. Even though I said I would try to get free, and that's what happened.

Q: Did Altadis release you free?

Barros: Last season, the teams let the riders test their new bikes, but not
this year. Honda did not release Rossi, and Yamaha decided to do the same.
But I made myself clear to them: I am not willing to ride for them, that I'd
rather ride for HRC.

Q: And what was the answer:

Barros: There was no answer. I must admit that since the beginning of the
season, they saw my difficulties, that I was injured since the first GP, e
they kindly told me that if I wanted to, I could stay away, to seek proper
treatment. But to interrupt mid season wouldn't be fine by me, it not in
accordance with my character. And then I kept insisting, and seeing that the
M1 problems weren't going away, and that I was getting worse every GP. When
Yamaha went for Valentino, and Honda asked me to ride for them, I couldn't
resist. But I didn't want to be unfair. I told them I was not young anymore,
am already 33 years old, and that there's not much time left for me in Moto
GP. Yamaha's M1 project needs to be restart from scraps, with luck, they can
fight for the title by 2005. But with my contract ending by 2004, what would
happen to me if I did one more season just like 2003? Or just a little bit
better? I would risk being fired. With HRC I would have another shot for the
title, the complete opposite figure.

Q: And then.

Barros: Again, they listened carefully, they didn't say no, nor yes to my
ultimatum. Then I signed Honda anyway, I risked it all just not to loose the
biggest chance of my life.

Q: But who's gonna pay the costs?
Barros: Nobody. I don't want to discuss all details, but Altadis can't do
nothing due to some facts that happened at Valencia GP, which would allow me
to file a rescission of my contract, but now with them paying me the same
amount.

Q: How's that?

Barros: They violated some of my contract terms. Now it's seems best for
both parties not to file suit.

Q: So you are on Rossi's spot at HRC?

Barros: Exactly. And I could also choose my team, since Valentino took with
him many of the staff. My chief mechanic will be Ramon Forcada, who used to
work with me at Pons, e with him will come some other guys who helped me in
the Pons years.

Q: Will you be the no. 1 rider?
Barros: That is not on the contract. Honda's contract is the same for all
riders. Me, Biaggi, Gibernau, will all have the same gear. Honda made clear
that the important thing is for a Honda bike to win. Repsol (HRC),
Telefonica (Gresini) and Camel (Pons) are the ones who will try to make a
difference here. But I must add that, all thing being equal, it is better
for HRC to win. Never in Honda's history, a non factory rider went on to be
the champion. If by the end of the year the chances for the title went for
me and Biaggi only, I believe Honda may probably give me enough parts to
make a difference. It has always been that way with them. Now, in HRC, is
between me and Hayden, there will be no difference between bikes, back as
when it was with Doohan and Crivillé. I more experienced than Hayden, who is
very fast, but he is in his only second year.

Q: When will you begin practicing?

Barros: Tachikawa, HRC manager, keep me informed of the last practices
results by e-mail, and told me that there were no new parts tested. I spend
January getting fit to debut at February 11 in Sepang. He told me that the
four practices before the season starts are more than enough to me.

Q: Do you have a good relationship with these guys at HRC?

Barros. Definetely. I know them very well, and work with many of them in the
many times I run Suzuka 8 H. It will be good to have people like Tadayuki
Okada, former rider in 500cc, who is training to assume the Sporting
Director role within the team. He's a great guy, and together we won Suzuka
8H and have an excellent understanding.

Q: Let's talk about 2003.you fell 21 times. What's in Yamaha that make you
fell that much?

Barros: Indeed. I've never fell that much in my life, not even when I
started Gps. M1 is a very hard bike to ride. And the reason lies more on the
chassis than on the power delivery. The Honda I rode, besides being more
linear in its power delivery, has a chassis that allows you to do everything
you want. I tested an M3 prototype, a Yamaha that nobody outside the team
saw, e it had indeed a fine tuned back end, witch would slide the way I
wanted, but that had a crap front end. I told them: "That's it! That's what
I'm talking about, now do the same with the front end!". That was before
season starts, Yamaha spent all year trying to solve it, but to no avail.

Q: But when you started at Yamaha, you said that they missed Honda by only a
tiny amount.
Barros: It did, but it went on. While Yamaha made some progress, Honda made
much more. With Honda you do whatever you want, you can slide controllably.
You put the bike on it's side and it is like: "Ih, went too much, let me
back a little here, yes, that's it, a litlle more, let me see.right!". I'm
not kidding, it's just like that, you can actually think about what to do,
so obedient is the machine. The bike warns you, tells you that the front
tire is sliding, how fast will the back gone.And so one creates a fast lap.

Not so with the Yamaha. M1's front end goes, and goes, goes.suddenly BAM!,
you're off the bike. Of all my crashes, only one was due to the back, the
last one, in Australia. All the others were caused by the front end [recalls
me Biaggi in 2002, perhaps all his falls werent't due to his style only,
N.T.]

Q: How did the crash at the warm-up for the first GP influenced your season?

Barros: I was very sad with that crash. 3h before my first start, I was
seriously hurt in my knee, which cause me trouble for the whole season. That
GP I run against medical advice, but I finally manage moths later to manage
the pain [.] But when I almost done, there comes Kagayama and run into me
from behind, out of nowhere, broking my hand, and breaking a tendon in my
shoulder. At the time, I thought only my hand were the problem, but the
worse was to come. Only at the German GP did I realize that my shoulder was
to be my main concern, that my hand and keen were the least of my problems.
I couldn't break anymore, I had scrutiating pain turning right.I never
thought my shoulder were that important to racing. From them on, I never
raced without pain reliver injections.

Q: Why didn't you stop then?

Barros: I didn't want to. Not a single moment did Yamaha pressed me, nor did
Altadis. They gave me total freedom to decide. By I wanted to finish the
season, like all the others before. [.] I had to prove to myself that I was
able to overcome the pain, the difficult bike, and to honor my commitments.
And in doing that I discovered an inner strength that I myself never
experienced before. Only I can tell what I really felt riding that way. My
last GP was the worst. When it finally ended, down in the pit lane, I stand
for 15 minutes on the bike, unable to step down. I had a fall on Saturday
practice, and besides the knee, the hand, and the shoulder, I had broken
some ribs. I could barely breath. Finally the medical team arrived and
calmly unzipped my leathers, and the helmet. It was surely an unforgettable
day. After all that I took a shower and lay on the bed totally still, for
hours.

Q: All that for a bad chassi.

Barros: They worked very hard, but from beginning to end, the M1 improved at
most 5 %. The power improved after Portugal, and that is that.

Q: Power is than not a problem anymore?

Barros: It's the chassis. One cannot use the available power. That bike will
continue hurting riders. I fell a lot, Melandri and Nakano did too, and we
all had serious injuries. Checa fell less maybe because he knows M1 the
better, Jacques "tirou a mão" [roll off the throttle, N.T.]. Outside me and
Melandri, the other riders knew M1 idiossincrasies, and that hurt them
psicologically.

Q: Will Valentino solve Yamaha's problems?

Barros: It is not natural for Yamaha to stay where it is. It will fight for
wins. But I believe only in 2004 will it fight for the title.

Q: So who are the candidates for the title?

Barros: Nicky Hayden will have a brilliant year, Capirossi, the best team
mate I ever had, is the most dangerous guy, since Ducati made an excellent
bike, Gibernau and Biaggi are in excellent teams and will always fight for
the top spot.

Q: What about the rest?

Barros: Edwards is a f* rider, but it is only his first year in a Honda.
Bayliss is fast, but he is too aggressive, some things he does are simply
crazy. Tamada is great, Bridgestone seems good enough, but they're won't be
always be competitive in cold wheather.

Q: What about you?

Barros: I will be at the party! I'm riding for 24 years, am 33, cannot
afford to loose time. It's now or never.

Q: Tell us more about the differences between the M1 and the RCV.
Barros: Honda didn't need almost no setup. So much so, that you cannot alter
the geometry, there's no adjustment in the steering head, nor in the axis of
the swing arm. To set up a Honda is a matter of details, very little ones.
In the Yamaha, you can tweak almost everything, and in each race you can
revolutionize the bike. That may appear like a good thing, but it is
actually horrible, each race you what you are actually doing is to build a
new bike, but the thing is, you have only 4h in the practice time, to
achieve that. One cannot to that. Once stuck with a bike, remains little
time - and confidence - to find the right tires, and suspensions settings.
One other thing that hurt the bike, is that it is hard on the tires, you
cannot use the wide range options that Honda can, from the softest to the
hardest.

Q: That sounds bad.

Barros: It was difficult, but I learned a lot. God knows what he is doing,
and despite all my experience, maybe I needed it all.

Q: Didn't the difficulties you had with the setup due to you working with a
different team of technicias?

Barros: I don't believe so, they were excellent. I think me and Gilles Bigot
got along very well, for instance, he is my track engineer. All the people
at Gauloiser are great. The only problem with the M1 project is the bike
itself.

Q: Do you think that with the 4 stroke the dangers for the riders increased?

Barros: I don't think that the problems lies with the bike, but with some
tracks. The 4 strokes are faster, and worse still, now we all have critical
problems with stability when breaking, witch is one thing I never
experienced with the 2 strokes 500cc. Take the spot where Daijiro Kato
crashed at Suzuka. That spot had never been considered a dangerous place,
until he crashed. [He seems to imply that Kato's crash begin with
instability when breaking]. Anyway, Suzuka is a place where anywhere you
crash, you hit the guard-rails. I'm glad that track is out of the next
season. The Qatar track, which is being build, seems to follow all the good
inputs from the pilots.

Q: So, What could we expect from Barros for 2004?

Barros: I give my best, and never look back on my goal, to be the world
champion.

 

LOL! Right. Great post. Thanks for that.

 

Many thanks for the article.
What's the url of mcn?

There's a story now on motogp.com, but it's not much.


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http://www.motorcyclenews.com/talk?Topic=Racing

 

What a huge irony that about the only way to show your ability in WSB
was on a Ducati, but riding a Ducati in the AMA was a liability.

Mladin. Should have had another go in a World Championship after his
first AMA championship. Probably never will now.

Ben Bostrom. Couldn't make the switch to Michelin. A short run of good
results. Then a bad year. You don't get to GPs like that. He'll need to
do a Hodgeson to get back. He'd better win the AMA this year or he'll
stay there forever.

Eric Bostrom. Great guy. Rode well in WSB. But didn't show enough to
really attract attention. Didn't or couldn't turn those results into a
ride with a competitive WSB team. You don't get to GPs like that.

Yates. Will be remembered as the guy who skittled the pack at Laguna.
You get fines and bans for that in MotoGP these days.

DiSalvo and Gobert. Who?

I look forward to seeing how Kurtis does next year. Let's hope the
Proton team get Michelins.

 

Only that for quite a while Ducati teams in the USA haven't really been
competitive over a season and even when they were, always seemed to be
playing catch up after a bad Daytona. So committing to a Ducati team was
a liability for your career, not for your body. Arguably at least some
of that impression can be laid at Anthony G's door.

 

Others tried too, and weren't as successful. Yeah, they were great. Also, I
find it odd you don't get your own double standard (well, not really): when
US riders naturally brought along riding styles better suited to the 500cc
category compared to most European riders than had come up from the lowr
cc's, you probably weren't crying foul 'cause the teams were not investing
in nourishing talent and allowing for the required transition in style: US
riders got the 500cc right away, most European riders had to "earn" it in
the lower ccs, and then were criticized when they couldn't adapt within a
season after many years on 125 and 250. And I am not saying that it was
unfair - the US riders did bring a natural advantage along that was plenty
compelling to a team manager.

But now fast forward: the natural riding advantage is a thing of the past,
there's no more untamable 500cc (but today's are much faster, take note of
that). European riders bring familiarity with the circuits and the
logistical advantage of being closer to home. US riders no longer hold that
natural riding style advantage in the category, they face psychological
issues being far away from home (ask Bostrom or Kocinski or a bunch of
others), and they have to get to know circuits and other GP idiosyncracies.
And many of them seem resistant to move over from the get go these days - I
read somewhere Mladin turned downthe opportunity to do GP again, for
example.

To claim it is all discriminatory sponsors is silly. There are *some*
established riders that of course bring loyal sponsors because of their
public recognition. But that is the rare exception, and not the *rule*, as
you try to imply.

If there's one group of riders the GP has maybe been tough on it is
certainly not the US or Australia, it is the UK, in my opinion. But then
again, perhaps, like in soccer, the Brit scene is so unique that it just
doesn't translate well into mainstream GP success, even though at any point
in time they are guaranteed to have some of the fastest, ballsiest riders
around.

And you have failed to mention which riders are currently discriminated
against. Who is soooo god that they must get a top GP ride? I don't see
them. I am sorry, but the AMA scene is a bore these days.

And finally, again, yeah, *those* early generations of US riders were really
that good. In case you need a refresher course in racing hisotry, they'd
proven their talent in the US racing scene before moving over. Guys like
Lawson or Rainey or Spencer are some of the best riders ever to sit on a
bi,e, and they don't come along often.

....pablo