MOTOGP » Capirossi: The best choice I could have made!

really good to see capirossi happy. did you see the row of pics: vermeulen looks a bit too serious tho?

Loris got a new toy

and vermeueln still has an old one...now i get it

vermeulen still has an old one? I don't get it.
The article states that he spent all his time testing the '08 bike.....right?

Iz-a joke TLR

I knew Loris wasn't suited to the Ducati and thus Casey isn't a 'God' after all.

Go Loris!

Lets have some great racing again like we had in 2005/6

Actually, the other way round. Vermeulen is testing the new bike, and Loris is playing with the old one.
Certainly does sound like a great choice - leave the best bike/tyre combination in the paddock to go to a different unfamiliar team with a young established rider who is getting quicker and quicker
When Vermeulen has beaten him a couple of times, it will be 2007 all over again.

Well he was dumped by Ducati, remember? After years of loyal service, in which they called him a 'lion'
for his courage and spirit, they tossed him on the pavement because the new kid handled the new bike better.
That's Ducati for ya.
Why are they so reluctant to bring the 2008 prototype out, afraid it won't work with Stoners riding style?

This idea that Capirossi was dumped by Ducati is nonsense - just face-saving on Loris's part.
Ducati signed a letter of intent in 2006 with Melandri and he would have been with the team in 2007 if Gresini hadn't taken up their option, but definitely in 2008.
Stoner was taken on for one year only as a stopgap on a low wage but racewin bonuses.
So Loris would have expected to partner Melandri in 2008.
Except Stoner kept winning and Loris was nowhere.
Right from early in the season, Loris was complaining and saying he was talking with Suzuki and Kawasaki, giving every indication he was about to jump ship. So what can Ducati do? The obvious thing, and extend Stoner's contract. Continued -

The moment that happened (about third way through the season), Loris knew there was no factory ride, so all this talk of not knowing when it was announced was crap. Even then, Loris was offered a full factory bike in the D'Antin team, with official factory technicians and support. How many other teams do you know have supported a poorly performing rider in such fashion?
Personally, I never thought that Loris extracted the maximum of the bike over the 5 years (Bayliss at Valencia 2006 seemed to prove that) yet he was extremely well paid by Ducati, very few riders staying with the same team for so long.