WSBK » Tamada in WSBK switch.

Tamada is a great talent. I believe he lost his direction when he switched to Michelins. A move that looked like genius at the time, lots of people felt he'd be an instant title contender.

For some reason that combination didn't gel. Probably a combination of rider not being able to adjust to the tires, along with bike and tires being well down the pecking order.

Tamada seems to have lost a lot of confidence and drive, look how his teammate Guintoli beat up on him last season.

Here's hoping the change of paddock will rekindle his drive and he'll be competitive. He sure looked like a world beater in 2002, in my eyes he let Edwards win the second race of the Japan round that season.

Tamada should never have ridden for Tech3/Yamaha...WSBK was for him in 2007. He would have been a worthy contender for the regular race winners.

I do think that his wins for jBridgestone were just a sign of things to come. Don't get me wrong, the guy obviously knows how to ride a bike to win, but if he were riding for, say, Gresini this year INSTEAD of Nakano....hahaha, he would give fits to Rossi and Stoner and Dani RedFoot!! '08 RCV...pneumatic valves, B'stone rubber. It would be a worthy combo

Furthermore, Nakano has absolutely NO BUSINESS on a Honda. They are using him, typical Honda style. He will not be offered a worthy satellite bike(i.e. bottom of the pecking order)..

Furthermore, Nakano has absolutely NO BUSINESS on a Honda. They are using him, typical Honda style. He will not be offered a worthy satellite bike(i.e. bottom of the pecking order) but his advice on race development/setup will be valued greatly by the HRC Wizards. His ability to communicate w/the japanese engineers will only benefit one side-- THEM, not him.

Oops, did I get slightly off-topic?? Anyways...I sure hope Tamada can open a can of whoop-*** on Kiyonari

Amazing ....never has been? World sbk winner, moto gp winner. More than what many of those guys u call "new talent" will ever dream of doing ... hopkins, de puniet etc etc , all on official rides and no wins.
I guess if the old guys have to leave then we need to get rid of troy b, troy c, haga ... and give away the chship to some eral NEVER HAS BEEN like lanzi, fabrizio, etc etc
I guess reynolds, hizzy shouldnt ve been allowed to win their bsb titles cos they were "old" - what a lot of crap!

I think Tamada is still a fast rider.

But I fear he's on a non-competative bike next season. The SBK Kawasaki is not good enough for the high results. Only Magny Course 07, where Nieto took a 3rd en 4th place were good for Kawa.

I think he just have to beat Laconi. Winning or podiums will be difficult.

well, for '08 season Kawasaki has fresh model of ZX-10r (new frame, suspension, engine, exchaust, everything changed) so we don't know how competitive it'll be...I only agree with switching Laconi with another man, even Yanagawa is better. This Frenchman has no idea how to develop the bike properly I guess. Also Kawasaki announced that they started working with Kawasaki MotoGP band together to increase the technology/results in WSBK.
Kawasaki still improve their infrastucture so...
And of course it's not fair to pass over 'older guys' in silence, for example Kenny Roberts jr - many people think that he's a weak driver but look at his last season - great bike - awoked driver.

I wouldn't classify Tamada as an old guy/has-been, etc. Obviously, someone at Kawasaki feels he's up to the job. Maybe what the Kawasaki team is looking for is some proven talent that is also adept at developing a superbike. Not all young guns are able to provide that whole package talent. I'm happier than a tick on a fat dog to see these guys riding in WSBK. Some of the best and closest racing in this series & always on the edge of your seat riding! I can't imagine tuning in and not watching Bayliss. Thank god that old fart came back to this graveyard of former MotoGP riders! I only wish Colin would come back, who wouldn't want to watch some of the old Bayliss/Edwards battles?

Glad to have another rider in the paddock, as long as Ducati don't p-off into the distance this is looking like it could be the most fun series to watch in 08....as for up and coming, well you only need to look at Supersport to see there's plenty of that.....i'm drooling at the prospect...age is immaterial at the end of the day.

Go #41!

Laconi has had ENOUGH chances now in SBK's (He was a good rider in his Day, but that day is long gone) I think he keeps his seat due to the PSG1 sponsership being french.

Tamada is a top quality rider Proven! these "Has-Been" comments come from people who have never watched him race, Not only the wins he had (Whooping Rossi's curly *** at motegi is not easy) but also some of the amazing rides he had, 3rd at Brazil 03 he came through the pack and given afew more laps would have even caught Sete (another Top class rider retired 2 soon).
I think Tamada cud b a real force in SBK & wish him all the success, as has been said I think the grid is getting stronger now with 10 pos race winners