MOTOGP » Bautista to Suzuki, Barbera to Aspar?

Could this be the first big name rider to skip Ducati due to the Non-Stoner curse?
Riders might be seeing everyone other then Stoner on the Ducati GP bike struggling, and deciding to not risk their careers.

That said, Suzuki's bike won't get you much better results then the other Ducati riders, but at least you won't have one guy on the same bike out-shining you week after week.

If the rumours are true and Barbera is going to Aspar to ride the Ducati that for me will be interesting to see how Barbera get on with the Ducati and to see how he get on in Motogp.

Also lets don't forget Barbera has riden before with Aspar but then they fell out so that should be good to watch.

Plus people we all no Barbera is a crazy rides so that Ducati may suit him LOL.

Barbera will bring a bit on excitment to MotoGP. I don't know if he is going to brilliantly fast, or toss himself down the road a bit, or run a couple of riders off track stuffing it up the inside but I know he won't be boring to watch!

I can understand why Bautista would shy away from the Ducati, but can't help thinking he's made the wrong choice with Suzuki - time will tell. Really really looking forward to cheering Hector B on next year, my fave rider from 250s

Crash is being tentative but other sites seem more certain about this, with motogpmatters explaining why the sponsorship works so well between Barbera and the Aspar team.

If it's true, then JT can breathe a small sigh of relief - at least for the moment - as Barbera was serious competition for his seat at Tech 3.

So does this mean that both Chris V and James T will both be competing for the same Ten Kate WSBK seat next season?

Not so sure about that VRob

There are reports on MCN that Chris V. and Randy dP are talking to Tech 3, superbikeplanet are saying Tech 3's sponsor Monster is pushing for J. Hopkins (they even state that the new rumor this week is Hayden at Tech 3 but that a weak one - he's staying at Ducati), and Spies is still out there. In an interview on motogpmatter Herve states that one of his rides is determine by Yamaha and he doesn't sound happy with JT. The Yamaha spot may go to either Spies or Edwards because they both are contracted to Yamaha. I think Chris V. is out because he doesn't bring any money. JT has Dorna and the BBC on his side. Not sure if Randy can bring Playboy from LCR.

A Vermuelen-Neukirchner line-up in Alstare Suzuki next year would be awesome!

Its all about money and sponsorship. When the old guys retire(Edwards, Rossi, etc.) this will purely be a Spanish cup and not the premier racing series.

RawDog, certainly you must mean Bautista will bring excitement and conflict on the track, not Barbera. Barbera is a slug, personality-wise, and close to that in the riding department -- a slightly above average 250 rider, no excitement there.