MOTOGP » Nakano to get factory Honda at Brno

People keep harping on Nicky's 3 wins and saying its not enough. What about the rest of the grid who have been there equally as long if not longer with 0 wins? Should they not be in MotoGp either? Sounds like you guys want a field of only 3 or 4 riders, the field is pretty thin as is... I have been trying to figure out where the hate comes from and I cant figure it out, can somebody help me understand that part?

Spot on Dude.

As for Nakano, he's been doing a great job and totally deserves it.

How refreshing to hear a story about Shinya. We chatted to him for about 10 mins at Donnington last year. What a great fella. Always has a smile on his face...

To those slagging him off, he isn't as good as the WC, but I bet he has more fans!

That Dude, the hate comes from Hayden beating Rossi to the 2006 w/c. Totally agree with what you said

Congrats to Shinya!

now, what factory bike does he get?
the factory bike from early 2008, the new 2008 frame, the 2009 frame, or the one they gave Hayden?
will he get a spring or pnuematic engine?
Will the display be with pictures, japanese symbols, or just flash random crap during the race?
Will it have a working fuel management system?
Will it have a center-stand for sport touring?

Testing with the Bridgestones was key for Nakano...

If Dovi is going to Repsol then I suppose that Hayden to Ducati is a done deal. I hope so as I would really like to see Stoner with a teammate that doesn't roll over and expose their soft underbelly. Hayden is definately someone who can take the fight to Stoner and rattle his cage.

Might not even be a bigger picture here, other than HRC realising they have a good development rider in their hands, one who speaks the same language as the engineers, no less. I don't think it necessarily means that Shinya will stay with Honda next year & I find it unlikely they would put him on a factory bike next year. Dovi would make more sense - quite frankly, not putting Dovi on a Repsol Honda next year would be insane. That said, I don't think Dovi is necessarily that much better than SN. They're in different teams so it's hard to compare. Ideally SN should have been more ahead of de Angelis, but they've been pretty close in terms of raw pace. Which isn't bad, we know AdA is quick.

In terms of consistency and race-craft though, SN is waaay ahead. Also, as someone pointed out, one of the nicest guys in the paddock, maybe that's why the HRC boys want to work with him!

honda want and always have wanted a wc winning Japanese rider,#74.

I think it shows how close a relationship Gresini has forged with HRC. Has anyone else been noticing how much better they have been in the last few rounds - I suspect they are already getting a few special bits ahead of the others.

As for Hayden - all you can say is that if he wasn't american would he have been in the top HRC team for so long?