Haga fighting for second.

wow, his year has fell apart, running out of years to take the title nori,really disappointed,.....

I'm a massive Haga fan and have been a fan since the 750 Yammy days, but I have this horrible feeling that Haga will given the "best rider to have not won the WSBK championship" monika along with Aaron Slight et al.

It think though Nori's riding and racecraft has improved over the years as he less prone to crashing now, when you compare it to the 2001 Red Bull GP and Aprilia WSBK days but again tyre preservation and some inconsistency is his downfall.

But nevermind I'll still be cheering him on every race regardless because without Nori WSBK wouldn't be the same without his 'wild style' of riding!

Nori's problem has been a mixture of everything down the years - mistakes, questionable race craft, bad luck, and inconsistency. His 2 biggest problems are that he leaves himself too much to do at the beginning of a season, and secondly he's never had a factory Duke. When he did have a Ducati (albeit Renegade's private one) he proved he could be fast but due to no less than 5 mechanical DNFs he never stood a chance in 2004.

I will ALWAYS maintain that with David 'Master of the Universe' Tardozzi as his team manager and with a factor Duke under him, Haga could have been a multiple World Champion now. In my eyes he has more raw talent than Bayliss, no matter how impressive Bayliss is.

Haga on a "Big Duke" for next year perhaps?There is an opening.Then perhaps the world would be complete?G-out.

I don't care as long as he has a competitive bike he'll continue to give entertainment. He's the Ronnie O' Sullivan of bike racing, he's racing against himself. Bayliss has said Nori is the man he prefers to race against (props to Bayliss I wouldnb't care to race against Nitro Nori the lunatic)!

Anthony Gobert had more "raw talent" than anyone, but it obviously takes more than just natural riding ability to win championships & yes, Haga probably has more raw talent than Bayliss, but Troy just has that tenacity & bloody minded determination to win that separates him from the others.

"Anthony Gobert had more "raw talent" than anyone"........

He got arrested for shoplifting a few weeks ago it's a shame he has no control over himself could have gone a long way I reckon

I'd love to see Nori win the title (next year ) gutsy rider always a smile on his face

Well it's pretty much over this year barring an absolute miracle. Nori's my #1 in any case and it aint gonna stop Team Hagalout cheering till our throats are sore at Brands.

p.s anyone else going will be able to find us opposite Nori's garage on the start finish straight...we'll be the one's with the huge f-ing flag

mononuke,

Bayliss also usually has the advantage of extra engine cc's over the rest of the field, like this year. Do not underestimate the advantage the Ducati's have always had, don't forget that they're the darlings of WSB!! Woe betide anyone who dares to challenge Ducati and their insistence of running a twin at ALL costs.

cemo, Bayliss won his first title on the 998, Edwards was on the 1000cc SP2. Second title was on the 999, where all were limited to 1000cc. So this is the first year Bayliss have an "advantage". It is the Suzuki which is the strongest kid in WSBK, where the Ducati can't take the Yamaha or the Suzuki on the straits. Bayliss took Corser on the brakes each time.

@ cemo,

yes I agree with you that Ducati was always seen as a 'favored son' in the series, with WSBK being run by the Flammini bros for so many years before FGSport & yes, they have allowed Ducati 'advantages' to compete with the Japanese factories, but even last year when the 999 was at the end of its development cycle & was clearly down on BHP to the jap inline 4s, it was Troy who wrung the extra 10% HP from his right wrist & even this year, when everyone thought it was going to be a "Ducati Cup", TB was really the only rider on the Duc to be consistently fast & score points, other than the one off perf from the Sterilgarda boys or Fabrizio in the last few races.

While I think that Haga is a very good rider and is talented I don't think he's as talented or skilled a rider as Troy Bayliss. I remember Troy during his AMA SB stint thinking this guy's real good and he was. His skill and tenacity especially that year he battled Edwards and unfortunately lost was epic in my opinion. Not many riders have the desire and will that Troy displays all the time. It's fiting that he'll end his career with a Championship. We'll truly miss him at WSB.