What track knowledge? Jake has never raced at Monza.
As for no one doing anything on a Honda, Vermeulen won quite a few races on it before Toseland, and Checa is not doing too bad considering they only had one test before the season. Also notice that the 2008 Fireblade is going pretty fast in BSB so it's no dog.
Yeah, I got ahead of myself...I was thinking of Miller, not Monza.
Vermeulen? Are you serious? He hasn't raced in WSBK since '05. I don't think it's fair to say the Honda is good based on his successes from 3 years ago.
I did say that Checa is getting things turned around, so it's obviously not cut and dry that the Honda is competitive or not.
My point remains the same though. I don't think Jake could finish inside the top 10. Probably not even top 15. Rolfo couldn't do it unless a bunch of guys DNF'd in front of him, and there's nothing to make me believe Jake could do any better on the same bike.
It's all moot though, as it appears Jake is now out.
Actually I misread what you said. I thought you were saying the Honda wasn't competitive, you were just saying that it has only been competitive in the hands of one rider, which is true. Although the same can be said of the Ducati and Suzuki until just this season.
Either way I have to agree that a good result for Zemke would have been a top 15. A top 10 in WSBK in a field of the current caliber is a very, very tall order.
Either way I have to agree that a good result for Zemke would have been a top 15. A top 10 in WSBK in a field of the current caliber is a very, very tall order.
Yeah, throw in a strange bike, a strange track and strange tires and I think a point would be great.
well at least he is Italian, should make RR happy eh?
Bussei is a veteran & he certainly has the financial resources to pursue his expensive hobby, but never was anything special...was always a good sportsman tho'! I'm sure Vermeulen will attest to that
Ok, ok... do you guys have a senso of humour at all? My list of Italian replacements was half tounge in cheek, since I knew you would all be expecting it from me. Hodgeson was actually the first name to come into my mind, even though I think he is garbage.
And, for the 1000th time, I don't support Italian riders exclusively. I pull for Hopkins all the time. Edwards when he is being honest. Used to root for KRJR and Kurtis as well. Nicky before the fanboys. I have rooted for Lorenzo since he came into 250's with the idea of kicking PeePee's a$$, and I used to enjoy Elias in his wild 250 days. Bayliss in SBK of course for the Ducati success.
So there, supporting some Americans, Italians, Aussies and Spaniards... is there anyone else that is decent these days? Toseland is hype, and there are not other decent Brits. Wait... Smith looks like a good crasher. Maybe he can take DePuniet's seat in a few years.
Back to business. I'm not happy about Bussei. Who cares about him. At this point, I was actually starting to look forward to Zemke getting the ride! Watching him bring up the rear would have been sweet vindication!
And Gary, despite all of your "fighting for 17th and top 20" nonsense, Rolfo is always firmly inside the top 15, and has a few top 10's. And DONT FORGET that his team is brand new to WSBK, is a one rider effort, and has few resources. Give them some time to grow.
Nothing new though. For the umteenth time in Roby's career he finds himself on a crap bike.
Never heard the name Rolfo much during broadcasts, so I looked him up in the WSBK site under Results. I see he does in fact have two top tens - literally - and an average overall finish of 13.75 - and lies 19th in points with 20. Unlike the frontrunners, he has finished every race or at least has been credited with doing so. Factor out the fast guys that crashed and Rolfo seemingly hasn't done that well overall.
So who asked me anyway, right? Too bad Earthquake Jake didn't get a shot at his ride.
And Gary, despite all of your "fighting for 17th and top 20" nonsense, Rolfo is always firmly inside the top 15, and has a few top 10's.
I guess 14th is 'firmly in the top 15', but to be honest I saw 22nd in race one at Assen and missed the word 'pitted' until I went back to prove you wrong. That said, 14th isn't jaw droppingly good - but may have beaten what Zemke would do considering it's a different bike, team and tires than he knows, and he's never seen the track. Give all that to Rolfo and he'd be further back too. Remember, I'm not one of those who expects Spies on the podium at Laguna, and I wasn't saying DuHamel would be there last year. I have reasonable expectations of riders. As far as Rolfo being on crap teams, my guess is he isn't getting offers from the others - which means, generally, that team managers aren't viewing him as a hot prospect. He has the passport to garner sponsorship so obviously it's the area of 'expectation of results' that are lacking.
And while I know you were tongue in cheek when you named those names, it fits what you normally type perfectly! Read your own posts - if you don't find them painfully pro-Italian, read them again. I don't think you are an idiot RR, you seem to have a good knowledge of the game but you are THE single most nationally biased poster I've ever seen. Yeah, the Brits are excited by Toseland (and they should be) but you will bolster the stock of any Italian, good or bad. If you want to tell me that Rolfo is a better rider than Toseland, who you constantly downgrade...uh, I don't know where to go from here.
Funny how "crap" riders seem to always end up on "crap" bikes isn't it??..........I guess for it to happen umpteen times, well, you can imagine how bad you'd have to be.
Come on guys, we have been over this before. Rolfo is as much a victim of circumstance (yes Billy Joel) as anything else. Worst timing possible.
Yes, he has never been a top prospect. Fair enough. But I do get bothered when I see guys with much less talent and much thinner CV's having more opportunities than him.
Rolfo was the top privateer in 250's (more than once if my brain is working today), but he went to Honda instead of Aprilia. Seemed like a good move at first as he had a great year riding to 2nd in the championship, and maybe losing out only because Sebastian Porto is an idiot. The Honda was inferior to Aprilia, but he made a go of it.
So what does Honda do the next year? Throw him in the trash for little PeePee.
But Rolfo had done enough in 250's to still warrant a MotoGP ride. But that is where it gets really sad. Back then, seats weren't easy to come by, and the only option for the poor kid was the worst GP bike Ducati has put out since they came in, on Dunlops (when the bike was built for B-Stones, on a single rider team run by the idiot Louis D'antin. Does it get any worse than that? What exactly was he supposed to do?
And now you look at the GP grid and scratch your head. Ant West on a FACTORY bike? The same Ant West that did less in 250's than Rolfo, and was owned by Rolfo straight up in some wet races? This guy is getting a season and a half (in theory) on a factory bike?
Sulvian Guintoli? He rode for Camptella in 250's (just like Rolfo), but could never muster the same results Roby did for that B team. Guintoli was a nobody in the lower classes, and now this guy is getting two years in GP? Sure a Dunlop Yam wasn't great last year, but it was a two rider effort and a semi-decent squad.
And now you have DaAngelis and Depuniet on satellite Honda's (a good stepping stone bike)??? Rolfo owned DePuniet in 250's, and even having never had a factory Aprilia managed to win more times than DeAngelis. Yet both of those guys are in GP, with pretty good situations.
So go ahead and make your jokes about bad riders getting bad rides... but it isn't the truth in this case. Plenty of lesser riders have gotten much better shots than Rolfo.
i know you all dislike our RR but saying the real one sucks is a bit much. he truely has been somewhat of a victim of equipment. not saying he had 3 world championships stolen from him but since i got here (the board) in '00 i looked into the guy b/c RR was taking his name and he's always been solid. there was a 250 title he may have lost on equipment 5 or so years back and i think he ran top 5 in a race or 2 last year in wsb. can't remember if he finished there but i swear he was upfront solidly for a good part of 2 races. help me on that RR.
anyohw, not saying he's the second coming but he is a solid rider
ilthomson - 07 May 2008 01:17 PM
Zemke stinks...
seriously? the following sounds like he was first among the mortals last year. how does that stink?
In 2007 he finished third in the AMA Superbike Championship
What makes a great rider is consistent speed, not an occasional burst of it. I'm not saying Rolfo is terrible, but he isn't great either, and in my opinion he is no Toseland - and RR can't say enough bad things about Toseland.
As far as Ant West, he is in MotoGP because he was in the right place at the right time - he should thank Olivier Jacques and whatever fool decided OJ was the rider to hire last season. You won't have to worry about him next year.
Oh, and I just checked out the practice times. Who the f--ck is this M. Beck character subbing for Davide Checca? He is listed as USA, but I never heard of him. Anyone? Endurance guy maybe?
Hahaha, Davide...
But yeah Michael Beck is a young gun in the AMA championship. I believe he rides supersport only. Kind of a tall order for a young supersport rider to fly over and ride a superbike at Monza. If he can beat a few guys it will have been a good day. He took 2 seconds off his FP1 times, if he can hack off another 2 he might be able to beat Bussei =P
Oh, and I just checked out the practice times. Who the f--ck is this M. Beck character subbing for Davide Checca? He is listed as USA, but I never heard of him. Anyone? Endurance guy maybe?
... one more reason not to read your blathering.
Too bad Earthquake Jake didn't get a shot at his ride.
