Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128347
~~f3r;(f fIY· · · . - Continued from page ' 5 chin. he told the pre -race press co nference. Bayliss believes himself the scapegoat for the disappo inting perform ance of the '04 Ducati, after the marq ue's strong deb ut the previous season. "Somebo dy has to pay, and it's me, " he said in Malaysia. He expanded on the theme in Australia, talking up his erstwhile employers at the sam e time . "It doesn't mean I'm going to cruise aro und for the final races. I'm even tes ting for Ducati at Phillip Island on Monday, and I'llgive it 100 percent. I still believe I haven't shown what I'm capa ble of in Moto Gp, and I want to do that . I still believe in Ducat i, but they do n't believe in me ," he added. Satellite team 2003 Ducatis have perform ed better than the new bikes on several occas ions, with Ruben Xaus beating them at every trac k where he had prior experience or where nobody had any - at the new Qatar trac k, the class roo kie gave Ducati its o nly rostrum of the year so far, finishing third . It O ld rivalry dies hard , and that between the only two premier-class World Champions from Austra lia is no different. Wayne Ga rdner , 1987 Wo rld Champi on, opined that Valentino Rossi is the greatest ever, "ce rtainly the best I've seen." He added in respo nse to questions that Rossi was not only better than Mick Doo han at be ing a champion on the track, but off the track as we ll. Doohan respo nded in kind, when he got the chance. "W ithout a do ubt he's bette r than Wayne Gardner, who won only one championship, and was lucky to do that." Some thought th is rather unfair, as Gardner's 1987 title was hard-won. Daniel Pedrasa earned the 250 cc Wo rld Championship by fin ishing fourth in the Australian Grand Prix. '. . Mick Doohan took no not ice of Phillip Island signs read ing "If you drink and ride, , . , you're a bloody idiot" to launch a "special release" red wine in GP week. The cabernet recouping the debt woul d be to insist d'Antin runs Yamahas again so that it can again prolong the career of factory favorite Norick Abe . Th is year, Spanish ex-25 0cc racer luis d'Antin has bee n running last yea r's Ducat is - but again the re was some e leme nt of do ing the team a favor. It is thought that Dorna's contract allowing Ducati to enter has a clause requ iring them to supply a satellite team. The y spoke to WCM and Proton about supplying engines, but in the end, d'Antin's team came to the rescue. Thus, for next yea r, d'Antin might have a choiceeither Yamaha or Ducati. KTM is set to build a parallel twin twostroke for its entry into the 250cc class nex t year. The new engine , which harks back to the early Yamaha designs before the V-twins of the 1980., has been designed by Harald Bartol, long-time two-stroke guru and the man behind Yamaha's race-winning 125. There is as yet no word o n the future of its MotoGP engine beyond th at Proto n Team KR will be testing it again afte r the last GP at Valencia. The team is battli ng either to re new Proton sponsorship for next year or to find another big-bucks backer. "There are no decisions yet ," team principal Kenny Roberts said at Australia. Yamaha has finallyconfirmed the old news that it will field Colin Edwards as Valentino Rossi's teammate next yea r. At the same time , Yamaha also con firmed that it will be dro pping Checa from the facto ry team. It is a return for Edwards, who raced for the factory in Worl d Superbikes from 1995 to 1997 before switching to Honda. "I never really felt like Honda wanted me - even after winning two World Superbike Championships," Edwards said. "With Honda [in GPs, th is yea r] all I've ever done is devel o ped and made bikes better, but I was asking fo r things and every body else was getting them. Q ualifying in Q atar made my mind up. My goo d chassis had a prob le m and I had to qualifyon myoid chassis, and I didn't even have two bikes. Then, right after the session , they rolled over with another chassis and said, 'Here you go . You get another one for tomorrow.' I'm thinking, 'Too little, too late,"'said Edwards, who was second in that race . sauvignon has a pic ture of him waving the Australian nag after winning the fourth of his five 500cc-c1ass titles . It' s a high-end wine from the Queensland winery Sirromet and will retail for about $45 Australian. Carlos Checa has been linked to Ducati, with rumors that John Hopkins was desti ned for the second seat there now go ing cold . He seems destined to stay at Suzuki. Team d' An t in D ucat; appears to be leading a charmed life. With no visible means of support (sponsorshi p from Master Card turned out to be illusory, eve n tho ugh th e bikes we re painted in the co lo rs earlier in the year) , the independent Spanish squad now has an em barrassment of motorcycles to Manuel Poggiali's dismal 2S0cc title defense - he was II th overall before the Australian Gp, with just two rostrum finishes - has cost him his ride o n the full factory Aprilia next yea r. The 21-year-old San Marino national does cou nt a single win amo ng tho se ros trums, but he had the wind knocked ou t of his sails after the death of his father earl ier in the season. His place will be taken by another ride r from the landlocked principality within Italy - class rookie Alex de Angelis, 20, who has yet to win a race but has produced consistently strong perform ances in his first year in the class and lies fifth overa ll. use, in spite of the team's impecunious con- The 125s head to the fin ish line. Andrea Davizioso beat Jo rge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner to the line. dition , if the paddock whispers are true. last year, d'Antin ran a lone Yamaha M I for Shinya Nakano, and it is understood there remains som e outstanding business with Yamaha still awaiting completion on certain financial aspects. A back-to-front way of www.cyclenews.com CYCLE NEWS . oaOBER 27, 2004 17