Ducati News Today

Former 500cc Grand Prix Champion, Wayne Gardner, hasn’t pulled any punches in espousing his view of the current MotoGP racers in a post on his personal blog entitled ‘Half time report’. He saves perhaps his harshest words for fan favorite, 2006 World Champ and Marlboro Ducati rider Nicky Hayden.

In an interesting and wide ranging review of all the current riders, Gardner tells readers that Valentino Rossi’s winning days are far from over and that he ‘likely would have won at Mugello’ (Rossi crashed in practice suffering a compound fracture of his right tibia and fibula). He still rates Stoner but says the Australian hasn’t lived up to his potential this year.

Lorenzo has stopped crashing and learnt how to win consistently and Wayne warns that even more improvement is to come. Spies impresses the gritty champion too, mostly due to his ‘calculated approach‘ and it will only be a matter of time before we see him at the front on a regular basis.

For Hayden, the reasoning is that the American has peaked and won’t progress any further calling him a ‘second tier rider‘, something he says was always the case despite his 2006 MotoGP title (Hayden won only twice that year, once at home at Laguna Seca and at Assen in a nail biter that saw Colin Edwards crash out of the lead on the last turn while an injured Rossi finished back in the field).

“Nicky’s had his moment in the sun and I don’t think his results are going to get any better. I think he reached his peak at Honda a few years ago and I think he’s definitely reached his peak as far as getting results on the Ducati is concerned. He’s a second tier rider – always has been and always will be. He puts the hard work in, but I just think he lacks the aggression and skills to really succeed. He just lacks that last two or three-percent that guys like Stoner and Vale have got.”

link: Wayne Gardner Approved

Gardner has pretty much the same to say about Colin Edwards ‘he’s reached his maximum and I don’t see him doing any better than he already has. Time to retire or go back to Superbikes‘ (Edwards is rumored to be on the list to replace Noriyuki Haga at the factory Xerox Ducati squad).

He is impressed with Dani Pedrosa’s improvement this year but feels it is not enough compared to the other aliens and that ‘he’s destined to be another Randy Mamola – always the bridesmaid but sadly, never the bride‘ (Mamola was 4 times runner up in the 500cc GP championship between 1981 and 1987).

Hayden will be looking to repeat or even succeed his 2009 Indy effort where he placed third. During the weekend Ducati is expected to announce that Nicky Hayden has been renewed on the factory team for another year in 2011 as Valentino Rossi’s team mate at the Indianapolis round of of the MotoGP series. Similarly Ben Spies is likely to tipped to step up to the factory Yamaha seat vacated by Rossi.

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