Aspar = Ducati Satilite..............?

Question

Saw this one coming: http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2008/Ducati+involved+in+Aspar+MotoGP+conversation

Me & Proc even talked about it in one of my other questions.

If Aspar goes RED and not blue, will this dent the Spies Machine coming o MotoGP ? I do hope not.

With any luck, he will stay BLUE and replace Caparossi or Vermulen.

I must say however, I was thinking that Aspar would re-place the Dan 'tin team rather then run along side it.

You would have thought that Ducati would make the 08 / 09 bike a little easier to ride before going to all this hassle. Its still only Casey who is on the case.

Your thoughts please?

Answer 1

Hi wiggysan

I think you're right that if Aspar go with Ducati it will be at the expense of the Alice team. I don't know what contract Alice have with Ducati but I can't see there being more than 4 Duc's on the grid when the likes of Suzuki and Kawasaki can't afford to do it without asking for vast sums of money.

Ben is hungry to get to Moto Gp, but I think it would be a mistake to go to a satelite Ducati, as you say Casey is the only one who can handle it so why should Ben be any different from Melandri et al.

As for going to Suzuki, I'm not sure how long Chris's and Loris's contracts have to run. But I think that Chris's might be up at the end of this year, and judging from his results so far he's not done much to persuade Suzuki to renew it. Which is a disappointment for me as Vermeulen is a personal favourite of mine who I thought had great potential. However I'm not sure that Spies will do any better. I know he's wiping the floor with everyone (except Mladin) in AMA, but from what I've heard/read the American Suzuki team have far superior tyres to everyone else. We'll just have to wait and see how he does as a wild card at Laguna Seca and Indy. The ball is in his court. I'm sure there would be a seat at Kawasaki replacing Ant West if he shows promise.

Answer 2

Hi Wiggysan, I think the big word in that report is May. I'm starting to doubt if the Aspar team will even make it into the GP class. he is to worried about the cost. Suzuki frightened him off. I don't think Alvaro will be too keen to go to Ducat if there is another option. and I'm sure there will be, even if he stays at 250 for another season. Ben on the other hand might jump at it. But weather he is willing to go with aspar after being basically kicked into touch by them is another thing.

who wants to go to a team that's going to struggle financially.