[Shawn115]

Hopefully some of you have been watching the series so far. I'm sure most of you know Rossi went down in Mugello and compound fractured his lower leg. This week Aoyama went down hard in morning warm-up and shrunk the grid down another rider. But the racing is still good.

Couple of rumors gaining some speed and legs.. first is Rossi to Ducati with his entire mechanic and crew chief staff. Rumor is Stoner's crew is upset because they “have been warned that they may have to seek new employment for next season.” Obviously to clear room for Rossi's entry into the team. The other big one that seems very likely a done deal is Casey Stoner to Honda. He has been hinting, while still being all smiles for the press, that he was upset about how strongly Ducati went after Lorenzo last year. They actually offered him more money than Stoner was currently making.

That leaves a few good spots up for grabs. The 2nd factory Yamaha (since Lorenzo would almost certainly stay with them), really both factory Ducati's since Hayden's contract is up, and one seat at factory Honda. Most likely candidate for the Yamaha would have to be Spies, especially after last weeks podium on what he and his teammate claim is the slowest bike on the grid. Hayden's results probably keep him on Ducati as their 2nd rider, but who will stay on at HRC? If you go by results so far you'd have to say Dovi over Predrosa, but Honda has been loyal to both their entire career. Someone is going to get chopped for sure. And for God sakes lets hope some more teams field some damn bikes.. having 42 riders on the Moto2 grid then just 16 in MotoGP is disgusting and makes the sport look silly.

[Pinky]

Nice write up

[Stone]

I wonder how Stoner would do on a Honda??

[Shawn115]

If you look back at 2006 you'll know. Stoner started his MotoGP career on LCR Honda who now runs Randy De Puniet. He had a lot of top 5s, a near win, and some serious crashes. In a funny twist the week he signed with factory Ducati to replace Sete Gibernau, Stoner also took the poor guy out on the track and sidelined him for a few weeks.

Aoyama has a broken vertebrae, so he's out for a few races along with Rossi. In both teams, Interwoven Honda and factory Yamaha, old Japanese test riders get the nod as replacements. Blah...

[Shawn115]

For those interested Casey Stoner made it official this last week, he has signed with factory Honda to be paired with Danny Predrosa. It looks like HRC will either run 3 factory bikes or have Dovi on a factory-support ride. The next few pieces to fall into place should be Rossi, Lorenzo, and Spies.