My signal from Nicky....

[Super Dave]

http://venus.13x.com/roadracingworld/scripts/NewsInsert.asp?insert=10990

Ok, two years there learning tracks, food, customs.  Been working with Doohan, team, etc.

This is the signal I was looking for.  

I'm figuring that Nicky will be doing very, very well in 2005.  Certainly, he hasn't done poorly, but, with his age and experience in the arena he's been in, I'm sure he's been under some outside emotional strain to really go and make an impact.  But, I'm sure, that he's been instructed to ride, set up, and learn things.  Honda seems to have likened him to a very profitable investment.  

If he can remain relatively uninjuried during the off season testing, I think he'll make a very, very important impact in MotoGP.

We'll have to wait and see though...

[StumpysWife]

Hey!  That's my signal!  Give it back!   ;D

Nicky looked great--well, until he fell--at Valencia.  You could tell he was working so hard and he had something for Biaggi--well, until he fell.

Perhaps having his brothers there wearing weird get-ups was distracting.  

I hate the off season.



Heather

[SliderPhoto]

It's testing....

What will he need to accomplish to be considered doing very, very well?  How many podiums? How many wins? Ranking in the championship?

[Super Dave]

Good question, Jack.

Really depends upon the competition around him.  Really, I'd like to see him win a race.  If the championship heats up and you have multiple winners, well, one win is great among everyone.  Additionally, being there is good.  

One can finish well in a championship by plugging away getting points, or you can be the guy there that has the danger of winning or spoiling finishes for others.  You could hope for Nicky all year long to win this year, but it was always seemingly an outside chance.  On the other side, certainly, Rossi CAN win with Sete.  Max, yeah, he can win, but if you were putting money on Sete or Max...I'd put it on Sete.  

Similarly, Zemke is a good guy and could have been a winner.  Finally did.  Still, my money would have been on Mat during the season.  I want Nicky to be in better postion to be a winner.

I think he just finished his contract signing with Honda.  They must be happy.  He must be excited and motivated.  Might have been sending a message at that test.  Just a feeling of intuition on my part.  Haven't felt that from him before in GP's.

[Rawrider]

Yeh. Lets hope he does well next year. Honda has shown their intent by building a new crew around Hayden. Maybe they beleive that he just didnt have the right supporting cast?

[OmniGLH]

Perhaps having his brothers there wearing weird get-ups was distracting.  

It probably didn't help to know that Michael freaking' Jordan travelled all the way to SPAIN to watch him race!  Even though I could care less about basketball or sports in general - it would still definitely mess ME up!

I think he put a lot of pressure on himself for that weekend.  He was rockin' for the first 3/4 of the race... then he ran a little wide, and I think that broke his concentration and frazzled him.  The eventual crash just sealed the deal.