As the Dutch MotoGP in Assen kicks off later today in Europe, due to the race traditionally being held on the Saturday, a couple of interesting news stories have emerged.
The first is that one of the Repsol Honda team's superstars will not be in action, Dani Pedrosa. The other is the struggling Ducati Corse Team's employment of a new tactic, to use the 2012 chassis for the rest of the year.
Dan Pedrosa out of Assen GP
Dani Pedrosa has been ruled out of the Dutch TT, his third race in succession, due to a nagging injury he sustained to his shoulder. He will be replaced by Hiroshi Aoyama from the San Carlo Honda Gresini Team, while Aoyama's bike will be ridden by HRC test rider Kousuke Akiyoshi.
In a press statement HRC outlined that it was "pleased to give this opportunity to Aoyama to race on the Factory RC212V and thanks Gresini Racing Team for their cooperation."
There are rumours abounding that Pedrosa may in fact decide to pull the pin on his entire season as the championship slips away from him, and to fully recuperate from his injury, a la Casey Stoner, but Pedrosa recently revealed that he plans to back on the Honda race bike in Mugello.
Rossi employs new tactic
MotoGP maestro Valentino Rossi hasn't had the best year thus far in 2011, with the Ducati GP11 race bike not performing the way he would like. As such, the team has decided to cram the current engine into next year's GP12 chassis, calling the bike the GP11.1.
Will it work, can Rossi turn around his average start to the 2011 season? Here's what Rossi said at press conference:
"We struggled at the start of the season and the results were not good enough. I pressured Filippo (Preziosi) for new changes, especially for the back of the bike, and with an eye on the Mugello race. From this he got an idea: we already have a new bike - why not try it with the 800cc engine?
"After the Mugello test, he asked what I thought about the proposition. I thought there might be risks, but I immediately agreed with him, especially since the GP12 feels more like my bike, while GP11 was a bike made by others. With this move I think we’ll be more competitive while at the same time moving forward for next year," noted Rossi.
"I know that Honda has been quick from the start, especially in Jerez, but we've continued work on the bike and at Mugello we saw some encouraging changes. More than anything it’s a matter of feeling: with the GP12, I felt comfortable right from the start, and then with each small change it was better and better. We'll see what we can do when the time comes. I heard that Stoner went faster than us, but we’ll see how much truth there is to that information," said Rossi.
"The engineers argue that the 1000 won’t be much faster than the 800, but I think the GP12 is fast – I think the difference is there."
Asked if the move was a 'last resort' Rossi had this to say: "Personally, I don’t see it as a last resort; We’ve reduced development time and I've seen in testing I can be faster. Now the question is to see how it goes with the 800cc engine. We don’t know whether we can beat the Honda, but I'm sure we've taken some steps forward.”
Expect an entertaining Dutch TT...
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