Puig Blasts Hayden

[LicketySplat]

Back on topic: http://www.superbikeplanet.com/2008/Oct/081016rn.htm

[Mr. Whippy]

Nicky FTW!!
 

[staedtler]

http://www.crash.net/motorsport/motogp/news/170573-0/hayden__puig_runs_repsol_honda.html

 

[rajflyboy]

You would Figure that Honda would step in and get Puig to shut up and be a good Teammate.  Teams that work together have a better chance at winning.  

[Galo]

http://www.crash.net/motorsport/motogp/news/170573-0/hayden__puig_runs_repsol_honda.html

 

Class all the way.....

[swimmer]

Class all the way.....

+1

[tbeemer]

I came in for the Puig blasts Hayden melodrama and got mired in a discussion of the correct definition of "3rd World".

 

Hayden got asked about it again (the Puig comments, not the definition of 3rd world) by Julian Ryder during the Malaysian GP intro press conference.  Nicky repeated his original statement about Puig running the team and said he felt bad for Yamana (the real team manager) 'cause he's got heat coming from all sides.  I can't believe we're a little over a week away from Nicky's first ride on the Ducati.  I'm pretty freakin' stoked about that.  

[spinmaster]

I'm stoked as well.  But, keep in mind, what Nicky will ride next year will be the most revolutionary thing to hit MotoGP since the RC211V V-5 engine.  The GP09 will have a carbon fiber frame.  It could be a great year or a really bad year.

[spinmaster]

On topic:
I can't imagine why a situation exists, where a riders manager can have the power on a team that Puig seems to have. How can Honda allow this to happen? I don't think its Repsol. They have been a Honda sponsor long before Petrosa showed up.

I don't mean to be a smart ass, but seriously, connect the dots.  

Dorna:  Based in Spain.  Owner of MotoGP's commercial/TV rights.
Respol:  Spanish oil company.  Did $55B Euros in sales in '07.
Spain:  MotoGP's largest single country audiance.
Puig:  Spanish, employed by Dorna to run the MotoGP Academy, and Pedrosa's personal manager.
Pedrosa:  Spanish and once thought to be the only rider who might be able to dethrone the GOAT, Valentino Rossi.  
Spanish Flag:  Even the corp colors of Dorna and Repsol are a near match to the Spanish flag colors.

HRC:  Not Spanish.

Repsol (and Dorna to an extent) cares about the marketing opportunity only in their largest market:  Spain.  They do not care about the long term relationship.  If Pedrosa wants something he just tells Puig who tells Respol who tells HRC to do it.  If HRC says no, then Repsol just squeezes Dorna.

The person with the least amount of clout on the Repsol/HRC team is Hayden.  The second lowest would be HRC.

[JonS]

I don't mean to be a smart ass, but seriously, connect the dots.  

Dorna:  Based in Spain.  Owner of MotoGP's commercial/TV rights.
Respol:  Spanish oil company.  Did $55B Euros in sales in '07.
Spain:  MotoGP's largest single country audiance.
Puig:  Spanish, employed by Dorna to run the MotoGP Academy, and Pedrosa's personal manager.
Pedrosa:  Spanish and once thought to be the only rider who might be able to dethrone the GOAT, Valentino Rossi.  
Spanish Flag:  Even the corp colors of Dorna and Repsol are a near match to the Spanish flag colors.

HRC:  Not Spanish.

Repsol (and Dorna to an extent) cares about the marketing opportunity only in their largest market:  Spain.  They do not care about the long term relationship.  If Pedrosa wants something he just tells Puig who tells Respol who tells HRC to do it.  If HRC says no, then Repsol just squeezes Dorna.

The person with the least amount of clout on the Repsol/HRC team is Hayden.  The second lowest would be HRC.

Yes, I know what you are saying, but still, I don't believe that it would be a foregone conclusion that a riders manager would carry the big stick on a Honda Race team. It isn't as though Dorma wouldn't let them race. Honda could have a Spanish rider to please Repsol without the baggage of the riders manager having free reign. I think that this is a unique situation, but I could be wrong.(slightly possible )

[STN Moderator]

Oh look! A thread about motorcycle racing.

Let's keep it that way  

[spinmaster]

Yes, I know what you are saying, but still, I don't believe that it would be a foregone conclusion that a riders manager would carry the big stick on a Honda Race team. It isn't as though Dorma wouldn't let them race. Honda could have a Spanish rider to please Repsol without the baggage of the riders manager having free reign. I think that this is a unique situation, but I could be wrong.(slightly possible )

I agree it's not a forgone conclusion but I also think its more than just Repsol wanting a Spanish rider.  It's a perfect storm of having a sponsor with deep pockets who REALLY wants a Spanish champion, a rider with the potential to deliver, and a manager with uniquely powerful connections within Dorna.

I really don't think it was HRC's desire or idea to change to Bridgestone mid season.  That was all Puig and his maneuverings behind the scenes to make it happen and he did it I'm sure with Repsol's blessing.  Keep in mind, to make that switch required HRC to break contract with Michelin.  The fact that that happened with not so much as a whimper says a lot about the kind of weight that was applied somewhere.

[tbeemer]

I agree it's not a forgone conclusion but I also think its more than just Repsol wanting a Spanish rider.  It's a perfect storm of having a sponsor with deep pockets who REALLY wants a Spanish champion, a rider with the potential to deliver, and a manager with uniquely powerful connections within Dorna.

I really don't think it was HRC's desire or idea to change to Bridgestone mid season.  That was all Puig and his maneuverings behind the scenes to make it happen and he did it I'm sure with Repsol's blessing.  Keep in mind, to make that switch required HRC to break contract with Michelin.  The fact that that happened with not so much as a whimper says a lot about the kind of weight that was applied somewhere.

Nope, it wasn't HRC's desire at all.  And there was more than a whimper.  According to Julian Ryder there was some serious backroom battling going on, with Puig and Pedrosa basically telling HRC that if it didn't happen Dani was going to withdraw from the rest of the season.  I'd imagine that if Soichiro Honda were still alive, Dani would've been looking for a new ride... *after* fulfilling his contract with Honda on the crappiest bike they could give him or just making him sit without a bike and not releasing him to go elsewhere.  By HRC caving in like they did, they lost so much face in the paddock and the racing world, I'd think it'll be hard to erase that.  I think they would have been better off just letting him take his ball and go home.  It's one thing to give in to a Doohan or a Rossi, guys that consistently win and deliver championships, but to date Dani has demonstrated that he's just inconsistent enough to be Randy Mamola, Jr, a fine #2 but never higher.  

I'm certainly not pulling for Honda anymore, and I've been a Honda guy for a long time.  They've demostrated time and time again over the last 5 years or so, that they have no idea what they're doing when it comes to personnel choices.  As for Dani and Alberto, they can go f*&k themselves with a case of Repsol lubricants as far as I'm concerned.  I'll heartily boo the little $hit at Laguna next year til I'm blue in the face.  And all the fans booing him at Indy this year?  That demonstrated to me that there are some pretty savvy race fans here in America.  If we're all so MotoGP dumb and NASCAR bedazzled, like the Euro-Moto press likes to point out, how'd they know to single out Dani?  Pretty sharp, IMHO.

[LicketySplat]

A little more illustration of the power of sponsors and the importance of nationalism (Aspar's sponsors are Bancaja, a Spanish bank, and Mapfre, a Spanish insurance company): http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2008/Aspar+and+Kawasaki+explain+reasons+for+impasse

I have no doubt that's why Wudy signed on to sponsor both Yamaha teams - by getting their name on dePuniet's bike on the Tech3 team, they got the French market. It also highlights Hayden's lack of influence in an inverse way. How much more pull do you think he might've had if he could've brought a sponsor like, say, Levi's or Chase Bank. Repsol and Gas have such a small market share in the USA anyway, that whatever tiny boost they might get from sponsoring Nicky probably doesn't even pay for the cost of the patches on his leathers.

Which brings us back around to the paucity of sponsors in US motorcycling generally - which is a whole 'nother thread again -

[Jeff N]

Nicky could move a couple of boxes of Oakleys over here. Maybe?

Nice posts, fellas.  

[DogBoy]

And gals.

[tbeemer]

A little more illustration of the power of sponsors and the importance of nationalism (Aspar's sponsors are Bancaja, a Spanish bank, and Mapfre, a Spanish insurance company): http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2008/Aspar+and+Kawasaki+explain+reasons+for+impasse

I have no doubt that's why Wudy signed on to sponsor both Yamaha teams - by getting their name on dePuniet's bike on the Tech3 team, they got the French market. It also highlights Hayden's lack of influence in an inverse way. How much more pull do you think he might've had if he could've brought a sponsor like, say, Levi's or Chase Bank. Repsol and Gas have such a small market share in the USA anyway, that whatever tiny boost they might get from sponsoring Nicky probably doesn't even pay for the cost of the patches on his leathers.

Which brings us back around to the paucity of sponsors in US motorcycling generally - which is a whole 'nother thread again -

+1 for using the word "paucity".  

Good post.  Remember his first year, Nicky was still riding with Joe Rocket leathers.  But they pulled out after that, 'cause with no real US presence for MotoGP at that time it wasn't worth JR's expenditure to essentially advertise in a market they weren't selling in (Europe); although I think they're in the UK now.  So Nicky goes to Alpinestars and starts making some of the dumbest commercials in motorsports.    I will say that his personal sponsors (Arai, Alpinestars, Oakley, Red Bull) do have a solid presence in the US market, but certainly not enough pull to dictate personnel decisions like the main team sponsors, as you've pointed out.  

A more devastaing example of the impact of sponsorship (or the lack thereof) would be the Kanemoto/Kocinski "white bike" in 1999 or the Kenny Roberts team.  Both died ugly deaths because of the unwillingness of major sponsors to go with what were perceived as "American" teams.

[cyclopathic]

Remember his first year, Nicky was still riding with Joe Rocket leathers.  But they pulled out after that, 'cause with no real US presence for MotoGP at that time it wasn't worth JR's expenditure to essentially advertise in a market they weren't selling in (Europe); although I think they're in the UK now.  So Nicky goes to Alpinestars and starts making some of the dumbest commercials in motorsports.    I will say that his personal sponsors (Arai, Alpinestars, Oakley, Red Bull) do have a solid presence in the US market, but certainly not enough pull to dictate personnel decisions like the main team sponsors, as you've pointed out.

Which brings us to the point: Nicky on Duc fighting at the sharp point will sell many Ducs in US of A, smart move. And we'd have a team with 2 guys who did manage to beat Vale; bring it on!

[pearsonm]

 Which brings us to the point: Nicky on Duc fighting at the sharp point will sell many Ducs in US of A, smart move. And we'd have a team with 2 guys who did manage to beat Vale; bring it on!

A rider with a personality that everyone wants to root for riding a bike that everyone wants to own. Seems like a marketable combination that could finally set fire to MotoGP in the US.

[Orson]

A rider with a personality that everyone wants to root for riding a bike that everyone wants to own. Seems like a marketable combination that could finally set fire to MotoGP in the US.

uhm...yah  

If Kenny Roberts & Freddie Spencer layin down black streaks didn't light a fire, nuthin's gonna