Hmmm
The Rev it seems, isn't too receptive to views on Dovi's future at Ducati that aren't in tandem with his own.
Leaving aside whether one is a fan of either Dovi or Ducati, which is irrelevant really when expressing what's intended to be an objective opinion, is it realistic to be optimistic?
We have a rider who had a year on a satellite and three years on a Repsol Honda, a bike argued to be the class of the field by some, but at the very least, certainly a bike capable of winning races in the right hands during his period of tenure. Dovi, during that time, was not a regular podium finisher and a win usually looked far off, other than a couple of occassions and that solitary wet race.
This year with Tech 3, he has put in some solid performances and achieved podiums, but were those podiums a reflection of a rider's true speed and ability, or a result of chance due to any misfortune suffered by the riders that were considered the true podium contenders. He was the best of the rest to benefit of course, but in the 'true order', podiums would have been out of reach and unattainable.
Based upon his performances during the Honda years where he had the right equipment, it's clear that as solid a rider as he is, he has lacked that final bit that would allow him to compete with Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Stoner at every race. He just didn't quite have the speed necessary to stay with them and challenge. I can't see that changing next year. And next year there will be more contenders than this. Bradl has factory backing, MM will have a point to prove, Cal will hopefully have learned a lesson and calmed down, Rossi back on an M1, Smith could be an outside bet for 4th or 5th on occassion.
The conclusion therefore, has to be, that any optimism for genuine podiums on the Ducati, let alone wins, is being based upon blind faith and hope rather than logical reasoning.
Most likely, regular 6th and 7th places will be what is on the menu for 2013. Even should the bike improve throught and into 2014, it's difficult to see anything much better. You just can't dismiss the lack of success from the Repsol years when he had the best opportunity to podium regularly and take wins. He couldn't do it.
I'll be happy to be proven wrong as it would be nice to see a resurgence of the red bikes, but with Dovi? Can't see anything in his past that suggests it will happen.
