Blog: Riders on the move

MCN MotoGP reporter Matt Birt exclusively shares hs views on the post Estoril rider moves. Matt has spent years living out of a suitcase to follow the MotoGP circus around the world, to get the inside scoops for MCN…

One of the biggest stories in Estoril– aside from the obvious Dani Pedrosa/Nicky Hayden friendly fire madness – was Casey Stoner landing himself a lucrative contract with Ducati.

I knew Casey was talking to Ducati but I must admit I didn’t think he would gamble on leaving Honda. Neither did Honda or his current team boss Lucio Cecchinello judging by the conversation I had with him this afternoon.

I saw one of Stoner’s mechanics at Lisbon airport on Monday, and he said that on Saturday in Estoril Cecchinello was still 95 per cent sure that Casey would stay, even though he was well aware that Casey was negotiating with Ducati.

Talk about whirlwind transfers. Casey told Cecchinello after the race he was off to Ducati, and less than four hours later Carlos Checa had signed to take his place at LCR Honda!

Not many riders turn their backs on a Honda deal with Michelin tyres, but the crux of it for Casey came down to his status at Honda.

I remember speaking to Cecchinello in Japan and he said Casey was seeking assurance about extra technical support at Honda.

At that time it wasn’t beyond the realms of fantasy that Casey could have wound up partnering Pedrosa in the factory team. He was certainly a prime contender had Hayden gone to Yamaha.

When that option went, Ducati had made an official offer to Marco Melandri. And if Melandri had gone then it was possible some extra technical help might have come his way in 2007.

Melandri though stayed with Fausto Gresini after Honda Italy had used its considerable clout to wangle him better technical support.

As a consequence that seemed to be a considerable de-motivating factor for Casey.

And why would be fourth in line at Honda with a factory bike and hefty pay packet at Ducati beckoning? It was clearly an issue, as Casey mentioned it when I spoke to him in Estoril.

Question is, just what’s the difference between a factory and a satellite bike at Honda? Not much if you look at the recent history books. Three years in a row a satellite rider from Gresini’s team has finished higher in the championship than the factory Repsol riders. Each year since 2003 a Gresini rider has won more races on a so-called inferior bike. That trend continues, with Melandri winning more races this year than Hayden or Pedrosa. And with Toni Elias’s inspirational win in Estoril, Gresini’s team has now won the same number of races as the Repsol squad.

Apparently Stoner was promised some extra help by HRC for next year. And this season, since he got a new chassis in Germany, that upgrade made his bike the exact same spec as Pedrosa’s. It’s almost as much of a mental perception thing for a rider.

Being so far down the pecking order with a factory bike at Honda a minimum of two years away, I’d imagine the money became much more important to Stoner.

He’d have wanted a financial package good enough to convince him to stay, and despite the best efforts of Cecchinello, there is no way he could compete with the might of Ducati and Marlboro. At 21 and with a rumoured £1m offer on the table for Stoner, you can see why he jumped ship.

I spoke to Ducati boss Livio Suppo today, and he said it was a number of factors that led to Casey’s selection. But from other calls it seemed that Ducati just couldn’t agree terms with him. Sete’s had a shocking season, mostly down to having more bad luck than some riders suffer in a career. He was offered a new contract, but turned it down because it didn’t match what he felt he deserved. Sete’s results – bad luck or not – had seriously weakened his bargaining power.

The big winner in all of this is Checa. It came down to him and Alex de Angelis apparently for Casey’s seat, with Checa’s experience winning the day.

I spoke to Carlos this afternoon while he was on the way to the gym in Barcelona. Not surprisingly he was chuffed to bits. I’ve heard he’s hardly going to be raking it in next season, but the lure of a Honda on Michelin tyres at 34 was way too good to turn down.

Checa has been impressive this year. He’s managed to motivate himself when he’s been riding for next to nothing and on tyres that still play a massive game of catch-up to Michelin and Bridgestone.

The Tech 3 team and Dunlop badly needed Checa to stay. He’s been at the forefront of tyre development this year and they needed him to continue progress. Starting from scratch with a new rider is a tough ask. And finding one who is available and willing to run on Dunlop tyres will be a tough job for the most persuasive of team bosses.

Carlos was stunned when he heard about Cecchinello’s offer on Sunday afternoon, as he’d pretty much made his mind up to stay with Tech 3. In fact, he was one of the hottest properties in the paddock with a host of teams pursuing his signature. Not bad for a bloke who hasn’t won a race for eight years!

Later. M.