McPint slams Ducati GP moves
McGuinness says it makes no sense losing talent like Dovizioso
Idon’t have enough space here to cover off what’s going on in MotoGP. From KTM winning to brakes exploding, the list goes on… What I’m still trying to understand is the Dovi situation at Ducati. I can’t get my head around why they are parting ways, and I can’t understand the infatuation with getting deals done so early every year. Why aren’t riders given the package and then given time to show what they can do on it before having to do a deal for the following season? Poor old Alex Marquez lost his ride before he’d even got to race the bike. There should be a rule introduced where teams and riders aren’t allowed to talk about future contracts until a certain date, give the riders time to prove themselves and then make a decision. They have a testing ban in winter, so why not have similar on early deals and introduce a transfer window? Dovi is a cool calm and collected guy, but it looks to me like he’s lost interest. He’s solid, he’s not a whinger and he’s not throwing it in the gravel every weekend. He’s one of the old guard and it’s always fascinating to see the established racers battling out with the young guns. Dovi has an edge and he’s one of the only guys to be able to actually beat Marquez in a straight fight. Ducati are going to look like right muppets if he ends up winning the championship for them this year and then he doesn’t have a ride. Negotiating a contract at that level must be hideous – it won’t be done with a handshake! There’s so many reasons why it’s gone wrong, but at the end of the day Dovi isn’t happy with something and you have to think that has to be down to money. What next for Dovi? P64
‘DUCATI ARE GOING TO LOOK LIKE RIGHT MUPPETS’