Wet Silverstone could confirm Rossi Ducati exit

                                                        Honda's VR46 NSR500 from 2001 

Its contract time in MotoGP and if Valentino Rossi is to exit ducati this year he will want to leave with at least a single victory for the Bologna factory. If it rains tomorrow at Silverstone it will be Rossi best chance of this elusive win.  He was indeed fastest in Friday wet practice with Nicky Hayden second.
Surely a win here would make his decision to leave Ducati all the more easy.

Where will Rossi go?
Lorenzo rather wryly stated he would welcome Rossi back to yamaha. A delighted Lorenzos new 2 year contract no doubt enhanced by Stoners early bath. Ben Spies will be unlikely to retain the Yamaha ride regardless of a Rossi move. Honda will be without Stoner, but most likely the rookie rule will be rescinded by Carmelo to allow golden boy Marc Marquez to step up to the honda factory team. But Pedrosa's ride is not guaranteed. He has been an 'alien' for many years but seems unlikely to win a championship for HRC.

Would Rossi take Honda back?
Rossi previously described HRC as  on a human level"cold, ice-cold". He has never forgiven them for reneging on a promise to let him keep the NSR500 he won the 2001 title on. HRC also reneged on a promise to allow his Dad Graziano to drive a test on the NSR in 2001. The way Valentino orchestrated a move to Yamaha with secret meetings in Ibiza and late night paddock meetings. The list goes on, but there is serious bad blood here and its unlikely in his final years Valentino would go cap in hand to HRC. And equally unlikely HRC would be knocking on his motor home.


The Ducati experiment has failed and the italian dream VR winning a championship on a Ducati will not happen, a single victory in the rain is possible and its the best they can hope for.  In Valentinos crew chiefs Jerry Burgess last year in MotoGP expect JB to be on the podium alongside Vale (weather permitting).

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CRT - Whats it all about?

CRT - Claiming Rules Team as its now known or Contructors Racing Team as it will/should be known. The action to get more teams in GP without having the megabucks that the factories throw at GP, and so now for the cost of Valentino Rossi's earplugs anyone can enter as a CRT team. That is as long as you are not connected with a factory or are backed by anyone who is associated with a factory. Infact what makes you a CRT team is so ambiguous and open to interupration that no one really knows what qualifies you for CRT status, more correctly we know

what will definetly exclude you from CRT status.

CRT bikes will be allowed more fuel and more engines: while factory bikes will have 21 litres of fuel and 6 engines in 2012, the CRT bikes get 24 litres per race, and 12 engines for the season.

Well thats unfair, so the factories (honda, yamaha, ducati) can claim an engine from a CRT garage. For €20k they get the engine and gearbox . Cheap for a GP bikes bits but reality is that no self respecting factory would be caught dead buying an engine from the CRT garages.

So, if you want to enter as a CRT dont work in, or invest in, or be associated with a factory.

Is CRT a good idea? Yes, 11 bikes confirmed for 2012 to add to the 12 factory bikes. Mores bikes = More fun, just dont call them Claiming Rule Teams or Cathode Ray Tubes.

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