KSGregman
03-30-2011, 06:56 PM
http://waynegardnerapproved.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=62&Itemid=511
Tough to find much to disagree with here...I think his assessment is spot on.
THE WORST OF BOTH WORLDS
The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced Valentino Rossi’s decision to delay shoulder surgery until the end of 2010 was a huge mistake. Last year I said that with his season effectively over after Mugello, he should have walked away from the second half of the season and had the work done straight away. Had he done that, it would have enabled him to start 2011 fully recovered and, more importantly, fully fit. The reason he opted to continue had a lot to do with his desire to test the Ducati at Valencia in November. With that test painfully acquainting the nine-times world champion with the Desmosedici’s major design faults, it looked like the call may have been the right one. Afterall, if it’s detailed feedback and evaluation Ducati engineers were looking for, they certainly received it in spades. For Rossi, the sacrifice of delaying surgery appeared as though it would pay off in the form of a totally re-configured motorcycle for the start of 2011. That’s why I’m baffled at the current situation the team find themselves in. The bike appears to be virtually the same as last years’. In fact, if you look at the times set in Qatar, you could argue that it’s actually worse. To add insult to injury (or should that be injury to insult?), their star recruit is struggling with a shoulder that still looks to be far from its best. It’s a complete disaster and I can see no significant benefit in Rossi having delayed his surgery to test the bike late last year. If he’d instead been working on his recovery and rehabilitation, at least he’d now be in the position to tackle the Ducati at full fitness – something that would probably enable him to be further up the time sheets. But that’s the wisdom of hindsight I suppose - always a wonderful thing.
Tough to find much to disagree with here...I think his assessment is spot on.
THE WORST OF BOTH WORLDS
The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced Valentino Rossi’s decision to delay shoulder surgery until the end of 2010 was a huge mistake. Last year I said that with his season effectively over after Mugello, he should have walked away from the second half of the season and had the work done straight away. Had he done that, it would have enabled him to start 2011 fully recovered and, more importantly, fully fit. The reason he opted to continue had a lot to do with his desire to test the Ducati at Valencia in November. With that test painfully acquainting the nine-times world champion with the Desmosedici’s major design faults, it looked like the call may have been the right one. Afterall, if it’s detailed feedback and evaluation Ducati engineers were looking for, they certainly received it in spades. For Rossi, the sacrifice of delaying surgery appeared as though it would pay off in the form of a totally re-configured motorcycle for the start of 2011. That’s why I’m baffled at the current situation the team find themselves in. The bike appears to be virtually the same as last years’. In fact, if you look at the times set in Qatar, you could argue that it’s actually worse. To add insult to injury (or should that be injury to insult?), their star recruit is struggling with a shoulder that still looks to be far from its best. It’s a complete disaster and I can see no significant benefit in Rossi having delayed his surgery to test the bike late last year. If he’d instead been working on his recovery and rehabilitation, at least he’d now be in the position to tackle the Ducati at full fitness – something that would probably enable him to be further up the time sheets. But that’s the wisdom of hindsight I suppose - always a wonderful thing.