| I can't hold with people who say JT isn't a talented racer, some of the scraps that he had with Laconi, Vermulen and Haga (or was it Kagayama, I don't know, for some reason I always get those two mixed up) seemed to show real determination, bravery and a fair old dollop of skill. He's already shown that he can compete with Laconi on a like for like basis, maybe not in qualifying, or race by race, but across a whole season which is what counts. Mr Consistency? Maybe, but the scandinavian rally drivers had a saying that "To finish first, first you have to finish" and Laconi spent far too much time trying to corner on his arse last year even if he was quicker on his day.
So, the real reason for JT's lack of pace are known only to JT himself and a select band of the Ducati Corse team.
Is he getting second best to Laconi? Maybe, but it's in the teams interest to get behind the on form rider. Is he really on the same bike as last year, as some people on this thread have surmised? If he is then it's no wonder his results are bad, because if you stand still you're going backwards. Of course he's not on the same bike, Ducati have developed it over the winter and may have done a similar job as they did to the 03 and 04 Desmosedici and not kept pace with the development of the opposition. Let's face it, developing a twin to compete on a level playing field with the fours is a huge struggle in itself and it's only a question of time before Ducati have to go down the four cylinder route.
Maybe JT has succumbed to mental fatigue. How much mental effort does winning a world championship take out of you? We will never know (Foggy of course will claim that you could do it year in year out - but only if you've got the top bike in the field). Maybe JT has started to think he's been there, done that and he's got nothing to prove. Maybe he has started to believe his own press and had his ego massaged too many times by adoring fans. Maybe he's done a few too many Ducati PR events and been pi$$ed all winter. We will never know.
What we will see is a young guy under pressure to perform, and the test of whether he's a true champion or not will be if he can raise his game or just slide back down to relative obscurity. We shall see  |