| Checa's career was on the up until the point where he died; he died trackside on a Donington qualifying if I remember right. Straight away he was talking of a return and that alone was amazing, but since then I think he has had another outlook to life and most of his effort has been perhaps on the PR side in Spain.
Checas ride on the Ducati comes from Philip Morris pressure, - Checa's name sells Marlboro cigarettes, - given the cost of running a MotoGP team and where the money comes from it is not surprising that he has the ride really, perhaps not right but until Australia companies start investing in the sport Australian riders will not be calling the tune. It has always surprised me that given the success of Australian riders that none of their homeland companies have tapped into it, but I guess Australia is a bit like the USA, they as a whole do not treat Motorcycle racing with the respect that it deserves.
Out of all of this I actually think Bayliss will come out ok; I think he will get a Camel Honda ride.  |