Tomac testing with factory Ducati this week?

I would test every bike I can if I were him. Too bad he can't work out a low salary high bonus deal with Star.

Yes true the Ducati big boss and team mechanics are there.

Sweet

Hard to imagine any other reason that Paolo Ciabatti would find himself at Mesa Verde National Park yesterday

Troy said Cole has been riding it during an interview at the Stop Watch National. Was on the live stream. 

Well, it's a beautiful / impressive place, for one.

Though, I'd love to see Tomac take up the Ducati.

It will be run by a Team with Huge SX experience, with reference to SX set up, and, the bike, from everything we've seen so far, is highly competitive, at Factory level - the 450 and the 250. I see No reason why a production bike will not be. 

An experienced, established  Team , and Rider(s) - Barcia is contracted to TL , or is it just Gas Gas? - with a good base bike, well, they'll have issues, as everyone does, but none insurmountable. It's a Motorcycle, with no real major differences to what is out there now - they've not tried to re-invent the Dirt Bike. Desmo? - that's been around for bloody decades. 

And, it may well give Tomac  quite the Pay Day , well,  Year or Two, in his final years. 

I hope it happens.

A competitive bike and a spurned Eli out to show he is still the best?  I can’t wait!!! He is going to bring it!  

Ha ha, where did you see that? That would be a solid giveaway!

Go check the Eli out at Yamaha thread. There's a screenshot of it

Just a random Italian guy doing some sight seeing in southwest Colorado lol

I didn't realize you were allowed to test another bike if you were under another brands contract. Eli is under contract and racing Yamaha this summer...correct? 

Just happened to be a few miles from Eli's house. Pure coincidence! 🤣

Not trying very hard to hide it LOL is this Eli giving star the middle finger LOL

Odd time to test a new manufacturer with the first round this weekend. 

Was going to ask the same. I know riders used to do it secretly but this seems to be pretty much out in the open? Maybe Star is letting him do it as they said they didn’t want to resign him?

My guess is Yamaha/Star realize that not resigning Eli is a bit unusual so they are allowing him to work a new deal as he sees fit. 

It's been known for a good while now that Eli will be out at Star. This isn't giving the middle finger to anyone. He has to make plans for next year. There's literally no "drama" going on here. 

.....but this is....

I'm not sure if ET and possibly Barcia riding a 16k rpm 450 is a dream come true or a nightmare, but I'm here for it! 

This. If Star doesn't want him they aren't bothered he's out on dates with other women

Not really, top guys try bikes before they sign, and signing season is right around now. 

Does the Desmo valve train suit Eli’s riding style? The rev to the moon and modulate the clutch to control power. Will the Ducati engine package translate well for him? Or is it just a gimmick by Ducati to be different?

Considering Ducati has been kicking every brands ass in every form of road racing for the last few years, I think they can figure it out!

This will be a good test for Ducati - having another top rider give real feedback and help develop the bike. 

Man, we need pics 😬

Hope they brought enough clutches to make through the week! 

Anyone else just really hoping Tomac is able to gel with whatever bike he ends up riding, and can show the speed that he had early in SX this season? It really sucks that he's getting off the YZ, as it looked like he has that thing dialed. It just seems like he still has championship talent, fitness, and drive, and it would suck if that got squandered on a bike he wasn't comfortable on.

Excuse my naivety, but why would Ducati "not be ready" for SX next year? I know suspension and gearing is different, but how hard could it be to set up a bike for a SX season which is 8 months away? TLD know what they are doing, know how to set up a bike. Ducati isn't exactly short on resources, what am I missing?

This is all true unofficially. 

On paper, I'm sure there is language that states something along the lines of, "RIDER shall represent only YAMAHA as his first and only brand of choice, and will not ride, compete, or endorse any other brand." They could, if they wanted to, use such details in his contract to enforce a breach and not pay him. This is why test rides are so secret and negotiations are behind the scenes. Paolo is doing Eli a favor by not saying "I'm here to watch Tomac ride a Ducati!" 

MC got in big trouble with Honda once for being photographed riding a Yamaha Waverunner - a category Honda did not even participate in at the time. 

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