It seems as though from the start of the season James has gradually narrowed the gap between himself and Checa, but can he catch up with the guy? As a Brit it's quite depressing watching the only 'local' rider get lapped. :lol:

At the start of the year, after the pre-season tests there was already talk of Ellison losing his ride as he was so far off the pace. It seems like his improvements have at least quietened those voices a bit, but you've got to wonder what the future holds if he isn't on a par with Checa by the end of the year. On the WCM it was clear he was doing a good job on (relatively) crappy machinery, but it's nowhere near as black and white this year, and there's only Checa to use as a comparison.

SBK in 2007?

Ellison seems to be thinking too much about it instead of just riding the thing.
I believe he has the talent, but if he doesn't pull finger soon he'll not be deserving of a renewed contract.
How long is his contract for anyway?
Don't worry about the Brits in GP's, once those lads in the Spanish school get going you'll see things heat up I'm sure.

Yeah, I think you might have a point about him thinking too much. From what Randy Mamola said at last weekend's race, he's also too far inside the 'comfort zone' and not really pushing as hard as he should be. I'm fairly certain his contract is for just this season, however I'm sure it could be made shorter if the Tech 3 head honchos don't think it's working out.

I'm hoping that he'll get the full season and as the races go by he'll improve more and more with each race.

On the GP Academy front, I'm not really sure what the situation is with our hopefuls there. Bradley Smith's now made his way up to 125s and seems to be going fairly well, but I don't know if there's any other Brits at the school tbh.

I have it on very good authority that Carlos had a brand new chassis at Catalunya and has some improved tyres (Dunlops are not consistantly good though)! and James is hoping to get his new chassis for Donington and just needs the tyres to go with it! Up until this week the Dunlops have gone off by lap five at the most so there is still a lot of development/testing/feedback etc between James, Carlos and the tyre guys.

Yesterday at Assen James experienced problems with the front end and having gone from 14th to 10th by lap four, he had caught up Carlos when he lost the front end. After the race Carlos also reported chatter like Rossi and Haydon both had before changing frames and he was lucky to complete the race.

The bikes were built to suit the height of Rossi and James is a few inches shorter than him so has not been comfortable on the bike but hopefully will improve once his new frame is fitted. Let's just hope that his foot is back to normal for next weekend and that he soon catches up with Checa or better still, passes him!

Welcome to the boards GSXR77. :)

It was a real shame to see Ellison crash out on a weekend that looked so promising. From what he's said he might have a broken foot, but nothing that'll stop him from racing at Donington. ;)

Here's what the Tech 3 guys had to say following Saturday's GP, for anyone that's interested:

Carlos Checa (8th, Fastest lap 1’38.119)

“This is a very satisfying result for all of us as now we are in a fight with other riders. In the beginning of the race I tried to follow Melandri and Pedrosa but they started going away and I couldn’t stay with them. It was better to stay with my pace as the feeling from the front wasn’t so good. I caught and passed Tamada then step by step I also got by Vermeulen. I saw Rossi coming and by that time the chatter from the front increased. I also tried to stay with him but as the chatter was quite bad at that stage it was better to finish than risk a crash after all the hard work the team has done. We have to learn now where that is coming from as now we are going faster but we are also much closer to the front than at the beginning of the year. Dunlop has been putting in a very good effort and it is not easy from inside the box, I can tell you, but we have improved to be fighting with very strong rivals. We have made many steps in the last two races and now we are just one second off the top guys so this is the next step we have to work on. I am now able to fight and this is a lot more fun for me. When we compete with other riders it is much better than just trying to be the first Dunlop rider home. Now we hope that the improvements get us even closer in the next races.

James Ellison (DNF Fastest lap 1’39.002)

“Obviously I’m very disappointed but there are positives to take out of this weekend. I had a pretty good start as I’ve got a little trick I’ve been working on. I feel really comfortable on the bike and am able to be a bit more aggressive if anyone tries to get past and have the confidence to throw it back in front of them without hesitating when I see a front wheel coming alongside. I got in a pretty good position and stayed with Carlos but, going into Turn One I went in a little too hot and lost the front. I was trying real hard because I was comfortable and that’s what you do. This is one meeting where I wanted to do really well as things are progressing nicely now and I wanted to use this as a springboard for Donington next week but now I’ve done a bit of damage to my ankle. It’s pretty hard to walk on but with a week off some physio and ice packs I hope to be right. Besides being pretty mad at myself, I’m sorry for the team because they have been working non stop all year and they deserved to get a half decent result as well. Hopefully we can do something next week”

Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director

“We are very happy. Happy with the race result and also happy with the qualifying. We have made another step from Barcelona. We may have finished ninth instead of eighth like last week but we are closer to the front which is the most important thing. We are definitely now racing, as we have Vermeulen on the factory Suzuki and Bridgestones as well as Tamada on a factory Honda and Michelins behind us. We are now in the mid field so it proves we have made big improvements. I’m disappointed for James because he was going very well and was right with Carlos when he lost the front end. Otherwise I think he would have had a very encouraging result for him too. Both riders were quick in qualifying and both riders were strong in the race. We had stable tyres until the end of the race and the lap times are very consistent. Apart from the first four we had similar lap times to many others so that is very encouraging. We now go to Donington where normally Dunlop tyres perform well. We are looking for an improvement in all areas again next week and keep the progression going.”

Re that chassis!!! James has still not got it, despite there having been a 3 week break. What is going on and why treat two team mates differently? How can James hope to do any better on the old bike that is not even the right size for him? He was supposed to be getting it for Brno..... Haven't we heard all this before with the V6 last year??????

The joys of being at the bottom of the pile I guess. :(

not that i'm name dropping or nowt............ ;)

but, i was talking to dean ellison @ croft on saturday and he rekons james should have the new chasis for the next round.

it's a bit shitty when it was james who actually asked for the old chasis in the first place.

not that i'm name dropping or nowt............ ;)

but, i was talking to dean ellison @ croft on saturday and he rekons james should have the new chasis for the next round.

it's a bit shitty when it was james who actually asked for the old chasis in the first place.

James probably won't even get a new frame now and yet Checa has had TWO for the last five rounds! It is not fair to treat him so shabbily just because Checa can take money to the team and the Brit isn't able to!!!! :twisted:
James has not been allowed to compete on a level playing field because of having to ride that old bike that none of the other Yam riders could handle, so he suffers badly on every corner not being able to turn in and out quickly! Pity he has continued to 'defend' the team instead of speaking up for himself and demanding he get the same as his team mate!

yes - i can promise you he was there for saturday practice but only briefly to discuss sponsorship for next season and, as i said, he told me that James should have had the frame for the following round (but he was clearly wrong.) :eh:

he said he was going to his folks house from there but if you say he went to Leicester - who am I to argue. :roll:

yes - i can promise you he was there for saturday practice but only briefly to discuss sponsorship for next season and, as i said, he told me that James should have had the frame for the following round (but he was clearly wrong.) :eh:

he said he was going to his folks house from there but if you say he went to Leicester - who am I to argue. :roll:
Just edited what I said because I only just realised you said Sat and I was there Sun and was told he went south to his home instead of Croft that morning!!!

no problem.

it sounds like our paths crossed a few times at Croft ? That was me riving haslams slider off at the back of the pits. :)

good weekend wasn't it !

are you going to Cadwell ?

Not going to Cadwell... other fish to fry this weekend!

haven't read the article yet but i saw in MCN the headline 'Ellison Under Threat' or something similar - I hope that isn't the case. He's got a great opportunity there and it sounds like internal politics are spoiling his chances.

Ellison isn't going to get the frame at all this year, he just hasn't performed well enough. only chance he has is a wet race-and if he did fab in that, then yamaha may give it to him, but so unlikely.

i think he may go to Luis dantin ducati next year-as they have just been rejected by Toseland for next year(remember they offered him a ride last year). they are stuggling terribly this year, and i think them having 800's will narrow the gap to the front.

I know Ellison can't go much faster as his chassis is lame, but checa was doing fantastically on it in pre-season testing, and was always faster than him in the races when they were on equal machinery.

Don't read MCN!!its just full of pictures and the stories they make up in racing are pathetic. full of garbage.

Checa's a weird one with pre-season tests though.. he seems to go better in them than in races. :lol: Obviously during the tests Ellison was still just getting used to riding a proper MotoGP bike as well, which isn't going to help.

A d'Antin ride sounds pretty plausible to me. It'd be great if James could have the opportunity to complete a full season where he's on equal terms with his team-mate right from the off. Finger's crossed I guess!