One thing that really stood out for me at Indy was the huge disparity in simply the sound of those 4 bikes. Rossi's bike just sounded smoother overall while Lorenzo's bike didn't sound like it revved QUITE as high. Then Toseland's and Edwards' bikes sounded a bit less intimidating.
To say that a satellite team gets the same hardware as the factory is naive to say the least. Rossi is the big man on campus. Lorenzo get's the same stuff but doesn't have Jeremy Burgess for a crew chief nor does he have the same engineers and technicians working in his corner. There was a definite seperation between the teams. They didn't hang out behind the garages together. At lunch, they were sitting at tables on opposite sides of the hospitality area...I am sure they are forced to share some information but you could tell by the vibe that they were definitely competitors even more than teammates.
And while we are comparing the disparity between the FACTORY riders, the seperation between the satellite team and the factory team is even more pronounced.
And Nicky's last season with Honda is a perfect example of how much disparity there can be under the same roof in equipment, let alone in different garages...
All I am saying is that next year, Spies will have to come to grips with NOT having the same bike Rossi is riding or even Jorge for that matter because he is on a satellite team and is not the Yamaha marketing engine's worldwide major marketing concern.
While there is no doubt that The Ben will be popular to American race fans and that popularity will sway some to buy product, in the bigger picture of the world sales market, The Ben is NOT the major driving force in Yamaha popularity in the larger European motorcycle market.
opcorn:
