Ducati Xerox team manager Davide Tardozzi has been getting a lot of flak from Italian Ducatisti fans (we’ve personally read them) since Sunday afternoon, when Noriyuki Haga lost the WSBK championship to Ben Spies by only six points.
Many were angrily citing the fact that Tardozzi refused to give Michel Fabrizio any team orders and that Fabrizio’s first place in Race 2 at Imola and in Race 2 at Portimao took away 10 valuable points from Haga’s title race.
Tardozzi has even had to defend himself on the official Desmoblog:At this point I would also like to address some comments that we have heard since the final race….
Certainly, and we are well aware, that the decision to not stop Michel at Imola could have cost us dearly.
But, after seeing how things went, I don’t think that this is the right moment to evaluate that situation.
In race 2 today Spies was clearly in control, knowing that he had the potential to fight for the podium but realising that a fifth position would be more than enough to win.
One should also consider that Nori took second position during the final lap and Michel could not have known what was happening behind him.
Italians are usually passionate about racing and riders, but Michel Fabrizio has to be the least loved racer in Italy and Tardozzi had to defend his choice in keeping the Roman for the 2010 season:Having said that I want to underline that we have confirmed Michel for 2010 after he’s achieved 15 podiums, including 3 wins and the third position in the overall standings behind the two “lions” Ben and Nori.
So, we’ll be back, more competitive than ever, next season.
See you then….
So do you guys believe that Tardozzi was right in not giving any team orders?