Here is a relatively simple question, with a surprising answer. Which Ducati rider (remember, there are four of them now) in MotoGP has had the highest finishes in the last three races? You might expect it to be Troy Bayliss or Loris Capirossi, but you would be wrong. Looking at the past three races, as a whole, the most consistent finisher for Ducati has been Ruben Xaus. The words “consistent” and “Xaus” may never have been used in the same sentence before, but Xaus has really come on of late.
Not only has Xaus’ results been outstanding in the last three races, one has to remember he is riding last year’s Ducati MotoGP machine. The “latest and greatest” machine goes to the factory team members, Capirossi and Bayliss, while Xaus and Hodgson ride the “old stuff”.
You probably recall that Ruben Xaus has been known as much for the frequency of his crashes as he has for his speed. Both have been remarkable (the frequency of crashes and the speed). He is still showing great speed, and now some signs of developing the maturity to push his bike, but not too far. Bravo, Ruben!
