Ex-Kanemoto mechanic Burgess is renowned for his forthright manner and an inability to give deceptive answers when asked direct questions. He lived up to this reputation in the interview with Beattie.
Regarding the progress of the Ducati GP11 as ridden by Casey Stoner, Beattie asked if he foresees a time in 2011 when the team won’t be playing catch up to the other teams. Burgess answered, “We’ll be playing catch-up until we get ahead of them, I guess.”
Having been on the inside of several GP teams, Beattie realizes that all development work on the current GP11 made during the 2011 season could hurt development on the GP12. Burgess agreed, saying that the constant development of the 800 at some point could hurt the development of the 1000, saying “There are certain things we can do this year to carry on and improve and certain things we can do to accelerate our bike for next year.” Burgess inferred that at some point a decision will have to be made as to which direction the team will make.
