| Author | Message | ||
     Simond |
I'm no fan of Casey Stoner and hear what Matt says about his skills as a development rider BUT......... you've got to admire his ability to adjust to pretty much anything and get that kind of speed out of it. Attitude aside he reminds me of Ronnie Peterson. The guys at Lotus used to completely change the set-up of his car and send him out..... he'd set exactly the same lap times whatever they did. The Championship is all about finding the rider who is fastest over the course of a season, not the guy that can develop the best bike. Hats off to him. | ||
| Jaimec |
But the constructor's title comes from having the most riders on your bike finishing high in the points, too. Having only one rider capable of winning doesn't help you in that regard. THAT'S where Rossi comes in. He not only wins races, but he develops bikes that others can do well on too. | ||
| Simond |
You're right but why should Casey care? I need no convincing about Vale's ability but watching Stoner at Donington in the wet a couple of years ago was something to behold. I'm here to be entertained - his riding does that and his attitude provides a hate figure too  . MotoGP would be poorer without him. | ||
| Jaimec |
Casey DOESN'T care. But the people paying his paycheck SHOULD. Having all of your eggs in one basket is NEVER a good idea. | ||
| Crusty |
Yeah, but they've got the Rat-weasel on their team as well. and he's riding well, also. | ||
| Jaimec |
One of the reasons they got Casey was because Honda finally figured out the Rat Weasel was never going to win the title for them. | ||
| Gaesati |
The rat weasel still goes fast with a major injury. Give him a clear track with no one leaning on him and there is no touching him. | ||
| Jaimec |
Sometimes you just can't GIVE a Texan a podium spot... | ||
| Crusty |
I found it to be a very interesting race. Remember the old fable about the hare and the tortoise? The Kentucky Kid wound up on the box; Rossi, Spies, Edwards, Stoner, Simoncelli,DePuniet, Crutchlow and Abraham did not. Rossi made it all the way back to 6th. He's an amazing rider. Stoner was quite unhappy. One thing's for certain, Honda didn't dominate like everybody was expecting. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
Sh*t happens !!!!! Great race , despite Rossi's mistake. Looking at Simonceli's and Rossi's pace, I thought that they were riding like they had nothing to loose and they were over the limit, so they crashed. Shame that Rossi took Stoner out. And shame that Stoner could not score some points. Lorenzo has got a 20 points advantage for the title. Pedrosa again proved that he does not deserve to be HRC's no1 pilot. His performance in the first laps was really bad. And there are no shoulder excusses in the first laps. | ||
| Jaimec |
Who, two years ago, would believe Jorge could ride so patiently and conservatively? He definitely paid attention to the axiom: In order to finish first, first you must finish. Now Pedrosa and Rossi have nearly a full month to recover for Estoril. That should be an interesting race! Is Stoner finished cursing the track workers and Rossi yet? | ||
| Vagelis46 |
There are only *soft* rain tires from Bridgestone. No option for a medium or hard rain tire, just 1 compound. All riders knew that it will be hard at the end of the race. Lorenzo saved the tires as much as possible, riding steady from lap 1, and he won. Stoner said he wanted to stay cool as well, since he was ahead from Lorenzo, but he was taken out. Riders who decided to push, crashed. Rossi unfortunatelly got carried away from his chances for a win , and he blew it. | ||
| Jaimec |
I do have to agree with ONE thing Stoner is upset about. Did anyone notice what happened AFTER the crash? About a dozen track workers ran over to get Rossi back up on his bike and going again, and not ONE of them even LOOKED at Casey (who was standing right there on his bike) until Vale was off on the track again. What's up with THAT??? You didn't need that many people to get Rossi going again... half of them could've gone over to help Casey too!! | ||
| Simond |
I was gutted when Rossi took Stoner out because it was shaping up to be a very interesting race.......BUT if there was ever a perfect example of the downside of Stoner's attitude that was it. Completely unfair and unreasonable but.......... who would you have helped?  | ||
| Jaimec |
Well, there WAS one worker who stood back and looked at Casey while everyone else was helping Vale. I suppose he was telling Casey: "Sucks to be you!" (in Spanish, of course). | ||
| Smoke |
very interesting and entertaining race! congratulations Jorge, Dani and Nicky!! tim | ||
| Gaesati |
I was really glad that Nicky made the podium. It shows that keeping a cool head will get you there. Happy for Pedrosa too. Jorge could win this championship even with an inferior(?) bike. Good ride from Hopper. Looks like he hasn't lost it and seems much more settled than he has been for some time. | ||
| Trojan |
Very interesting and exciting race Amazing what a bit of rain can do to liven things up. Pity about Simoncelli crashing out as I thought he was riding well until then, and not over stretching himself. Likewise Rossi as he was obviously the fastest man on track before he fell, going from 12th to 3rd in 2 laps and looking like he could score an unexpected win! Stoner showed his childish, churlish side yet again by sarcastically applauding Rossi every time he rode past him sitting on the wall. he then told a reporter that Rossi's 'ambition outweighed his talent' (not exactly the best thing to say about someone who has won 8 more world titles than you have!). He later changed his tack and called it a 'racing incident' though. It was a shame that he got taken out but that is racing. His real anger should have been at the 10+ corner workers who ignored him in favour of trying to get Rossi started again rather than the guy who crashed in what was a typical rain incident that also affected half the field. Crutchlow was on for a great finish until he too ran straight on into the gravel, so I was hoping for a real upset with some new faces on the podium. Good news for Nicky and Lorenzo though, and at least it keeps the championship wide open 125 result was great with Danny Kent and Taylor McKenzie finishing 4th and 5th, and Moto2 was a good race too this week. Ianone is the class of that field and I expect to see him in MotoGP soon. Bradley Smith did well to finish 4th so early in his Moto2 career too. Hope it rains for the next 5 races (Message edited by trojan on April 04, 2011) | ||
| Gaesati |
I agree, Matt, provided Bridgestone comes up with some better rubber for wet conditions. Rain is a great equaliser and I don't mind seeing guys overcook it and run on but I don't like seeing the high sides that occurred in Motogp, 2 and 125. I'm looking forward to the advent of moto3 if moto 2 is anything to go by. | ||
| Trojan |
I agree, Matt, provided Bridgestone comes up with some better rubber for wet conditions. I think a number of riders/teams have approached Bridgestone with the plan to provide two grades of wet tyre rather than the current standard 'soft' grade, although the problem wasn't only restricted to Bridgestone runners as both 125 and Moto2 run Dunlops. After the 15 lap mark it changed from a straight race to a competition to see who could stay on the longest in all 3 classes, so tyre wear was obviously an issue right across the board this week. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
Rossi comfirmed that he is under a lot of pressure, no way he would do something like that in normal conditions. He needs to prove that he can deliver on the Duc. His hunger to have a good result made him look like an amateur. No idea to save the tires. He showed no respect to himself and so from a very possible hero with a fantastic race win , he became the absolute zero of the race, causing an incident that might decide the championship. Personaly I think that it is understandable for what happened from the corner workers. Rossi got trapped under the bike and looked possibly injured , so they helped Rossi first. Then the Honda was impossible to restart...... No problem for Casey , the whole world knows who is the best motorcycle racer at the moment. A pole position in Jerez , and a mature performance in the races so far. But unfortunately he is -20points. For sure Stoner is short tempered , but I think Rossi showed he is a bit of a pussy keeping his helmet on, and having 2 Ducati techs following with him along with the camera to the HRC garage. It was like Big Brother show. What Stoner told him was harsh but fair at the moment. | ||
| Jaimec |
Like Casey never crashed. Give me a break. He really needs to learn to watch his mouth ESPECIALLY when there are cameras around. I can understand being angry with the corner workers but if anyone knows how the Duc handles, it'd be him. And taking a shot at Rossi's talent shows what a classless child he really is. On the other hand, if the problem was that the bike couldn't start, why couldn't he do what Dovi did? Just get back out on the track and ride around for the points?? Or was he enjoying sulking in the pits too much? | ||
| Trojan |
His hunger to have a good result made him look like an amateur. Yeah right..2nd fastest in the wet warm up and more than a second faster than anyone else during the race until he crashed? perhaps you forget that they were RACING and not just taking part in a wet weather procession? Rossi knows that his only chance of a podium at the moment is in the wet (as do quite a few others) so obviously went for it and tried to get the best position possible. he the remounts (and he has no control over the actions of the corner workers, who probably thought that Stoner didn't need help) and finishes a credible 5th. Not exactly the work of an amateur? Stoner on the other hand failed to restart (despite belated help from marshals) and spent the rest of the race making schoolbiy gestures to Rossi every lap. When Rossi comes to apologise he can't even accept that in the spirit is is given and has to make snide remarks again. If anyone has shown their true colours this weekend it is Moner not Rossi. Rossi had his helmet on because he went straight to the Honda garage. I don't think there was any other motive than wanting to apologise as soon as possible. The techs, the cameras and the rest of the circus would follow wherever he went whether he wanted them to or not. | ||
| Gaesati |
He, "the moaner",did ask about Rossi's shoulder first. | ||
| Jaimec |
Matt, I'll be the first to admit I don't know all of the rules in MotoGP but... was there ANYTHING preventing Casey from just going back out on the track once they got the bike started? I mean, if it didn't sustain any damage, couldn't he have just gone back out again? ANY points are better than none at all. It's not like he would've swapped bikes after all. | ||
| Imonabuss |
It sucks that Stoner was taken out by Rossi going in over his head, and it is quite unfair that the corner workers helped Rossi in favor of him. I have no preference for either rider - both are great, but Casey's comment was dead on correct - "Obviously your ambition outweighs your talent." That was true that day. Also funny. | ||
| Vagelis46 |
Trojan, we all know that you are in love with the primadona. But stop justifying everything he does. He made a big mistake that might decide the championship. But still an acceptable racing incident. Basicaly , if it was me in a similar situation with someone taking me out like that for no reason, I would have kicked his ass, on or off camera. Just saying sorry , doesn't make things right. Its pointless. I would prefered , instead of the ironic commends and the applauses by Stoner, that I did not like, if he just told him to f@ck off and threw a couple of punches. Back to the race.....taken into account the situation with the tires, even if Rossi made the pass to Stoner, it would be possible that he would have destroyed the tires by the last laps and lose his lead. At the end of the day, riders that looked to have a superior wet pace, Simonceli and Rossi, both crashed so they were over the limit. Its pointless to say anything about superior wet riding by Rossi...... Rossi's mistake might mean that he will be less aggressive in the next race , which for me is bad, because regardless of what people think , I would like Rossi to be succesful on the Duc. It would be good for motoGP. | ||
| Jaimec |
It was a stupid comment. If he'd said "Your ambition outweighed your tires" or "Your ambition outweighed your available traction" it would've been more appropriate. But his TALENT?? Wayyyy off base. | ||
| Crusty |
Half the field crashed during the race. If Rossi hadn't taken Stoner out, there's a good chance he would have fallen all by himself. He's had plenty of experience doing that on dry tracks. Rossi has made mistakes and crashed out of races in the past, and it hasn't stopped him from coming back full bore at the next race. I don't believe the crash will diminish his his drive a bit. It didn't slow him down after he got back up and on the track. He went from last to fifth. Of course, his finishing position was helped by the number of other riders who crashed out and didn't remount, but he was still riding aggressively and passing people to the end of the race. (Message edited by Crusty on April 04, 2011) | ||
| Trojan |
He, "the moaner",did ask about Rossi's shoulder first. Apparently (from bystanders) it was asked sarcastically rather than a genuine concerned question, but people will read things in that aren't there between these two (like wearing a helmet into a garage just after a race). but... was there ANYTHING preventing Casey from just going back out on the track once they got the bike started? No, unlike club racing here in the UK where youare not allowed to remount after a crash, MotoGP can and do remount and continue to race. Stoner's problem really was that the Honda needs two pins inserted into the gearbox in order to start it properly. It is possible to bump start the bike but it is very difficult apparently. Stoner must know this so should not have switched his engine off (to prevent engine damage allegedly) if he intended to restart. Simoncelli had the same problem and couldn't restart his bike even though it was rideable after his crash too. Stoner did get a push from marshals but they were still pushing at the next corner and were on the racing line, so they called it a day and stopped. No favouritism just a bike that wouldn't start. Honda can either have a trick gearbox or an easy start it seems, but not both. He made a big mistake that might decide the championship. But still an acceptable racing incident. This is what happens in racing. Toni Elias took Rossi out at the same corner in 2006 which probably decided the championship that year too. Pedrosa took Hayden out and could have impacted on the championship result the same year. Phil Read made an agreement with Bill Ivy and then went back on it which definitely affected both 125 and 250 championships that year (196?). This is racing and there will always be accidents. The BIG people just take responsibility, apologise and move on. The little people find conspiracy theories in every word and continue moaning about it for weeks afterwards in the press. In the same race there were plenty of other accidents and crahes, some involving more than one rider. How many other people are complaining or moaning about it? None. As my dear old grandma used to say......If you don't like the heat, stay out of the kitchen.....shortly before hitting me with a hot frying pan : |
