posted Nov 12, 2007

comment by NearlyManx
posted 12 Hours Ago

Valentino is quickly becoming a forgotten man, if he doesn't get on a Duke ASAP and get that title back, he may as well retire. OK so Casey won fair 'n square this season but Vale is still the best and he'd prove that on an equal bike
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I do not think that is the case anymore, its no longer a forgone conclusion...I hope to god you saw the Motogp Review yesterday?

A clear reminder that with no tyre advantage, Casey was just better than VR at some tracks, of course im talking about Catalunya, Casey vs Rossi vs Pedrosa, all crossing line split by 0.4 seconds.

If that had been Biaggi, he would have crashed. Sete would have made a schoolboy mistake and the rest VR just toys with, Casey simply did not buckle under the pressure.

Donington, Mugello and Montegi, all great races. Please tell me you guys saw this on Eurosport?

One other noticeable thing, was VR always getting swamped by the first corner, giving himself even more work to do, not that it mattered at Donington, from 11th to 1st, that is the Rossi of old, but sadly it looks like his reign has come to an end....

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posted Nov 12, 2007

I have to admit to being amazed by how quickly many on 606 have thrown Rossi overboard with the deckchairs.

That might surprise some coming from me, as I am well-known for having bagged Rossi at least once this season (oh alright maybe more).

Up until late in this season, the prevailing thought was Rossi was still clearly the best rider. Since the championship was gone, chinks in the support base started to appear. Maybe a combination of Stoner's brilliance this year, and Rossi's increasing controversies in the media.

Like him or not, think he's a dill for now saying he wants a Duke or not, don't let that cloud your thinking that the guy is still a great rider, probably still best in paddock.

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posted Nov 12, 2007

Rossi on a Ducati would be an awesome spectacle,i cant for one minute see ducati turning him down, one of italy's best known sportsman on an italian bike the publicity would be amazing for them, as for him losing his status on top of motogp i think is a bit premature, rossi is mr motogp and he has brought it to so many people, i hope that yamaha will put some more power into the M1 but id still like to see rossi on another bike before he retires

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posted Nov 12, 2007

Craig - balanced and I'd say true.

Seems to me, too many want to be the first to have said - I told you so. Not happy if he's winning not happy if he's losing.

96 - 06 top 2 with bad luck stripping him of 2nd in 07, somehow I don't see this as the end of titles.

I've always been of the view that Rossi was lining up Ducati for post Yamaha as a swansong. Unfortunately for him, they rather stumbled across a new younger talent. That said I do not see 46 leaving before at least one more title under his belt and in all honesty what manufacturer wouldn't want him - except maybe Ducati in current light at least. Who here doesn't think Honda wouldn't snap him up if they fail to get the title next year?

Ducati, lets not forget how they treated Toseland and no I'm not comparing Rossi and Toseland directly or Stoner for that matter. More, like all manufacturers they want to win and sometimes a relationship no matter how loyal or rewarding can be put aside or forgotten in time... Toseland, ... Capirossi.

Rossi finished??? Is it any coincidence that come raceday everyone wants to know where Rossi is.

I wonder wether the same was said of Ago in his 2 years off the top spot?

I for one look forward to the uncertainty of the season. Stoner may see that differently, but there are at least 4 other riders out there all with huge potential all possible of winning the title.

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posted Nov 12, 2007

Come on, everyone, stop writing the Doctor off. I refer you all to my comment earlier today:

"I'm a fan of Rossi -unashamedly - because of the combination of skill, personality and joy that he brings to the sport."

Who on the podium shows more joy after a win? No-one. Who has more personality? No-one. Who shows more skill? No-one (I admit that some are close and even up there with him). For two years Rossi rode a nail to take the title. Stoner is a worthy champion, but I re-emphasise my point made earlier today, the championship was lost early in the season. Rossi gave himself a mountain to climb after the earlier races. The Ducati was unmatchable in the opening third of the year. In the previous years I don't believe the power/top speed gap between the Ducati/Hondas and the Yamaha was so severe, so Rossi could use his overtaking skills to make up the ground, but come on - you all watched the Ducati on the straights. The top end was awesome; crushing any advantage or position gained during the infield once back on the straights.

Final comment: don't write off the Doctor. On a Yamaha or any other bike, he is Mr Personality, Mr Impossible Overtaking Move, Mr Joy AND MR MotoGP.

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posted Nov 12, 2007

Jet3, season review...mmm, the light of 5 or 6 cracking races have brought back my desire for MotoGP08

It also confirms my thoughts re Pedrosa and Michelins for next year -plus that 2nd spot was truly deserved. I'd have to say his luck was on par with Rossi. Given Honda development and his skill it looks ominious for 08.

Now if Rossi was reflecting on the same you can see why he is worried for next season and probably for the first time in his career releases that he alone cannot ride round all the problems, especially given the talent now facing him. Pedrosa/ Honda, Stoner/Ducati plus another top class rider on a Ducati must worry him. That's just looking at the obvious.

I guess he feels he can beat Pedrosa but he needs something to compete against Stoner. Tyres is a risky gamble especially as Michelin have been improving, it's by no means clear.

Power - well I think he and his mechanics all know that unless they up the reliability and power Honda and Ducati will pulverise them. 08 is looking good and for those who think Rossi is over watch the season review, Mugello, Barca, Estoril, Assen and China and Catalunya O and a quality run injured in the last race before the engine went home early.

What more could you ask for - a GP title that requires a fight - if Stoner fails to regain the title, does that mean his career was a one off, a flash in the pan!!! Come on get real, enjoy the moment and pray we have a strong grid for a monumental battle!!

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posted Nov 13, 2007

Ian - you saw the review? Thank god, I thought I was the only one I agree with you to a degree, but just one thing im not so sure about, the part about the Ducati being the fastest.
That was never a concern previously to Honda and Yamaha, so is speed the answer? Ducati have always been the fastest, but didnt go round corners very well if you remember.
During the review do you remember when they asked Jeremy why the Yamaha won at Mugello (I think) he replied "because there are 8 corners and only 1 straight, if they can get their bike fastest round the corners, the straight is not an issue", (something like that) and they proved that by winning the race.

Since the VR/Yamaha combination, they have focused all their efforts on cornering and was never worried about top end speed. Unlike Ducati who went for raw power and cornering was secondary. Different approaches, I think if they sort out the reliability issue, Rossi improves his standing start, Michelin sort out the tyres, Rossi make less uncharacteristic mistakes when trying to take out Casey, we will have a happier Rossi, closer racing and a better chance of him winning.

Also the Tax evasion thing, that must have played on his mind. A bit like seeing blue lights in your rear view after you just ran a red light when I heard about it, I thought "Rossi? tax evasion? Nah, no chance, some accountant has messed up" But he has admitted the charge and they are now deliberating over a suitable sentence, apparently they are going to give him a discount if he pays back all he owes!!

Now when I read things like that, I realise he is only Human, and not the superman I thought he is. Craig summed it up nicely in an earlier post, chinks in his armour have begun to appear and the vultures are circling to rip him apart. Casey has had a bite out of him and the others are lining up.
He is no longer the fearsome rider that pressured you into submission, the fear factor has gone from his rivals, which means closer racing for us, as he is still the man to beat however.

I definitely am not righting off VR, not at all, he is still the complete rider in my opinion. When he rode round the track last year in 14th just to get a point, after falling off shows what he is made of.

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posted Nov 13, 2007

im a rossi fan 100% but exactly 1 year ago today i started a thread asking "has rossi's era of domination come to an end?"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbfivelive/F2148571?thread=3650116

there's some real pearls of wisdom in there (from me) such as "i think the days of winning the championship by 100+ points are over."(wrong) and "i think next (this) years championship will be around 30 points between 1st and 2nd place" (wrong).

my point being, im not writing vale off, now or then, but for a few years then he moved the marker and was untouchable now the pack has upped its game and caught up.
no-one wants to see vale win another championship more than me (on a yamaha would be nice, on a duke evn better).

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posted Nov 13, 2007

Jet3 - I imply Power=Torque - not top end, although they tend to go hand in hand. The Ducati has masses of torque and thanks to an electronics package that is second to none can get that power down safely.
This is why Stoner isn't bothered with grid position - he knows from rows 1 - 3, come that first corner, at most tracks, he will be near or at the front.

Compare the M1 - where first corner position is dictated more by late braking and/or carrying corner speed.

Going through each race Stoner gets more and more confident with this whole package and you see him fighting that bike through the tight sections too. Mugello, a small blip and lets face it Rossi has a very impressive record there. A Ducati did get 3rd. Didn't like there reaction to that by the way. Shutters down etc -very poor.

Where Yamaha missed out is that the very nature of 800's meant that corner speed is high for "all" the GP bikes. This meant that Rossi's mid season/European tracks were even more important to win as it suited what and WHO they built the bike for.

People state that Ducati took a huge risk, but I'd argue against that for just the reasons I stated above - plus power and electronics is what they've always been about. Anyway, what were they going to loose? The pressure was always on the Japanese. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't recall Ducati ever producing a bike that was a dog in the corners.

800's ... to beat the rest you either needed the best handling or have something different. Yamaha had handling and Rossi, Ducati were surprised to find they had GP7 and Stoner!! Honda had neither but taking note from Ducati upped the power and Pedrosa has been doing the rest! A lesson learnt, top racers always want more power.

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posted Jan 11, 2008

I said to my buddies 8 years ago that he should take a Duke show the world what they could do together.
Why wait, why not find a private sponsor and do it now. I'm sure there are lots of $$$$ companies and individuals out there that would back him. If only I had the odd spare 100 Million lying around it would be me and I'd make it all back at the bookies.

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