Perhaps its a bit quiet here now in the off season, but possibly our most prolific current poster and forum "nanny", has made a few comments of quite epic proportions, that seem to have gone under the radar.
"The script is written in GP. Thats why i think that ranking is ......... Peeps look at raw standings and make conclusions.
Put everybody on a Ducati, and u would get a better picture of who the "aliens" are, and i seriously doubt the other 3 supposed "aliens" would be in top 5. KRJR basically said what Biaggi & Melandri said, that is, its all like a reality show, the ignorant spectators think theyre seeing real drama while the producers write the script. Hav u ever sat with a casual spectator to watch a race? That how alot of peeps act here. Melandi also said, there are no "aliens" alluding to package. But i disagree,
if anybody is an "alien" it Stoner only. I also doubt Pedro & Lorenzo would fair any better than Rossi did. But im convinced, u put Stoner on Yamaha and he'd make them look as silly as he did Pedro & Dovi. I know u disagree, but if Spies & Nicky traded bikes, i'd bet a year's paycheck u would see what Nicky is made of. Hes biggest crime was to honestly compete in a dishonest series. The dumb ....... tries so hard because he honestly thinks he has a chance."
...............and again............
" After having signed Melandri, a very good rider, Nicky showed that thier bike was ..... But they couldnt fully admit that because
Stoner, the ONLY real "alien" in GP, masked the bikes flaws"
So there, you have it.............only one alien,; obviously the last of his race, alone , wandering the universe. For me, that spells out DR WHO, last of the Time-Lords. If that reference is too obscure for our american friends, please insert some eqivalent alien from Star Trek perhaps.
So, till now, the consencus has been that there have been 4 aliens, so how or why, does Jumkie make this outlandish claim? As a Stoner fan it sounds like music to my ears, but I still feel a bit uncomfortable about it. There is not enough evidence as yet.
I,m pretty sure I know where Jumkie is coming from though. If Stoner really IS that good , it makes Hayden look a lot better than his recent results would suggest. Now, I like Nicky quite a bit ( I wish he would lose that "thank the lord for my win" crap though), but I really don,t rank him up there with the top four (maybe Jumkie doesn,t either?).Where he fits into the scheme of things is hard to say. I doubt that he would beat Spies on the same bike, so I would put him somewhere from 6-10 in the field. But I should be talking about Stoner, and not Hayden. I suspect that, as Jumkie says, put all the riders on the Ducati and Stoner would cream them , with the bikes current configuration. However, put them all on a refined , sorted bike like the Yamaha , and I am not so sure.
So, does the ability to ride an imperfect bike faster than the other be the lone criteria for "Alien" status? Perhaps THAT is the relevant question?
There is no doubt in my mind , that the end of season test was some kind of epiphany. Here, was Rossi, the racing god, 9- time world champion, struggling to get his head around the bike that " self-rode" itself to a championship in 2007. Although, over the years, there has been a gradual (but almost reluctant) recognition , that Stoner is a bloody talented rider, it has still been galling for a Stoner fan to constantly hear (read) the almost endless colourfull descriptions of Caseys supposed character flaws and failings as a bike rider. The self-riding Ducati, the unfairly powerful and superfast Ducati, the imaginary wrist injury, the imaginary "sore tummy" (as his detractors on this forum work hard at the most belittling language), his ungratious oubursts over the corkscrew pass (that went very close to punting Stoner into the wall) etc etc. We Stoner fans have put up with this inaccurate crap for years, and perhaps there is finally some vindication. Perhaps a touch of schadenfreude, as Michael has said, in Rossi,s struggle. One of the big issues with Stoners riding has been his high crash rate. Well, that happens when you believe you should be at the front, but your machine ( or tyres) is not competitive, and you ride beyond what is possible. Sure, you might say that the rider should accept the bikes limitations and accept a lower result. But , also remember, that these guys are ultracompetitive, and having been at the front before, expect to be there all the time. This is nothing new. Look at what happened to Hopkins, and also Vermeulin on that underperforming kwaka superbike..............crashes.
So................., I like what Jumkie is saying ( and Jumkie deserves special recognition for his tireless rebuttal of Stoner- myths, perpetuated largely by the "yellow army") , but it is a big call to name Stoner as the ONLY alien. We have to wait for 2011 to see the final evidence. Casey dominating Pedrosa, Lorenzo and Rossi , will be the required scenario. I,m not full convinced just yet. But I wouln,t stake my life on it not happening either.
