Does Rossi still have a chance?

Does he? Do you think he may actually fight 'til the end?

Short answer: Yes, of course--to both of your questions.

Longer answer: There's seven rounds to go--that's 175 points still up for grabs. That's a lot of points left on the table. 44 points isn't that big a gap. 1 DNF from Stoner and a race win to Rossi at the same time would change the champoinship picture in a big way.

If Rossi won all seven races, and Stoner finished 2nd each time, Stoner would win the championship by 9 points. Of course, it won't work out like that, but it does show that Rossi doesn't have much margin for error. Any more mistakes on his part, or his team, or tyre issues resurfacing and then he will have to rely on Stoner crashing, or Ducati/Bridgsetone problems in order to bridge the gap (in other words, it hasn't quite reached that point yet).

The wildcards in this are guys like Melandri, Pedrosa, etc. They might take points/race wins away from Rossi (like Capirossi did last year). They could do the same to Stoner, of course, but at the moment the consequences are more serious for Rossi.

Several of the tracks coming up have been good to Ducati and/or Bridgestone in the past. But then, Stoner wasn't supposed to win at places like Donington or Laguna Seca, so who knows...

All of this means that Rossi just has to put his head down and go for as many wins as possible.

realistically NO.

why not? coz look at past results, in 125,250 and motogp, the rider who scores 250+ points will win the championship.

only on very few occasions riders have gotten over 260points and did not win it.

also Stoner has not had a crash all year or any major mistakes, only once in practice.

also rossi will pretty much have to win every remaining race, and rossi isnt that doninant this year. there are other riders that will steal wins away from rossi like pedrosa, vermuelan and melandri.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pinky @ Aug 13 2007, 05:49 PM) [snapback]84376[/snapback]<div class='quotemain'>
also Stoner has not had a crash all year or any major mistakes, only once in practice.



Touch wood

most likely not we will see what this new engine spec for yamaha does, but most likely casey has it.

Good points from Sun and Pinky. Rossis chances are slim but he has a chance nonetheless. It'll take a huge effort from him and Yamaha/Michelin to lift the title with Stoner/Ducati/Bridgestone such a formidable package and Stoner riding so faultlessly and seemingly so unphased by it all. Going on current form you'd have to say Rossi really has his work cut out but anything can happen in seven races. Here's hoping we get a few more Catalynua-like battles.

One thing for sure ... Valentino won't die wondering! He will throw absolutely everything at Casey in these last seven races. I really can't wait for this weekend ... I think they will all be fired up after the break and I expect to see a very close race at Brno!

I can't believe not one of you has mentioned last year, how many points was Rossi behind Hayden? and then he closed that gap severely

Pity about the last race though

But still I believe Rossi can win the title still this year, through his sheer determination and skill as a rider.

If he could do it last year witha bigger gap, surely this year he can win it

The only difference being Stoner's form compared to Nicky's last year.. Stoner has won more races this year than Hayden will win in his career.. Rossi will have a helluva tough time replicating Stoner's pace for the remainder of the year..

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jamie Donnelly @ Aug 13 2007, 12:26 PM) [snapback]84407[/snapback]<div class='quotemain'>
I can't believe not one of you has mentioned last year, how many points was Rossi behind Hayden? and then he closed that gap severely

Pity about the last race though

But still I believe Rossi can win the title still this year, through his sheer determination and skill as a rider.

If he could do it last year witha bigger gap, surely this year he can win it


Erm, Stoner ISN'T Hayden.

He's actually winning races and taking the points that Rossi needs.

nicky wasnt dominant last year though. he was just the most consistant out of the main riders and stayed out of trouble.

wheras rossi was the dominant rider with lots of mechanical issues.

thats not the way it is this year.

anyway we will know more this weekend to see if the other teams have made progress over the break.

I think these posts answers the posters question of the haydens gap compared to stoners.. Ill re add to it, stoner this season has won more races than haydens career but rossi will try his hardest to close the gap

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jamie Donnelly @ Aug 13 2007, 09:26 PM) [snapback]84407[/snapback]<div class='quotemain'>
I can't believe not one of you has mentioned last year, how many points was Rossi behind Hayden? and then he closed that gap severely

Pity about the last race though

But still I believe Rossi can win the title still this year, through his sheer determination and skill as a rider.

If he could do it last year witha bigger gap, surely this year he can win it


RU SERIOUS???!!!...even though I respect Mr. Val but you can't compare Nicky's 06 flumed it effort...to Casey's absolute dominance in 07!!!...

Sorry Jamie but its "Like Chalke & Cheese"...mate!!!...

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(skidmark @ Aug 13 2007, 09:59 AM) [snapback]84389[/snapback]<div class='quotemain'>
Good points from Sun and Pinky. Rossis chances are slim but he has a chance nonetheless. It'll take a huge effort from him and Yamaha/Michelin to lift the title with Stoner/Ducati/Bridgestone such a formidable package and Stoner riding so faultlessly and seemingly so unphased by it all. Going on current form you'd have to say Rossi really has his work cut out but anything can happen in seven races. Here's hoping we get a few more Catalynua-like battles.


I agree. Even if Rossi gets it together and rides the Yamaha better than he ever, the Yamaha package will let him down. That bike is even farther behind the curve than years prior, mainly because other teams and other tire manufacturers have improved.

The only way Rossi could win is if Ducati pull a Honda and start messing with a winning formula mid-season. I can't see Ducati being that stupid.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mylexicon @ Aug 13 2007, 06:01 PM) [snapback]84446[/snapback]<div class='quotemain'>
I agree. Even if Rossi gets it together and rides the Yamaha better than he ever, the Yamaha package will let him down. That bike is even farther behind the curve than years prior, mainly because other teams and other tire manufacturers have improved.

The only way Rossi could win is if Ducati pull a Honda and start messing with a winning formula mid-season. I can't see Ducati being that stupid.


I disagree with you entirely, The Yamaha is not the best (as it has been before) but is not far behind at all. Furthermore i think it is unfair to accuse Honda of "messing with a winning formula mid season" when they gave Nicky a new swingarm once in the season last year, and took it away when he rejected it.

Off topic:

Apples to apples with Hayden & Stoner okay? For one thing Hayden was amazing last year. Look, his bike sucked yet he won on it and placed highly often enough to win it all. Even his technicians were amazed he got on the podium with it. He ran that dog all year with several races where the clutch was fried from the start of the race while this year Stoner is winning on a clearly superior machine with almost no mechanical faults. Sure Hayden didn't win many races but then he was racing against clearly superior equipment and his teammate was on better also. Actually Hayden has gotten crap equipment from Honda, always built for someone/something else or a year behind. Teamed up with Rossi he got a machine built for Rossi just like Edwards is getting now. When he raced with Biaggi he was on a year old machine. When he raced with Pedrosa he had a test bed for the 800's with experimental suspension and a shitbox clutch & motor. Hayden's bike this year hasn't been worth racing at all with the motor a generation behind. You are looking at it all wrong. You will see what happens when Honda actually hands this guy the right equipment when the Dani blinders come off.

On the topic it is unlikely Rossi will win the championship. Are they now in a position where they will run the new engine? It's risky. If the new motor pops in the race and he loses 25 more points to Stoner there won't even be a discussion like this.

Its not entirely surprising that even people who are not Rossi fans have trouble accepting that he beaten by a mere superbike rider, especially when Rossi still had had the edge on raw speed. But Nicky had him covered elswhere, made it work and will be remembered in the long term as the guy who de-throned Rossi.

Things are different know though, Casey has Rossi covered on every angle and Rossi knows it, he will need to be perfect in the second half of this year to even get a chance at the end. It is possible though, the bikes will have changed over the summer and anything can still happen, its not over till its over.

I know i've wriiten this elsewhere but i haven't got much time for people bashing the world champion.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(gsfan @ Aug 13 2007, 06:21 PM) [snapback]84449[/snapback]<div class='quotemain'>
Off topic:

Apples to apples with Hayden & Stoner okay? For one thing Hayden was amazing last year. Look, his bike sucked yet he won on it and placed highly often enough to win it all. Even his technicians were amazed he got on the podium with it. He ran that dog all year with several races where the clutch was fried from the start of the race while this year Stoner is winning on a clearly superior machine with almost no mechanical faults. Sure Hayden didn't win many races but then he was racing against clearly superior equipment and his teammate was on better also. Actually Hayden has gotten crap equipment from Honda, always built for someone/something else or a year behind. Teamed up with Rossi he got a machine built for Rossi just like Edwards is getting now. When he raced with Biaggi he was on a year old machine. When he raced with Pedrosa he had a test bed for the 800's with experimental suspension and a shitbox clutch & motor. Hayden's bike this year hasn't been worth racing at all with the motor a generation behind. You are looking at it all wrong. You will see what happens when Honda actually hands this guy the right equipment when the Dani blinders come off.


Load of rubbish mate. Nicky's bike was perhaps inferior to the Ducati last season but nothing else and it was definitely the best Honda. It was not an 800 test bed at all and the only problem with the clutch was Nicky's riding style.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tom @ Aug 13 2007, 05:40 PM) [snapback]84451[/snapback]<div class='quotemain'>
Load of rubbish mate. Nicky's bike was perhaps inferior to the Ducati last season but nothing else and it was definitely the best Honda. It was not an 800 test bed at all and the only problem with the clutch was Nicky's riding style.


Where do you get your MotoGP info?It is widely known that Nicky's Honda was a test bed for the RC212V's design concepts. The problem with Nicky's clutch at the beginning of the season may have been Nicky's riding style, but after the summer break, when Honda had completed the clutch redesign, they made the problem 10x worse.

Nicky asked for a clutch with certain specifications. Instead of delivering the clutch Nicky wanted, they delivered the clutch Nicky wanted according to Honda's mass centralization guidlines.

The new clutch was way too far on the interior of the bike and as a result it overheated. At Brno the clutch failed and Nicky lost several places on the last few laps. It wasn't until Portugal (when Pedrosa was more or less statistically eliminated) that Nicky got exactly what he wanted. We all know how that worked out.

Last year Rossi had problems with the chassis. It chattered and vibrated all over the track. Many people believe the chassis problems were the root of a majority of Yamaha's problems last year.

This year Yamaha have completely different problems. They've sorted most of the chassis stuff, but now the engine, engine management system, and possilby the fuel system are all problems. In addition, Michelin isn't the dominant manufacturer.

Chassis problems are right up Rossi's alley b/c he can help fix them. Tires, engine, and electronic junk is probably outside of his troubleshooting abilities. If Yamaha come back really strong he might have a chance, but this ain't a chassis/geometry problem, this is an expensive development flaw that has to be corrected by both Yamaha and Michelin.

No the clutch problems were clearly a design flaw. Hayden had nothing to do with it. The clutch was in the center of the engine and overheated amongst other things.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(mylexicon @ Aug 13 2007, 07:11 PM) [snapback]84452[/snapback]<div class='quotemain'>
Where do you get your MotoGP info?It is widely known that Nicky's Honda was a test bed for the RC212V's design concepts. The problem with Nicky's clutch at the beginning of the season may have been Nicky's riding style, but after the summer break, when Honda had completed the clutch redesign, they made the problem 10x worse.



Who told you that Nicky's bike was the 800 test bed? it is widely known that Nicky's 06 bike was the evolutuin bike Honda made for Biaggi in 2005 to keep up with Rossi and Yamaha. Amongst many knew ideas the bike had a new clutch system designed for a much more stable and smoother corner entry (where the Yamahas advantage was greatest). The problem was that Nicky used a clutch set up that completely counter acted this thinking because he wanted to hang the back out, this created an unusual amount of heat in the system because he wanted the exact opposite of what the bike was originally designed for. The Honda engineers tried solutiuons where Nicky could get the bike to handle as he wanted but wouldn't start, or that would start properley but wouldnt handle, it wasn't until the end of the seasont they found a clutch to do both. That shows more than anything Hondas comitment to the 06 world championship and to Nicky Hayden, they pointed all of their resources into making him comfortable on a bike that would never be used again and gave data that was useless to all their other riders.