<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Arrabbiata1 @ Mar 31 2009, 11:11 AM)
<{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Agree with the sentiments that Stoner rarely holds back, disagree that he has Rossi 'phased' (as you put it). Vale will raise the stakes, just as he did in Laguna. You can't metally intimidate Rossi; try to mess with his head and he'll unravel yours for good.
I do however think that the Stoner/Ducati combination is going to be tough to overcome again this year.
I don't think stoner has really tried to play mind games with rossi; as j4rno says stoner does what he does. I agree that trying to play mind games with rossi would be futile if he did try it. As for the effect of rossi on stoner I think it will depend on stoner's early season results and how confident he is in himself and his bike; he didn't seem very susceptible to mind games or pressure from rossi in 2007.
I am willing to concede the ducati had a bike and/or tyre advantage in 2007 for a rider capable of utilising it, and I don't think rossi or any one including roberts, doohan or a clone of stoner could have beaten stoner that year on a 2007 yamaha on 2007 michelins however well they rode. However not every rider in history would have beaten rossi had they been on the ducati either.
It is also from my admittedly biased perspective fairly clear that stoner had major bike problems post qatar for the early part of last season. Credit to rossi for laguna 2008, but as was said once about a major victory in a war it was a damned close run thing, with both riders making a single error with rossi's not having the same consequences substantially due to his skill; however on both occasions stoner could have elected that they both go down and if he had been sufficiently bloody minded it would have been tactically and strategically sound to do so, and in both cases he could probably have made the racing incident argument
. After that he very likely had doubts he could beat rossi in a dogfight which contributed to his falls in the next 2 races, but he was also desperately still trying to win the championship even though he basically needed to win every race to succeed. I preferred to see him go down fighting just as rossi kept trying to win every race in 2007 to the extent that pedrosa was able to finish second in the championship ahead of him.