This cannot be completely true. In 2009, when he didn't crash he set the fastest lap in lap 2. Anyway, his QP time in 2010 was 1.55.007 in softer tyres. I don't think he would have improved significantly from his best race lap of 1.55.5 had he stayed on.
Well I did say as a general rule, and even provided some mitigating circumstances for you that may void that general rule, and one of them was if Stoner in the lead did not need to push throughout the race distance, if say he was in a comfortable lead for example. A quick look at the 2009 times shows exactly that. Once Rossi gained second place from Loris, Stoner was already 2+ secs in lead and appears to manage that gap to rossi throughout the race, responding whenever rossi edged 1 or 2 tenths closer. So thanks for pointing out the obvious.
I think clearly Stoner could have improved on his early 2009 lap time if pushed hard enough, and similarly in 2010 on lap 6 he would have had a 2+ sec lead and may well have just managed the gap, but clearly would have had the potential to improve that time as the fuel load lightened if needed, as per the normal set of circumstances during a gp.
Are you telling me that comparing Stoner 2010 to Rossi 2011 is a more valid comparison than Hayden 2010 to Hayden 2011 ?
First of all, Hayden himself has said that both his and Rossi's setup needs are similar. So I guess the issues faced by Hayden will atleast partially affect Rossi. What is the variable in Nicky's performance gap that doesn't apply to Rossi? Both have same bike(i know Jumkie, you will bite on this
), both use same tyres, both have similar setup. I guess it is a fair call that you can use Nicky to measure how good or bad Ducati 2011 is compared to Duc 2010.
I'm not telling you to selectively read only part of my original post, you've elected to do that on your own. I posted comparisons of Stoner, Rossi, Hayden & Lorenzo, because I thought they all painted some part of an interesting picture to analyse.
As I pointed out, Hayden's best time from FP sessions in 2011 was 2/10ths faster than 2010. His QP time was 3/10ths faster than 2010. But then in WUP & RACE he actually went backwards compared to the FP session times, which is highly unusual, hence my comment that he struggled in the race or they were trying something different in setup out of desperation. So I don't subscribe to the theory that the 2011 ducati is 5/10ths worse than the 2010 ducati. Throughout FP the 2011 duc was faster than the 2010 duc in the hands of the same constant (Hayden), so in fact the bike has improved from last year. Sorry if that upsets the rossi fans, or pleases the stoner fans, but the times don't lie.
Second, Russ, somebody said "welcome to the forum", though I remember you from last year, so "welcome back".
Third, thanks for putting those lap time comparisons up.
Jumkie, you're right. I've been a reader of this forum for some time, but usually by the time I get around to posting, most threads have degenerated into emotionally charged, 'my rider is better than your rider' exchanges, so I don't bother participating. So figured I'd start my own thread instead!!!
Interesting post of yours, perhaps one of the longest on record! Some interesting thoughts, so thanks for contributing to a mostly rational thread!
