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Stoner and Hayden pose biggest threat to 2008 MotoGP champ
By Zaihan Mohd Yusof
February 01, 2009
IT'S POSSIBLE, yet it's not going to be easy.
That's if you're thinking of overthrowing the 2008 MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi.
With the 'anything is possible' attitude, the two riders from Team Marlboro Ducati, Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden, are expected to give Fiat Yamaha rider Rossi a run for his money this season.
Daydreaming? Well, not quite.
Both Hayden and Stoner have previously unseated Rossi.
In 2006, American Hayden, better known as the Kentucky Kid, won the MotoGP championship when he beat Rossi by five points.
The following year, Australian Stoner denied Rossi a ... at the championship title by winning it.
Said Stoner: 'To beat Valentino we don't need anything more than what we had at the end of last season (2008).
'If things go right then we know that we are fast enough to win. We're not alone either; Dani (Pedrosa) can do it, Jorge (Lorenzo) can do it, and there's probably a couple of others that can push us as well.'
Still, this season may be riddled with challenges for the Red Barons from Ducati.
Stoner is recuperating from wrist surgery while Hayden, who is in his debut season with Ducati, will be feeling his way on his new ride, the 800cc Desmosedici GP9.
Hayden had previously raced for Team Repsol Honda in 2008.
'Bike is amazing'
Hayden told motogp.com: 'The bike is amazing, the engine is really strong, the front end has a great feeling and it is very stable on the fast corners.'
Yet, he does not underestimate his race bike.
He added: 'It is not an easy bike, I'm not going to lie, it is quite challenging.
'There have been some great riders who have struggled with it and to be honest I was nervous before I signed that contract. I was thinking: this could be really good or it could have been a disaster. So far, it has gone better than I expected.'
For ex-Ducati riders Loris Capirossi and Marco Melandri, their MotoGP foray with the Italian marque had not produced results as spectacular as Stoner's.
But with the right pilot, the Ducati racebike can go head-to-head with the best of the Japanese bikes.
Last year, the Ducati was capable of incredible straight-line acceleration.
Whenever Rossi overtook Stoner in the corners, the Australian would easily make up for the loss by screaming past the Italian rider on the straights.
But a string of bad luck, mechanical problems and injury suffered by Stoner gave Rossi the push to the championship title.
For this season, Hayden will be depending on his team, particularly team-mate Stoner, for some track advice.
Working together
Said Hayden: 'We will go our separate ways on a lot of settings, but now with limited test time and things we are doing to try and save budget, I think it is better to work together.
'Sure, we will want to beat each other and to beat Casey here would be a big feeling. At the moment he (Stoner) is hurt and can't test, though I am sure that, through the year, I will be able to bounce some ideas off him to make a stronger team.'
Perhaps the test session at Sepang Circuit, scheduled early next month, will show if Team Marlboro Ducati is truly battle-ready.
They'd better be. On the horizon a new threat from Team Fiat Yamaha may be imminent as it launches Rossi's new race bike - the 2009 YZR-M1.
Ready or not, we're looking forward to MotoGP's first race at the Losail Circuit in Qatar in April.
link from asia
By Zaihan Mohd Yusof
February 01, 2009
IT'S POSSIBLE, yet it's not going to be easy.
That's if you're thinking of overthrowing the 2008 MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi.
With the 'anything is possible' attitude, the two riders from Team Marlboro Ducati, Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden, are expected to give Fiat Yamaha rider Rossi a run for his money this season.
Daydreaming? Well, not quite.
Both Hayden and Stoner have previously unseated Rossi.
In 2006, American Hayden, better known as the Kentucky Kid, won the MotoGP championship when he beat Rossi by five points.
The following year, Australian Stoner denied Rossi a ... at the championship title by winning it.
Said Stoner: 'To beat Valentino we don't need anything more than what we had at the end of last season (2008).
'If things go right then we know that we are fast enough to win. We're not alone either; Dani (Pedrosa) can do it, Jorge (Lorenzo) can do it, and there's probably a couple of others that can push us as well.'
Still, this season may be riddled with challenges for the Red Barons from Ducati.
Stoner is recuperating from wrist surgery while Hayden, who is in his debut season with Ducati, will be feeling his way on his new ride, the 800cc Desmosedici GP9.
Hayden had previously raced for Team Repsol Honda in 2008.
'Bike is amazing'
Hayden told motogp.com: 'The bike is amazing, the engine is really strong, the front end has a great feeling and it is very stable on the fast corners.'
Yet, he does not underestimate his race bike.
He added: 'It is not an easy bike, I'm not going to lie, it is quite challenging.
'There have been some great riders who have struggled with it and to be honest I was nervous before I signed that contract. I was thinking: this could be really good or it could have been a disaster. So far, it has gone better than I expected.'
For ex-Ducati riders Loris Capirossi and Marco Melandri, their MotoGP foray with the Italian marque had not produced results as spectacular as Stoner's.
But with the right pilot, the Ducati racebike can go head-to-head with the best of the Japanese bikes.
Last year, the Ducati was capable of incredible straight-line acceleration.
Whenever Rossi overtook Stoner in the corners, the Australian would easily make up for the loss by screaming past the Italian rider on the straights.
But a string of bad luck, mechanical problems and injury suffered by Stoner gave Rossi the push to the championship title.
For this season, Hayden will be depending on his team, particularly team-mate Stoner, for some track advice.
Working together
Said Hayden: 'We will go our separate ways on a lot of settings, but now with limited test time and things we are doing to try and save budget, I think it is better to work together.
'Sure, we will want to beat each other and to beat Casey here would be a big feeling. At the moment he (Stoner) is hurt and can't test, though I am sure that, through the year, I will be able to bounce some ideas off him to make a stronger team.'
Perhaps the test session at Sepang Circuit, scheduled early next month, will show if Team Marlboro Ducati is truly battle-ready.
They'd better be. On the horizon a new threat from Team Fiat Yamaha may be imminent as it launches Rossi's new race bike - the 2009 YZR-M1.
Ready or not, we're looking forward to MotoGP's first race at the Losail Circuit in Qatar in April.
link from asia
