Rossi on the Ducati and the Future

Thanks to Krop



On Casey and the Duc: "I still don't understand why there is this difference between Stoner and the other Ducati riders, and after two years that I ride the Ducati I still don't understand."



On his psyche; Rossi did not believe his time on the Ducati had caused him any lingering confidence issues. When asked if the experience had, in his own words, destroyed his mind, Rossi replied "I don't think so. Especially because I have another chance."



On frustration: "It was very tough, very difficult two seasons." The most difficult part had been the lack of progress made, despite the many changes made to the Ducati. Little had changed in the last two years, Rossi said. "The bigger frustration, apart from the bad results and the bad feeling, is that more or less we have the same problem with this bike after two years that we had in Valencia in 2010. And sometimes you have the feeling that you waste your time. This is the bigger frustration."



On "The Legacy": Despite his results on the Ducati, Rossi felt his career had not lost its shine. This was the first wrong career choice he had made, Rossi told reporters. "In all my career, I never miss a choice. Now I miss one choice. "



Back to Yam: Rossi admitted that he was nervous about going back to Yamaha, despite being sure of his decision. "I think I can give to Yamaha a very important support to improve the bike. I am sure of this 100%. Because between me and Yamaha was the perfect match, in the way to work and to improve the bike.



On future competitiveness: "I'm not sure if I'm able to stay at the same level as Lorenzo and Pedrosa, and fight for win races and for win championships, you know? Sincerely, I don't know, so I have to try the bike before. But we have two years..."



n being number two: "You know, we are number two. And usually the number one is in the more difficult position, because the number one - in this case Lorenzo and Pedrosa - was like me with Lorenzo in 2008 and 2009. If you arrive in front, OK, is normal. But if you arrive behind suddenly you have some problems."



On who can ride a Duc: "I think is interesting also waiting for Spies, but with the injury, I think we have to wait until next year. First, is interesting to understand Dovi and Iannone compared to Hayden. And also to understand between Dovi and Iannone, because Dovi have more experience on the MotoGP, on the other hand, Iannone have no experience of MotoGP, but never ride a Honda and Yamaha. Maybe can be a small advantage, I don't know. I'm not sure of this. But can be different. Because for sure the Japanese bikes are different to ride, and Iannone coming from Moto2, never ride the Japanese bikes, so his mind is more open, empty,"



So it seems Vale has a fairly realistic vision of things...



Discus.

Mick D said:

Discus.

Click to expand...

??



[pic]http://www3.pictures.gi.zimbio.com/2008+Olympic+Team+Trials+Track+Field+Day+8+_muxi--kRJnl.jpg[/pic]

A bit off topic, but I went to a charity lunch on Friday, and Troy Bayliss was one of the keynote speakers. I got to talk to him directly after the lunch, which was awsome. He told me a lot of things about MotoGP and WSBK, but said that right now Stoner is the fastest guy on the world, on any bike, and everyone in the paddock knows it, including Rossi.

The last GP bike Bayliss tested was the GP9 and he couldn't make it do what Stoner was able to do with it. Bayliss obviously knows Stoner pretty well, and thinks that depending on what other oportunities come up next year, we might see him back on a bike at some time in the future.

Nuts said:

A bit off topic, but I went to a charity lunch on Friday, and Troy Bayliss was one of the keynote speakers. I got to talk to him directly after the lunch, which was awsome. He told me a lot of things about MotoGP and WSBK, but said that right now Stoner is the fastest guy on the world, on any bike, and everyone in the paddock knows it, including Rossi.

The last GP bike Bayliss tested was the GP9 and he couldn't make it do what Stoner was able to do with it. Bayliss obviously knows Stoner pretty well, and thinks that depending on what other oportunities come up next year, we might see him back on a bike at some time in the future.

Click to expand...

If that is the case then he'd end up back on the Ducati in 2014 since all other factory team seats are taken until the end of 2014. Unless of course some other factory enters GPs for 2014, but I couldnt see him riding in the WSBK (AKA Retirement or 'Cant cut in GPs' League)

Nuts said:

A bit off topic, but I went to a charity lunch on Friday, and Troy Bayliss was one of the keynote speakers. I got to talk to him directly after the lunch, which was awsome. He told me a lot of things about MotoGP and WSBK, but said that right now Stoner is the fastest guy on the world, on any bike, and everyone in the paddock knows it, including Rossi.

The last GP bike Bayliss tested was the GP9 and he couldn't make it do what Stoner was able to do with it. Bayliss obviously knows Stoner pretty well, and thinks that depending on what other oportunities come up next year, we might see him back on a bike at some time in the future.

Click to expand...

Very jealous (well done).



Casey said the same thing to Doohan in an interview on Sunday. I would love to see it.



Also Nuts, I ...... up and didn't organise the Powerslide Pub day. My fault, I feel like a complete ..... Got all caught up with my own medical things, I am eternally sorry.



Hope to run into Troy again soon, as I will tell everyone I (and Mum looked it up in the yearbook) played hockey against him in 1985 and we (Melville High) won. The only time in my life I could say "I beat Troy Bayliss".

MigsAngel said:

If that is the case then he'd end up back on the Ducati in 2014 since all other factory team seats are taken until the end of 2014. Unless of course some other factory enters GPs for 2014, but I couldnt see him riding in the WSBK (AKA Retirement or 'Cant cut in GPs' League)

Click to expand...

Citing Sunday Herald from race day- Honda offered Casey more than they ever offered any rider OR driver (including Jensen Button). 15 million Euro a year pre bonuses and he turned it down.



There isn't a team out there that wouldn't have him. Although I consider Lorenzo to be his equal I think even Yamaha would squeeze him in. Imagine what Ducati (with Audi money) would do for another title.

Andy Roo said:

Very jealous (well done).



Casey said the same thing to Doohan in an interview on Sunday. I would love to see it.



Also Nuts, I ...... up and didn't organise the Powerslide Pub day. My fault, I feel like a complete ..... Got all caught up with my own medical things, I am eternally sorry.



Hope to run into Troy again soon, as I will tell everyone I (and Mum looked it up in the yearbook) played hockey against him in 1985 and we (Melville High) won. The only time in my life I could say "I beat Troy Bayliss".







Citing Sunday Herald from race day- Honda offered Casey more than they ever offered any rider OR driver (including Jensen Button). 15 million Euro a year pre bonuses and he turned it down.



There isn't a team out there that wouldn't have him. Although I consider Lorenzo to be his equal I think even Yamaha would squeeze him in. Imagine what Ducati (with Audi money) would do for another title.

Click to expand...

All the contracts are irrelevant if honda and others are not there in 2014, which taking honda at least and dorna at their word they may not be. if dorna have total control then even apart from anything else I doubt stoner is coming back though, as I strongly doubt either that he would want to come back in that circumstance or that dorna would be in favour of him doing so.

Finally a Rossi-centric thread and the subject invariably turns into another discussion about Stoner.....no wonder the hard core Boppers hate him



Valentino Rossi is a genius on a motorcycle.....anyone that thinks he is past his use by date at 34 years old or wont be competitive on the M1 has no idea. Having said that Jlo, Pedro and Marquez will make it incredibly difficult for him to win another title....even if he does manage that feat his legacy has been diminished enough to abolish the ridiculous GOAT moniker forever more....the past two years cannot be erased from the history books and he has at times looked very ordinary on the red (and yellow) beast.



Thanks to the performance of Valentino over these past two seasons Casey Stoners achievement on the Ducati have been given full context....as much as Stoner seemingly despises Rossi he must also realise that without Rossi's move to Ducati his own results would be lacking the credibility they have now garnered. He owes Valentino for that much at least.

Mr Squiggle said:

Finally a Rossi-centric thread and the subject invariably turns into another discussion about Stoner.....no wonder the hard core Boppers hate him

Valentino Rossi is a genius on a motorcycle.....anyone that thinks he is past his use by date at 34 years old or wont be competitive on the M1 has no idea. Having said that Jlo, Pedro and Marquez will make it incredibly difficult for him to win another title....even if he does manage that feat his legacy has been diminished enough to abolish the ridiculous GOAT moniker forever more....the past two years cannot be erased from the history books and he has at times looked very ordinary on the red (and yellow) beast.



Thanks to the performance of Valentino over these past two seasons Casey Stoners achievement on the Ducati have been given full context....as much as Stoner seemingly despises Rossi he must also realise that without Rossi's move to Ducati his own results would be lacking the credibility they have now garnered. He owes Valentino for that much at least.

Click to expand...

Pretty fair statement by valentino even if he could possibly have waited another 2 weeks. I agree he will be very competitive on a factory yamaha next year unless that doesn't suit yamaha. I think he will beat pedrosa and marquez anyway.

As much as it pains me to say it, Stoner is not coming back from retirement unless MotoGP goes two stroke again. The only time I have ever heard him other than utterly determined not to retire is when a French journalist friend of mine told him that Michelin still has the machine used to make the old 500 tires. A two stroke is the only thing that could tempt him out of retirement.



He has been thinking about retiring for a very long time. He nearly retired after his first title in 2007. This was always his long-term plan. A good listen is the latest Soupkast, with Chaz Davies, who is a personal friend of Stoner's. He says this has been planned for a long time. http://www.soupkast.com/kast/soupkast153.mp3

thanks for the soupkast, always worth listening



i think rossi should be a little more concerned with riding the ducati like hes contracted to do and worry about the yamaha the minute he steps off the desmo for the last time

Mr Squiggle said:

Finally a Rossi-centric thread and the subject invariably turns into another discussion about Stoner.....no wonder the hard core Boppers hate him

Valentino Rossi is a genius on a motorcycle.....anyone that thinks he is past his use by date at 34 years old or wont be competitive on the M1 has no idea. Having said that Jlo, Pedro and Marquez will make it incredibly difficult for him to win another title....even if he does manage that feat his legacy has been diminished enough to abolish the ridiculous GOAT moniker forever more....the past two years cannot be erased from the history books and he has at times looked very ordinary on the red (and yellow) beast.



Thanks to the performance of Valentino over these past two seasons Casey Stoners achievement on the Ducati have been given full context....as much as Stoner seemingly despises Rossi he must also realise that without Rossi's move to Ducati his own results would be lacking the credibility they have now garnered. He owes Valentino for that much at least.

Click to expand...

I enter a guilty plea your honour, however in my defence Rossi does make the point that the whole field may always be mystified by the Stoner Ducati melding.



And you a very right. Whilst I am not a Rossi fan for throwing Michelin out he may now be Stoners greatest flatterer. Given that the subject is Rossi and the Ducati, there is but a single race left for the one win that would take away some of that mystery, however unlikely it is to occur.



It also is a good indication of what any great rider (be it Lorenzo Pedro or Marky Mark) can expect on the Ducati. We can all remember (without ploughing through a million threads and posts) what the expectation was for Melandri on the same bike in 2008. But the bike broke him.



Rossi is a hard enough competitor to take this in his stride but it has also reduced his currency in the motogp world, the sheen of invincibility has gone and the Ducati trip shifted the aura as such from he to Stoner. I don't believe Rossi will get that back, he will be an "alien" for sure, but never THE alien.

Kropotkin said:

As much as it pains me to say it, Stoner is not coming back from retirement unless MotoGP goes two stroke again. The only time I have ever heard him other than utterly determined not to retire is when a French journalist friend of mine told him that Michelin still has the machine used to make the old 500 tires. A two stroke is the only thing that could tempt him out of retirement.



He has been thinking about retiring for a very long time. He nearly retired after his first title in 2007. This was always his long-term plan. A good listen is the latest Soupkast, with Chaz Davies, who is a personal friend of Stoner's. He says this has been planned for a long time. [media]http://www.soupkast.com/kast/soupkast153.mp3[/media]

Click to expand...

They should never have abandoned the two stroke formula IMHO....costs have spiraled out of control ever since and the racing is certainly not better for it.

Mr Squiggle said:

They should never have abandoned the two stroke formula IMHO....costs have spiraled out of control ever since and the racing is certainly not better for it.

Click to expand...

There was a brief uptick in interest in the early four-stroke years, when the factories had not yet got to grips with containing the possible horsepower, but once they realized electronics was the future, the formula died. The switch to 800cc put the nail in the coffin of that. Bizarrely, Stoner claims that Dorna wanted the switch to 800s, and forced it on Honda.



But racing four strokes is always going to be more expensive than racing two strokes. Unless, as happened in 250s, a monopoly takes hold and skews the economics.

Squig.... Sorry dude, it was me that drifted off on Stoner talk, but I didn't intend to direct discussion to Stoner.

Andy.... No prob on the local PS'ders meet up. I would have struggled regardless, but I am keen to get all the locals together sometime soon.



Undoubtedly, the Ducati experiment will have done Rossi (and prob JB) good as a person. Rossi seems a lot more humble and more willing to give credit to other riders, even the midpack guys. He has also acknowledged the difficulty for young guys coming through to get a decent ride.

Even JB has conceded how difficult this game is if you are not in a top team.



I really hope Duc gets their .... together. MotoGP needs Duc, and somehow I just want to support them (as underdogs).



Agreed, Rossi should not be written off in 2013. I think he will struggle against Lorenzo, but no doubt he will win races in 2013.

Nuts said:

Squig.... Sorry dude, it was me that drifted off on Stoner talk, but I didn't intend to direct discussion to Stoner.

Andy.... No prob on the local PS'ders meet up. I would have struggled regardless, but I am keen to get all the locals together sometime soon.



Undoubtedly, the Ducati experiment will have done Rossi (and prob JB) good as a person. Rossi seems a lot more humble and more willing to give credit to other riders, even the midpack guys. He has also acknowledged the difficulty for young guys coming through to get a decent ride.

Even JB has conceded how difficult this game is if you are not in a top team.



I really hope Duc gets their .... together. MotoGP needs Duc, and somehow I just want to support them (as underdogs).



Agreed, Rossi should not be written off in 2013. I think he will struggle against Lorenzo, but no doubt he will win races in 2013.

Click to expand...

No worries mate....all good



I am happy to see Rossi knocked down a peg or 2....his ego was threatening to swallow the Earth not so long ago. Hopefully he has learnt some humility from all this - he will be better for it if he has.

Kropotkin said:

There was a brief uptick in interest in the early four-stroke years, when the factories had not yet got to grips with containing the possible horsepower, but once they realized electronics was the future, the formula died. The switch to 800cc put the nail in the coffin of that. Bizarrely, Stoner claims that Dorna wanted the switch to 800s, and forced it on Honda.



But racing four strokes is always going to be more expensive than racing two strokes. Unless, as happened in 250s, a monopoly takes hold and skews the economics.

Click to expand...

Yes it was good once Kwak etc joined the fray. Soon after it lost its shine.

It's inevitable that a discussion on Rossi brings up Stoner and vice-versa.



Rossi realized after the Valencia tests in 2010 that they (JB and him) had misjudged the Ducati (they thought it would be easier than with Yamaha in 2004 because they saw Stoner winning and even Hayden doing decently on it). They considered Stoner a top rider, but of course they thought Valentino could do the same, and even better once they could tweak the bike the way they knew.



Wrong. They should have paid attention to what Hayden had said after riding the Ducati for the first time: "whatever they pay Casey, it's not enough"; but they didn't because they don't consider Nicky a top rider or at least not a rider at Rossi and Stoner's level, Same as with Melandri. They were signed for two years and could only hope to turn the bike around, but Rossi knew since day one that he couldn't ride that beast like Stoner.



Does he feel inferior because of that? No, he still thinks he can beat anybody on a competitive bike that suits him (but that's what all winners feel like) and that's why he goes back to Yamaha. It would be an achievement if he could still race at the top for another two years, and I wish him good luck but I'm not holding my breath; I still think he began his natural decline in 2010, even before the ugly Mugello crash. The valuable contribution he'll continue giving to the sport is adding value, with his continued presence, to the victories of the younger riders many of whom will be able to say they beat Valentino Rossi. He could score a few more wins and podiums when circumstances allow. But it doesn't look like he can break Agostini's record any more.



Stoner is not going to be that 'generous'. He's retiring at the top of his form, universally recognized as the fastest rider on the planet. That could be one of the reasons why he wants to stop now. But certainly there are other more concrete reasons: being the human who can push any bike faster brings increased dangers and stress with it. He runs on a hell of a razorblade at the very edge of highside, in a sport that's already dangerous even riding more 'normally'. Probably, riding like that and having a long career is not really compatible.



He'll certainly find ways to have fun and keep fit and I hope he'll wild card at Phillip Island every year...

you guys need to stop comparing being 33 to being 63.

doohan also intended to be very generous, staying in gps half crippeled and as ancient as a mummy,only to be there to build up beattie,criville etc.

only a minor concern about the ego. He has had a built in excuse the past 2 seasons, but that will evaporate next year. If he doesn't start winning again, it could get a bit edgy on the track, if you know what I mean.

I strongly believe that Rossi will win the championship next year. He will be ridiculously hungry, and being back on the best bike on the grid will make a race weekend so easy for him in comparison to what he has had the past 2 years. As Krop has written. Riding racing bikes really ....... fast requires confidence above all else. The Yamaha will give Rossi the confidence and he will win the year. I think he will then retire.



2014. Repsol and Dorna will see to it that Marquez wins and the sport will be focused on him like it has Rossi.



Lorenzo won't win another championship. Pedrosa will never win one.