The Smell Of Fear

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (michaelm @ Apr 14 2009, 06:34 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>If the ducati works better at the tracks which were bad for stoner last year and rossi starts better at the ducati-friendly tracks we might see some racing for the win despite dorna's best efforts in devising the 800cc formula and the technical rules pertaining to it.

Well said. Hopefully this is the case.

Firstly, I am not a rabid Stoner fan; I,m just painting a probable(possible) scenario for this year. I agree that I,m pushing the story a bit just to provoke responses, but I do believe that psychology plays a big part in a riders performance over individual races and the season as a whole.
Remember 2007 and Rossi made several uncharacteristic mistakes (Assen and Sachsenring) because he was under the type of pressure that he had never been put under before. Last year Stoner probably sccumbed to pressure after his laguna seca loss. It happens to all of them. This year Stoner was fast at Jerez , a bogey track last year, so if the Ducs 08 weaknesses have gone, Stoner is looking quite impregnable.

No comments on the title odds? See here. now its even , but last night Stoner had shorter odds.

http://www.oddschecker.com/motor-sport/moto-gp

And, my biggest point was about Rossis demeanour- he DOES look worried and if this starts messing with his mind then 2007 type mistakes may recur. I,m sure there will be many races Rossi will win this year ,but from a dispassionate viewpoint, I see a lot has to change for Stoner not to win this year.............and I agree that is quite possible. And I do hope there is a lot of close racing............

ps. I am a bit disturbed that Pinky was the first to reply as I find his humourless analysis of race performances unhelpful,. In my view , all the riders are superheroes; its just that some are so good , the great just start to look ordinary by comparison.

Cheers

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Bunyip @ Apr 14 2009, 02:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>In my view , all the riders are superheroes; its just that some are so good , the great just start to look ordinary by comparison.

Cheers

In this race Stoner made them all look average. He is the FOAT (fastest of all time) only time will tell of he is the GOAT.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SackWack @ Apr 14 2009, 10:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>In this race Stoner made them all look average. He is the FOAT (fastest of all time) only time will tell of he is the GOAT.

Interesting
Stoner may be the FOAT ~ at the moment. Time will tell if he achieves the GOAT. I'm not sure if he has the humility to learn from the greats as Rossi did. Going fast is one thing, but staying on the bike and outplaying your competitors is another, I don't think KC has that yet.
Stoner has the advantage of getting a stupendous bike from the start, almost tweaked towards him and him alone?
I really thought if anyone else could tame the Duc it would be Hayden.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Guido @ Apr 15 2009, 12:50 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Interesting
Stoner may be the FOAT ~ at the moment. Time will tell if he achieves the GOAT. I'm not sure if he has the humility to learn from the greats as Rossi did. Going fast is one thing, but staying on the bike and outplaying your competitors is another, I don't think KC has that yet.
Stoner has the advantage of getting a stupendous bike from the start, almost tweaked towards him and him alone?
I really thought if anyone else could tame the Duc it would be Hayden.
Are you serious. I mean again here is the statement saying the bike is tweaked for SToner and NO one else. Man get a grip those bikes are made and the rider has to adjust things to better their times. Why people think that there is something going on behind the scenes with the bikes is just stupid. Hayden needs to unlearn his mini bike days with honda and get the feel back for a better bike suited towards what he used to be as a rider.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Guido @ Apr 15 2009, 09:50 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Interesting
Stoner may be the FOAT ~ at the moment. Time will tell if he achieves the GOAT. I'm not sure if he has the humility to learn from the greats as Rossi did. Going fast is one thing, but staying on the bike and outplaying your competitors is another, I don't think KC has that yet.
Stoner has the advantage of getting a stupendous bike from the start, almost tweaked towards him and him alone?
I really thought if anyone else could tame the Duc it would be Hayden.


I think this theory depends entirely on the premise that in 2006 when Casey was riding the crap LCR machine that Ducati (whilst still having not signed him and trying to get others) purpose built the 2007 champioship winning bike for Casey.

This defies logic.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Andy Roo @ Apr 15 2009, 01:12 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I think this theory depends entirely on the premise that in 2006 when Casey was riding the crap LCR machine that Ducati (whilst still having not signed him and trying to get others) purpose built the 2007 champioship winning bike for Casey.

This defies logic.
So Ducati built a bike specifically for Casey to win a championship?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Guido @ Apr 14 2009, 04:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I'm not sure if he has the humility to learn from the greats as Rossi did. Going fast is one thing, but staying on the bike and outplaying your competitors is another, I don't think KC has that yet.

Wow you must have just started watching MGP. Or did you miss the t-shirt that Casey wore after he won his championship? It must have all been for show though. Sorry I can't find the pic but someone on here will post it.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SackWack @ Apr 15 2009, 02:46 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Wow you must have just started watching MGP. Or did you miss the t-shirt that Casey wore after he won his championship? It must have all been for show though. Sorry I can't find the pic but someone on here will post it.

I look forward to the education

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Bunyip @ Apr 15 2009, 04:00 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Firstly, I am not a rabid Stoner fan; I,m just painting a probable(possible) scenario for this year. I agree that I,m pushing the story a bit just to provoke responses, but I do believe that psychology plays a big part in a riders performance over individual races and the season as a whole.
Remember 2007 and Rossi made several uncharacteristic mistakes (Assen and Sachsenring) because he was under the type of pressure that he had never been put under before. Last year Stoner probably sccumbed to pressure after his laguna seca loss. It happens to all of them. This year Stoner was fast at Jerez , a bogey track last year, so if the Ducs 08 weaknesses have gone, Stoner is looking quite impregnable.


Cheers

Well, 2007 Assen was one of the spectacular race for Vale winning from 11th on the Grid.

Vale was pissed off about not winning the race. As we expect him to be. But I wouldn't read any more than that into it. Motegi is another day and another place. If he can't go with Casey here or at Jerez then he might start worrying. Even then I wouldn't put it past him and his Yamaha crew to find some extra pace out of that bike. We are only one race into the season. A hell of a lot can happen between now and the end of the year.

Well, 2007 Assen was one of the spectacular race for Vale winning from 11th on the Grid.

Surrendhar

ok, it wasn,t Assen(because now I remember it too-it was a brilliant race by Rossi), but I,m sure there was a second race he crashed out in 07. I think he hit dePuniet on the first lap. The story is still the same........when under pressure, you take risks and can make things worse. In 2006, Rossi, when behind, knew he could beat Hayden and gain points. In 2007 he got rattled and made mistakes. In 2008 , after the second round (I think) he was leading the championship and was able to control things from then on. Obviously Motegi is pivotal; if Rossi wins he will stay cool. If he loses points to Stoner there, the pressure will really start to ramp up.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Bunyip @ Apr 15 2009, 04:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Well, 2007 Assen was one of the spectacular race for Vale winning from 11th on the Grid.

Surrendhar

ok, it wasn,t Assen(because now I remember it too-it was a brilliant race by Rossi), but I,m sure there was a second race he crashed out in 07. I think he hit dePuniet on the first lap. The story is still the same........when under pressure, you take risks and can make things worse. In 2006, Rossi, when behind, knew he could beat Hayden and gain points. In 2007 he got rattled and made mistakes. In 2008 , after the second round (I think) he was leading the championship and was able to control things from then on. Obviously Motegi is pivotal; if Rossi wins he will stay cool. If he loses points to Stoner there, the pressure will really start to ramp up.


The Assen crash you are thinking about was last year in 08. The rear came around on him on cold tyres and he took at Randy De Puniet.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Frizzle @ Apr 15 2009, 05:15 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Vale was pissed off about not winning the race. As we expect him to be. But I wouldn't read any more than that into it. Motegi is another day and another place. If he can't go with Casey here or at Jerez then he might start worrying. Even then I wouldn't put it past him and his Yamaha crew to find some extra pace out of that bike. We are only one race into the season. A hell of a lot can happen between now and the end of the year.
If you look at the lap times valentino's fastest times were fairly close to casey's fastest times. The intriguing thing for me as I said earlier is whether casey has learned to ride a more tactical race. I don't find it unlikely that they will find more pace with the yamaha as the season progresses either; they certainly managed it last year.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (michaelm @ Apr 15 2009, 01:26 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>If you look at the lap times valentino's fastest times were fairly close to casey's fastest times. The intriguing thing for me as I said earlier is whether casey has learned to ride a more tactical race. I don't find it unlikely that they will find more pace with the yamaha as the season progresses either; they certainly managed it last year.


Yes, race pace laps for Rossi and Stoner are quite similar. The only exception being the tire management whether it is Stoner's skill or the Ducati package i dont know, but they have got it purrfect than Yamaha and Rossi.

Vale said that he was more prepared to race on Sunday than on Monday. It was the opposite with Casey. Something to look there as well.

the thing was stoner was matching his pace in the front, to that of rossi. when rossie started to reel in stoner, stoner then did a little bit more to maintain his lead.

if stoner needed to he could of gone much faster as shown in the warmup times a 156.00 flat.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Pinky @ Apr 15 2009, 07:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>the thing was stoner was matching his pace in the front, to that of rossi. when rossie started to reel in stoner, stoner then did a little bit more to maintain his lead.

if stoner needed to he could of gone much faster as shown in the warmup times a 156.00 flat.

As much as I don't agree with you on some things I think you have it right there Allnonymous,

I posted this in the qatar thread, perhaps should have gone here.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BarryMachine @ Apr 15 2009, 09:26 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I was watching the race again and now I wonder if Rossi seemed a bit "out of sorts", could have been due to the way things went this year at qatar. He has a plan to battle Stoner but it involves getting in front of Stoner at some stage ..... maybe this looks a very much harder task to do this year?

Last year Stoner had to come through the pack. this year he got out in front straight away and just kept Rossi away from him with air. I think this might be Stoner and Ducati's plan for this year, were they can, so we will see more emphasis on quali by Stoner and given its the only way to battle Rossi, Stoner will be running a calculated gap where he can.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SackWack @ Apr 14 2009, 10:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>In this race Stoner made them all look average. He is the FOAT (fastest of all time) only time will tell of he is the GOAT.

I wouldn't go as far as that... Rossi was within a couple of seconds and everyone else was 20+ back.

We knew Rossi at best here was only able to match Stoners times... so when he got to second he was 3 seconds down.

I expected Stoner to win.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (an4rew @ Apr 15 2009, 03:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I wouldn't go as far as that... Rossi was within a couple of seconds and everyone else was 20+ back.

What. That's not at all true. Rossi was 7 or 8 seconds down, while Lorenzo was about 16 back.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (an4rew @ Apr 15 2009, 07:06 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I wouldn't go as far as that... Rossi was within a couple of seconds and everyone else was 20+ back.

We knew Rossi at best here was only able to match Stoners times... so when he got to second he was 3 seconds down.

I expected Stoner to win.

Go check out the lap times. Stoner gave up 5 seconds from his time in the last 2 laps. I am guessing that if he felt he needed to push then he could have won by more of a margin than last year. He looked very comfortable almost like he wasn't trying, Rossi was really pushing there for a little bit. I'm sure Stoner could have dropped down into the 55's if needed.

Like everyone said though, this was expected at Qatar, but I am guessing that the next three races will be far different for Stoner this year than last.