What if the Ducati GP9 dominates in 09?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ROCKGOD01 @ Oct 27 2008, 07:56 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Amen to that! I would also bet that with the ability to make the frame adjust to specific types of tracks you will see specificly make frames for each track.

Do you expect them to build track specific frames?
Wouldn't that make the setup work terribly hard?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Babelfish @ Oct 28 2008, 02:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Do you expect them to build track specific frames?
Wouldn't that make the setup work terribly hard?

Rocks talking out his ......as usual

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Babelfish @ Oct 28 2008, 07:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Do you expect them to build track specific frames?
Wouldn't that make the setup work terribly hard?
maybe it would make it just the opposite who knows just a thought.

I expect Stoner to struggle a little with the new tyres depending on how much grip they provide, we'll have to see.

The Yamaha i think can adapt a little easier.

Why would Stoner (and some of the other Bridgestone riders) struggle with tires that he's pretty much been using all along?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Thom @ Sep 30 2008, 04:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Alryt becasue switching to the more dominant tyres and having yamaha come up the with best M1 fielded since 2005 wont have even slightly helped valentino,nor having been beaten 2 years in a row will Rossis focus and desire have been sharpened?

Is that an actual sentence? Really? WTF????

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (gsfan @ Oct 27 2008, 04:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>There are a couple of Suzuki fans left and both bikes whipped Haydens ... today...give me a little bit eh?

In testing??? Who cares? Nobody's been able to get on the Ducati and master it in one day's testing. A meaningless distinction if there ever was one.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Keshav @ Oct 29 2008, 08:57 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Is that an actual sentence? Really? WTF????

Made my morning that did

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ky_savage @ Oct 28 2008, 09:52 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Why would Stoner (and some of the other Bridgestone riders) struggle with tires that he's pretty much been using all along?

it depends how far Bridgestone change them and when the other manufacturers complain or corner speed does not decrease.

i'm sure Stoner is glad Rossi is with him in decisions as they were used to having different tyres to the others... and since some people here think Rossi swings all the decisions

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (is200 @ Oct 27 2008, 07:00 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>..................................
Forget about Leguna, Rossi was too good there, Casey had the pace and Rossi just did what he did best and won. Iv never heard Casey say anything about the tyres there. However the next two races, both front end losses were completley unexplainable, he took the corner the same as he had every other time all weekend and it just folded.
................................


Welcome
I also like Casey a lot.
But there are precedents to these unexplainable problems.
The fact that a rider can not 'explain' a crash does not mean he made no mistake, see Rossi in Valencia 2006... he too said he lost the rear for no reason

I remember a Stoner interview in 2007, on SpeedTV. Casey spoke very openly about his crashes the previous year (when he was riding Honda/Michelin and was dubbed Crashey Stoner). He said the same thing--that he was not making mistakes, yet he was suddenly losing the front for no apparent reason.

Now, I know conspiracy theories are fascinating, but here we have a rider who would have been conspired against by Michelin in 2006, and again by Bridgestone in 2008 (unexplainably not in 2007). Hmmmm

More likely, he has a tendency to lose the front when really pushing the limit. In 2006 he had to because it was his rookie year and he was on inferior machinery, yet wanted to win.
In 2007 he had some advantage on the competition and so rarely had to push really hard,--so no crashes and a fantastic first world title.
In 2008 he met stiff competition, had to push to the limit again, and again the problem of losing the front reappeared.

Conclusion, even Casey Stoner can have a weak spot in his shiny armor and make mistakes. He shares with Rossi the aura of very best rider in activity, but he's not perfect. Nobody is...

He can still improve though. Time is on his side

You are spot on j4rno that he is not perfect. They are both human after all.

I have also talked to him about 06 and he would find that in practice he would be well on the pace and then come race day there were guys that were slower all weekend that were kaning him.

Before i heard him mention the tyres he had for those two races this year i genuinley thought they were just blatant errors, however he did not seem to think so.

But your explanation about him being under pressure and thus causing the errors is completely plausable and probably the case. But to see how flawlessly he had ridden for the last 18 months and then too have these two seemingly identical crashes at such a point in the title was perplexing.

I mean Casey is no Rossi but he is on his way, and could you imagine Rossi making the same mistake twice like that? Pretty unlikley.

A possible answer to your 06 and 08 issues but nothing in 07 could be explained by teh fact that in 06 well he was hardly on Michellins radar, there were a plethora of other priorities for them and he was just given the scraps.....think suzuki this year or something.

In 07 he was Bridgestones only shot at the title and they provided everything they could.

In 08 Rossi came on board and possibly there was some pressure in management that would prefer a certian result for the Japanese ties.

Now thats all my sumisation but is not completley out of the question and could answer what could originally be a perplexing question.

But to likley go against all my other points its amazing these guys dont come off more often (espe when you see that Duke just bucking like a wild horse) so it could just be as simple as a mistake.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (xx CURVE xx @ Sep 30 2008, 01:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>sorry, but with less than 100 posts....you're not allowed to ask questions, start threads, and or speak less spoken to

Hahaha!!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (J4rn0 @ Oct 29 2008, 12:34 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I also like Casey a lot.
But there are precedents to these unexplainable problems.
The fact that a rider can not 'explain' a crash does not mean he made no mistake, see Rossi in Valencia 2006... he too said he lost the rear for no reason

I remember a Stoner interview in 2007, on SpeedTV. Casey spoke very openly about his crashes the previous year (when he was riding Honda/Michelin and was dubbed Crashey Stoner). He said the same thing--that he was not making mistakes, yet he was suddenly losing the front for no apparent reason.

Now, I know conspiracy theories are fascinating, but here we have a rider who would have been conspired against by Michelin in 2006, and again by Bridgestone in 2008 (unexplainably not in 2007). Hmmmm

More likely, he has a tendency to lose the front when really pushing the limit. In 2006 he had to because it was his rookie year and he was on inferior machinery, yet wanted to win.
In 2007 he had some advantage on the competition and so rarely had to push really hard,--so no crashes and a fantastic first world title.
In 2008 he met stiff competition, had to push to the limit again, and again the problem of losing the front reappeared.

Conclusion, even Casey Stoner can have a weak spot in his shiny armor and make mistakes. He shares with Rossi the aura of very best rider in activity, but he's not perfect. Nobody is...

He can still improve though. Time is on his side
la la la la la ahhh ahhh ahhhh ahhhhh aaaaamen!!!!!!!!

And during the time Stoner is learning hopefully Hayden will be right there with him fightin for the podium. 1 _ 2 Baby!Welcome

In his comments about the new tire rule and 2009 Casey seems quite confident that they will adapt the Ducati.He doesn't seem too worried and says that it's simply up to every team/factory to adapt as well as they can.
Maybe 2009 can actually be a little bit more close,Kawasaki seem to be miles behind but other than that the machinery could become more evenly matched between the others.
Carbon frame/swingarm if it is more acurate/precise and can be mixed with many other materials it's probarbly the future in Moto GP.So Ducati is probarbly one step ahead as they are the first.It has perhaps been used before but with these bikes i mean.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (is200 @ Oct 29 2008, 01:33 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I have also talked to him about 06 and he would find that in practice he would be well on the pace and then come race day there were guys that were slower all weekend that were kaning him.

Before i heard him mention the tyres he had for those two races this year i genuinley thought they were just blatant errors, however he did not seem to think so.

But your explanation about him being under pressure and thus causing the errors is completely plausable and probably the case. But to see how flawlessly he had ridden for the last 18 months and then too have these two seemingly identical crashes at such a point in the title was perplexing.
I don't think he got absolutely top-grade michelins or much in the way of bike updates particularly in the second half of the 2006 season, but this is mostly the way of the world if you are on a satellite bike.

However I agree with j4rno about this year. From a much more distant and hence very likely less reliable perspective than yours casey seems to me to pretty much tell the unvarnished truth as he sees it. However motogp guys particularly at his level need absolute self-belief, and because he honestly believes he made no mistake does not necessarily mean he didn't. I don't think he had ever been under such pressure before on a ducati, and I also don't believe he had ever felt intimidated by rossi prior to laguna but perhaps may have been for a time subsequent to events at that race. If his wrist is OK I don't think anyone should count on him being intimidated in the future though.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (michaelm @ Oct 29 2008, 11:13 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I don't think he got absolutely top-grade michelins or much in the way of bike updates particularly in the second half of the 2006 season

For the second half of 06 he had the factory spec bike just like Dani, of course without the same level of technical support and probably not the most recent software. Hardware wise though he had the kit.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (is200 @ Oct 29 2008, 03:33 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>I have also talked to him about 06 and he would find that in practice he would be well on the pace and then come race day there were guys that were slower all weekend that were kaning him.

Before i heard him mention the tyres he had for those two races this year i genuinley thought they were just blatant errors, however he did not seem to think so.

Put into the consideration that Riders ALLWAYS rationalize away they own errors. It's part of the psykie? to be a (top) rider. You have tho "know" you are the best to be the best. With this in mind you will allways hear more ........ the closer you are. Stoner probably have learned a thing or two about press and media now and are better at guarding his tounge, but as you get closer you are less likely to use what ever he says against you.
I'm not saying this to put down stoner, in fact I truly belive the same thing could be said about all riders, but the thought that someone sabotaged him both in '06 and in '08 allthough this was in two different teams with different supliers, is more than a bit amazing, in fact I would seek proffesional help before it came to that. That said, understand that this is said as a bystander that don't have any need for excuses at the lack of performance form stoners side.

You also mentinoned the ulikelyhodd of Rossi making the same misstakes twice and allthough he has never done them twice in a row he has certainly made his misstakes, usually two each season. Only one big one this year at Assen but very similar to the one at bruno last year. He also had plenty of complaints regarding Michelins in '06 and according to him he lost the WC due to a bad front tire or he strongly hinted in that direction but no one speculate in conspiracies against Rossi, right? I wonder why

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Keshav @ Oct 28 2008, 09:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Is that an actual sentence? Really? WTF????
Aww to many words??

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Keshav @ Oct 28 2008, 09:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Is that an actual sentence? Really? WTF????

Thom's sentence reminded me of this sign I saw in Japan:

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Thom @ Oct 29 2008, 08:59 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Aww to many words??
Too incoherent. Try re-reading it. It's gibberish. Next time, smoke less crack, type slower dude.