MOTOGP » Stoner shines on opening night

Nah it will be a close year I think, but not just from Rossi. Those Rookies look great, and JT what a suprise... Poor Marco, it is sad..
Go Casey... (i'm australian, can't help it)

Has Melandri had one too many bad crashes to carry on? Maybe the brute Duke is just too lairy for him. What will be great is if he can turn it around and show some of his former excellent riding. What times are being set on race rubber , and whats on qualifiers?

Marco has a "pin it" and hang on style, So the TC cuts him out of the loop slowing the lap times, Casey feeds the gas progresivly, allowing the engine to rev freely, beating the TC.
Casey uses the throttle the same in every condition, wet, intermidiate, dry. this allows any rider to feel their way through the grip/acceleration curve, this is the best way to avoid a wheel spinning up, but allow the wheel some spin, like a churn really only slightly faster than the front wheel speed but not a spin accelerating faster and faster.

Ace27..I notice Stoner seems to turn in later to corner entry and by stepping out the rear then straightens out the corner allowing him to get onto the power very early. The old in slow out fast rule but it does make him a little susceptible under brakes however he can usually do a crossover and re pass anyone who has gone past by mid corner.

We saw this last year with Rossi's attempts of over committed braking.

You know its funny Rico, I don't remember anyone complaining when Rossi was dominating on the best machine (Honda). To be fair he developed the Yamaha but the Honda was championship winning bike before Rossi came along.

The fact that the racing may be a bit lacking again this year,is not Ducatis fault. The rest of the teams need to pull their fingers out and catch up. And anyway why does it need to be Rossi that need to fight Stoner, there are several riders on the grid that are good enough to fight for the championship if they have a quick bike underneath them. Give Lorenzo a year or two and I'm sure he will be fighting for the WC as well.

FooAtari, I agree. The new crop of riders are very impressive and the battles in the years ahead are going to be monumental. It will be interesting to see how the personalities play out. The previous generation produced almost as much excitement off the track with the mind games and dummy spits as on the track. I think there are some tempramental personalities in the new generation. What do you think?

I think Stoner will win at least 14 races his year.

I agree with you FooAtari, it was boring when Rossi was on the Honda. He saved the sport when he went to Yamaha. I have to admit, I never thought he'd win on the M1. That is why he is so well respected, and rightly so. No other rider would have won the championship on that bike.

I'm not bothered who fights for the championship this year, as long as there IS a fight. I'm predicting another procession, and that's not good for the sport. Fact. Good for my bank account though, I've put the house on Stoner. Easy money

Oh! How we laughed as the bailiffs turfed a dejected Rico and irate family onto the street before erecting the For Sale sign...

The eyes are open, the mouth moves, but Mr Brain has long since departed, hasn't he, Rico