I've got it! To avoid any more 'lucky' champions, how about we stop the championship one round early from now on and - if the title hasn't already been decided - give it to the guy with the most wins?
No I was not comparing titles. I said a fault can be found in any championship victory for those (usually bad losers) looking for one. 'The other guy won more' is a common excuse.
Whatever had happened before, Rossi went in to the final round 8 points ahead of Hayden, who was carrying a shoulder injury from Portugal and had no obvious bike/tyre advantage over Rossi. It was all so easy for Hayden wasn't it? lol as you say.
I'm not a massive Hayden fan, prefer a few other riders, but I have a lot of respect for someone who plays by the rules and beat Rossi head to head in a title showdown. Who else has done that?
If/when a few others have done the same maybe I'll change my view.
Posted by Team Green (56 days ago)
Last Edited 56 days ago
Which of those three would you describe Rossi's 2002 title as? When Rossi had the mighty task of trying to beat... team-mate Tohru Ukawa !
What would Rossi have done without a factory ride and Jerry Burgess? What if Rossi hadn't taken the backbone of the Honda team to Yamaha? What if Rossi hadn't been so lucky and escaped injury for so long? What about all the 'advantages' those that don't like Stoner say he had last year?
Bottom line is you can find excuses for every world championship victory if you try hard enough.
Posted by Team Green (57 days ago)
Last Edited 57 days ago
"Lucky", "if", "maybe"... the words of a bitter man!
The rules that everyone has raced by since 1949 hand the championship to the rider with the most points at the end of the season.
The title does not go to the rider with the most wins, or most poles, or most podiums or whatever else.
If you don't agree with those rules then fine, ask the FIM to change them so that only wins count, but that's not the way it is now. There is no such thing as an unworthy champion.
Whatever happens and wherever he goes next year, Hayden will still be the only rider to date that Rossi hasn't been able to make crack under pressure during a title fight. Look how Biaggi and Gibernau folded. The second half of 2006 (bar the finale) was horrendous for Hayden. But he didn't crack. I actually thought he would. He proved me wrong.
IF Pedrosa, Stoner and Lorenzo can stay in touch with Rossi and take the title down to the wire this year then we'll see how they stand up to the pressure in the closing rounds. Maybe they'll crack, maybe they won't... My bet is that at least one will.
None of them have taken any titles (125/250) at the final round yet.
Dovi impressed me at Qatar but not too much since. Compared with Lorenzo he's not looking too good. Okay the bike is a satelitte bike, but hell Lorenzo's got broken ankes!!!
MotoGP is a human sport. Not just about win stats. That probably explains why so many fans prefer Hayden over Pedrosa. Hayden is also one of the few riders with enough personality to be able to promote the sport to a mainstream audience. I would add Rossi, Edwards and Toseland to that list but not many others.
Is Hayden the best rider on the grid? No, but then he can always say he went to the final round of a world championship behind Valentino Rossi and won the title (on the same brand of tyres). No-one else in the world is yet able to say that.
Far too early to throw him out of MotoGP. Nicky needs a change of team, then we'll really see how good he is...
I didn't think the 1098s had an obvious advatage over the fours at donington?
OK Shakey won both races, but it was close and the other 1098s weren't even on the podium.
It's difficult to justify penalising the 1098s further unless you have a Ducati 1-2 (or 1-2-3) as it just looks like you're punishing Shakey for doing a good job.
The WSBK difference of 6kg (also roughly the post-race difference at Donington) sounds about right to me.
Further to this... I see the Times is reporting that the whole Berger thing was a stage act, the question was put forward by the FIA interviewer with Berger waiting to endorse Mosley with a pre-prepared speech.
I think most people are most disturbed by the Nazi element of the Mosley incident.
If Mosley gets off beating up consenting women in private, and having the same done to him, then fair enough but fantasizing over death camps is a step too far for most of us and has implications for the sport as a whole, through association.
Please MCRCB show us the evidence that the Ducati has an advantage. I think it has, but you can make rule changes on the ground of a bike 'looking quicker'.
Surely there must be evidence - top speed, bhp/torque per kg, acceleration figures SOMETHING?? If you want this rule change to be accepted you need to explain it.
Good move delaying it though. Even if it's the right thing to do, you can't spring it on a team a few days before a race.
At the end of the day Lorenzo (or any other motogp rider) is probably never going to withdraw voluntarily for the reasons many have mentioned. Most notable in his case the chance to be world champion in his first season. Does anyone know how bad an injury needs to be for someone step in and overrule the rider for his own good?
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