Ducati confident of Le Mans challenge.

If Melandri has finally found his form, he could finish in front of Stoner this weekend (that'll be the kiss of death for him then :rolleyes

Assuming the comments weren't taken out of context, Casey almost sounds resigned to failure - it's the curse of the #1 plate

Not surprised Marco likes this track!

"The Curse Of The #1 Plate"????? What are you talking about. #1 plate wasn't a curse for Duke,Surtees,Hailwood,Agostini,Read,,Roberts, Rainey,Doohan? I could go on. What a pathetic excuse for Stoner's bad start to the season.If you guys think Stoner is the greatest,then he will sort out the Ducati himself and win 10 races.

When he signed for Ducati I predicted that Marco will finish in front of Stoner and I really hope it's coming... He is at least as talented as Stoner and what a difference in personality!

I expected more from marco as well, and predicted he would show stoner the way round from the beginning. How wrong that was! i hope he does start competing with stoner now, not just because i prefer marco but maybe that will give the drive to both of them to get that ducati working a bit better. I think the other teams have caught up and Rossi, Lorenzo, Dani are riding harder than ever. Especially Dani, im very impressed he hasnt looked this hungry to win since joining the grid and hes riding very hard now! Maybe its lorenzos arrival!?

I agree with the above comments. If Marco has truly tamed the beast then it is only a matter of time before his superior riding ability will come to the forefront and he regularly finishes in front of Stoner. Maybe this weekend will see that, but i doubt it, I think it will come later in the season.

I always though these two were pretty close in terms of rider ability, so I don't expect MM to outperform CS by any means. But once Melandri gets up to speed they should at least be able to push each other. Stoner's great and all but Ducati really need to make all their riders competitive. Seems like Elias improved too once Ducati really started to put some effort into making it work for him. They have four good racers at hand but still, if it wasn't for CS they'd be humiliated each time around - and yet people say that CS only won because of superior equipment. A bike that can only be ridden fast by one person is clearly NOT a good bike. Maybe this is where their limited resources show?

Stoner of course is faster than Melandri and Capirossi and anyone else you want to put on the Ducati.Seriously you folk need to get over your predjiduce denial.

The only reason Stoner won championship was traction control.For the whole of his career he has always been known as a HUGE crasher in whatever category.Until traction control and a massive bike advantage.This year he looks very ordinary.He must be spitting chips now Bridgestone will give Rossi their full backing cos of Stoners lack of ability to develope tyres.
it shows how mentally weak he is when he blamed the tyre people about the selection of his tyres.IF HE IS WORLD CHAMPION HE SHOULD BE TELLING THEM WHAT TYRES HE WANTS.
But because Stoner cant develope a cold let alone bike and tyres,he will always ride what he is given by Ducati.You think Michelin would dictate to Doohan?Cause not

To PAGODA (and all others who think its all down to TC) go to superbikeplanet.com and read the latest Ryder Notes where there are some of Burgess' views of TC..

that was a good read thanks suziboy but that wont shut up the ones who call stoner a moaner
maybe they should read their own rants and then might see who really are the moaners

Well I think he's a bit of a moaner too. But he's also a great rider who has done some amazing things with that Duke, AND who was also very quick on the LCR Honda. Respect and liking are two different things - he's not my fav rider by any means but he's definitely earned my respect.

this artical is clearly propaganda. everyone knows rossi has never used used traction control and all his victories are down to his god like abbilities. traction control was devised by cheating pasta eating italians to get moaner to win as we all know all he cud do was crash before he got on the electronic ducati cheat machine.

the truth hurts

The reality, says Burgess, is that no matter how good a TC system is the rider must still have a feeling for what the bike will do.' He likens it to riding a horse: you can't expect it to do what you want if you just yank on its mouth with the reins, you need that elusive understanding of the way the animal behaves to get the best results.Dragged back onto the subject of electronics, JB defines traction control as another set-up tool, albeit a powerful one. Back in 2002 when the Repsol team tested Honda's first traction control system at Valencia, JB recalls Rossi getting off the bike and saying "Don't tell anyone, but this isn't fair!" And that was a simple system that compared front and rear wheel speeds and retarded the ignition timing if they were different by more than a set percentage. Nowadays, TC systems are almost infinitely variable with maps that alter the electronics' intervention with respect to lean angle and corner speed differently for every gear.

rossi has never used traction control!!!!
he has been using it since 2002 when he was at honda
according to Jerry Burgess, and he should know.
sorry to blow the mith

Wow checkout all the newbie fair weather groupies coming out of the sand box..... their breeding like flies and as dopey as ever!!!


Too funny

Race 1 of 2007 was attributed to Ducati perhaps having a 990cc engine. The race win at Istanbul was blamed on a poor Yamaha outing. The Shanghai win was down to that long straight but after le mans' wet ride and a wobble at Mugello, Stoner outboxed and outfoxed Rossi flag to flag to prove that he was definitely a talented and capable racer. You needn't even go that deep into the season. His composure and control of his speed and braking at Shanghai put Rossi under severe pressure and THAT was the slice that showed what sort of cake Ducati and Stoner were baking.

As for TC, ********. Riders had no TC in 2003 and the smoking and spining were spectacular. Talent won the day but only just.

Look at Catalunya 2003, 2004. Then,the big bang engines and TC gave the riders more control so we saw less smoke around Repsol Corner. However,riders like Biaggi who did not ride with a spinning style really saw little benefit. Rather, factors like engine braking which affected corner speed were more crucial. The 800s have proven to be a different beast and riders like hayden have noticed the lack of brute force punching out of corners. The bikes seem to suit the 250 lads well ( Pedrosa,lorenzo,STONER !?? ) but a WSBK guy like Toseland is no slouch. A good rider is a good rider whilst a good bike is a chance. We should not forget how the technology has made the bikes 'easier' but the racing

Is no easier as times have fallen and bikes have developed. Remember Suzuki in 2002 and 2003,4 AND 5 !!? Kawasaki !?? We have seen massive changes since the 1st iteration of the RC211V in 2002 and yet still,the season comes down to this portion of the championship. The run from Mugello to Catalunya through Assen has always been crucial in deciding the championship. Gibernau tossed it in this period. Rossi clinched it in this time and Stoner stamped his name on it last year. We therefore have a very busy and strategically invaluable run of contests to include the taxing Donington Park coming up. Forza Ducati,go Stoner and welcome to your chance Marco !