Question:
What is the most surprising thing for you at the halfway mark of the season?
Ángel Nieto:
Obviously Ducati and Stoner. I think that this is something that has surprised us all; we did not expect this reaction from Ducati and Stoner. Casey did not arrive with a great record – he fell a lot in 250cc – and last year in MotoGP too. Logically he was not among the favourites. But he is having an incredible season and making things difficult for Honda and Yamaha.
Jorge Martínez “Aspar”:
I am surprised with the great balance achieved by Ducati,
Bridgestone and Stoner. I was convinced that Honda was going to be much higher up. The truth is that this is a surprising season all round. Not one that many people would have been able to predict at the beginning. Not even me! I did not think that what is happening was going to happen either.
Alex Crivillé:
It is clear that Stoner's performance on the Ducati is what has most surprised me.
Emilio Alzamora:
Well, the most surprising is Stoner and his Ducati. People thought he would have difficulties above all on the twisty circuits, but this is not the case. He has been competitive right up to the present day, half a season, at all the circuits, in all conditions, whether in the wet or in the dry, and in complicated training sessions… This is what has been the most surprising.
At the same time perhaps the negative surprise has been
Dani Pedrosa's position and where he is now, because I think he is a rider that has what it takes to be higher. He had had a year that few riders ever have and that was in his first season in the top category. But this year he has come across some difficulties and a new bike that even HRC has admitted was wrong, the concept and the MotoGP project, and this means that we are not seeing Dani where he should be halfway through the season.
Sito Pons:
The truth is that this season is surprising because Stoner is showing great consistency. I think that he has been the revelation of the season. Above all because he is showing a great maturity for his age. It is clear that he was a fast rider, with talent and with a great future, that is what we thought when we thought about signing him up for the MotoGP project, so that he could take a step up. But now with the Ducati and the Bridgestone tyres, I think that this combination has given him the confidence necessary not to make mistakes and to have this great season.
Q:
What is your opinion of the battle between Bridgestone and Michelin in
MotoGP. Is it fair that they make so much difference?
AN:
“The truth is that for me people speak too much about tyres. Lately it seems they are the reason why some win and others lose. I think that the tyres work when the chassis and all the other components on the bike are in their place. Then the tyre behaviour can always be better or worse, and if the chassis is giving problems they are going to wear down more and the rider will probably not feel comfortable. I think that a machine is the whole, what happens is that the tyres have their importance. Bridgestone and Michelin are fighting to win the championship, another war apart from that of the rider's and the constructor's. The World Championship is exciting!
