yewzer

stoner is just fucking boring. his bike is amazing thoguh. i am really impressed with what ducati has accomplished with a whiny piss pants rider.

theJrod

Rubbin's racing, kiddo.
This is classic Rossi, and I'm very happy to see him back in true form. This was one of the best GP races in a very long time.
Hopper sat in on the commentary for another feed, and even he stated that the passes were fine.

Hayden did DAMN well considering his tires were that bad. Hell, Edwards has been on fire this year (for him), and even he couldn't muster a top 10 finish with those rubber bands..

Spies made his way up to 7th, which is also very impressive. I hear a lot of internet chatter about him needing to be on the box to earn any respect - fuck that. Kid's got pure talent. More time on the bike (or maybe a different GP bike ) and he'll be a front runner in no time.

I think we might finally be able to put to bed the argument about AMA talent being lackluster compared to the rest of the world.

the chemist

I wasn't saying anything about rubbing or close passes. I was saying its shitty Rossi kept putting him in the dirt on exits. If Rossi thought a pass was 'bad' he would bitch and moan about it for an hour in the interview. Yet...when he does it, its fine? Yes, that is classic Rossi...

theJrod

Uh, Stoner put himself in the dirt. Rossi was just "closing the door". It's a very very common racing move. You should look it up. Stoner was actually riding very well when Rossi "closed the door". A lessor rider would back off, but Stoner refused to give up his drive and just tried to stick it right where Rossi was blocking. That's just good racing.

It's clear you're a fanboi, though, and whenever Stoner complains, you'll listen, but when Rossi complains, he's a hypocrite.

eurospeed

Never heard rossi bitching about loosing. even in 06 when he got push on to the dirt and crash he finish 14th he didnt even blame the rider that pushed him. he just say it was racing. and when stoner went out on to the dirt he came damn close to take rossi out.
oh and all of you who just hate rossi if stoner had win you would've say rossi was just wach up. it was just a great race.
i was sitting with an australian couple who flew from australia (stoner fan) just for the race,said that if stoner had to fight with rossi.stoner would lose. and they hate rossi.

the chemist

I'll give you that one. . .I do love Stoner. But, Rossi is no longer the 'best' now that he has real competition from Stoner and Pedrosa. Danny sucks at racing, but can put in good lap times, as we've seen. Its been said MANY times before...the only way to beat Danny is to not let him get out in front. Stoner on the other hand, has no problem putting up a fight. Rossi is good, but I dont consider him the best...and now that the premier class isn't a monopoly of talent, we are seeing that. As much as I hate Rossi, Lorenzo and dislike Pedrosa, all are amazing riders. If Lorenzo wouldn't crash 9 times a weekend I think he could have taken the championship (thank god he didnt). Ben has what, 6 hours on the GSV and still took 8th? Like someone said, get him more time...or maybe a good bike, and he'll be consistent top 5. The talent in the premier class is becoming more level, and suddenly Rossi doesn't look as good as he used to. So, now we can all stop liking the only guy who has a chance of winning, and witness some real battles!

GixxerPete

If that was his plan, it backfired on him in an epic-fail kind of way.

the chemist

and when rossi went onto the dirt in the corkscrew? and almost lost it and would have taken casey out? yea...exactly. it goes both ways but you guys are quick to point out everything casey did wrong. yes, he made a few errors, but IMHO rossi made more...

eurospeed

spies does have little time on a gp bike but know the track very well.
but look a divizioso first season on a gp bike,first time in laguna and he finish 4th.that was acually pretty good.

GixxerPete

Stoner isn't all that though. He's just got the way fastest bike, with all the gee-whiz, ride-it-for-you electronics doing the hard work for him. Take away the video game joysticks and Stoner is lucky to be in the top 5, guaranteed.

eurospeed

not any faster that you guys are to point rossi's mistake.
its racing.again it was a great race.

GixxerPete

Umm... Rossi made ONE error, in the corkscrew. Stoner made plenty of errors all over the track. Like it was said in another article, it's not unusual to see Rossi force errors from other riders pressuring them from behind. This time he forced errors pressuring from in front.

Either way, this incident either lights a fire under Stoner's ass, or turns him into the next Gibernau. Only time will tell which, but I'm betting on Sete Ver 2.0.

eurospeed

the chemist

Just like the bus stop makes us all 5 seconds faster If Casey isn't good, why is he the ONLY guy that can ride that bike? Melandri can't. Sete can't. Elias can't. Hoffman couldn't. Barros? no. Capirossi almost got a handle on it, almost. Casey is the only one that rides the piss out of that bike. last year, yea his bike was faster, but 2mph on the end of the front straight hardly qualifies for the "way fastest bike" this year... Have you seen Casey get the back end sliding? They've turned down the TC for him and are moving away from the electronics.

EXACTLY! the quality of riders has dramatically increased compared to the 990 days, even compared to last year!

yes, it was. this is a debate over stoner v. rossi though, not a talk about the race

stoner and rossi have both had a crash that they got up from and finished the race. granted, stoner didn't lose a position because he was THAT far ahead. stoner had that mechanical and DNF. if Rossi has a DNF, then the championship is really fare...and we'll see stoner on top. if not, stoner will be hard pressed to catch him...but i think he can do it.

Jafar

It is not logical: clearly Stoner was the faster rider and the Ducati was the faster bike, but Rossi and the Yamaha are the winners.

In Rossi's world, 2+2 does not always equal 4. In Rossi's world, faster is only faster than fast if, while you are going faster than his fast, his fast doesn't pass your faster back!

Based on all the evidence, Stoner probably shouldn't have been passed the first time by Rossi, let alone the three or four times that Rossi passed him. I wonder if Rossi being aggressive at the beginning of the race was what caused his rear tire to shred on the edge of the right side.

If Stoner is smart, he won't let Rossi do that to him again.

FatMatt

Ducati has the faster bike, thats it. Stoner is not by any means the faster rider. If they were on identical machines, Rossi would ride circles around Stoner time & time again!

Ciao998

Don't think so

Still would be close, though at this stage of Stoners career I'd say Rossi is a better "racer". Put Rossi on the Duc? lol

Oh and Duane, Sete has put in some very good times on the Duc, as well as Niccolo Capena. Stoner is'nt the ONLY guy who can ride it.

Sete was really an excellent racer, Rossi was just a little better. And this Capena kid looks like he's really going to be something. Although with Bayliss retiring, will he go wsbk or GP?

watskooo

Spies is starting to have decent results, his lap times at the end of the GP race were respectable. He also has a little more time than people remember, 2 GP race weekends and 2 more days testing at Indy. If he can get top 5 at Indy, that'll be quite a statement.

I went back and watched the race again, and was amazed at how good Rossi's passes were. The only iffy one was where he got into the corkscrew too hot and dirt tracked it. The other surprising thing about watching it a second time and already having heard the complaints about Rossi, was that it seemed like Stoner was the more aggressive one. Rossi was only ever going to pass Stoner on the brakes, going into corners, and the passes weren't out of control, and it's laughable to say he almost pushed Stoner into the dirt several times.

CCWC

"I do love Stoner" . "Danny sucks at racing" . Do you have ant idea what you are talking about? I believe your love for Stoner has made you blind to reality. I suggest you pay some attention to the race next time. This was a fantastic race. I think the fans of Moto GP have been starving for a great race. Rossi and Stoner did their jobs. They gave the fans a thrilling race to watch. But Stoner wants to cry about not winning the race.

Haus

was a great race. Cool watching rossi and stoner duke it out. Not sure what was up with that off track by stoner. Almost like he just spaced out on the brakes....Or Rossi gave him a nasty brake check road rash style lol.

To bad the CBS coverage didn't bounce back to spies for a few after that fight for first ended. I saw him moving up through the pack position ticker, yet no coverage. lame.

Jafar

I would like to agree, but saying that Stoner has the faster bike, and that the faster bike is why he beats Rossi doesn't really fly because nobody else can do anything with the Ducati - Stoner has to be a large part of how fast that Ducati laps.

I am willing to be agnostic on the issue; I don't know who is the better rider, but that day it was clear that Stoner and his bike could lap quicker, but lapping quicker was not enough to beat Rossi. That is what was so cool about that race.

eurospeed

stoner is a great rider im a rossi fan and i can admit that.
but rossi was just better this time.

GixxerPete

So what do all those names you have listed have in common that Stoner doesn't? They all rode 990s and 500s. Big bad, snarling beasts with no electronic BS. It's no secret the experienced riders that are use to using their skill and throttle control are having a tough time trusting electronics to ride for them. Stoner, with only one lackluster, crash-prone season on a 990 has no qualms with just pinning it and letting the electronics do it for him. The telemetry from the race was proof of that.

Turned the TC down? From what, 10 to 9.5?

No it hasn't, the bikes have gotten a lot easier to ride fast, so more riders are competitive now that wouldn't be on a 990.

GixxerPete