20 replies to this topic

[rockyrider]

Is Casey Stoner on his way to win the 2011 MotoGP Title now like I think he is? I know we are only about 5 races through the season, but Casey has come back from that unfortunate mistake by his former team mate with as much confidence and style as anyone could imagine. Let's face it......Honda rules this year. (I've never owned one}, but, the Yamaha's ridden by Jorge, and Ben, just have not displayed the Ponies (HP),that the Honda's have. With a line up like Casey, Dani, Dovi, and yes even.....Marco, comment refrained, there does not look like any other Manufacturer has a chance. Forget about Ducati. Does any one have a different take on this matter?

[for artie]

Agree 100% Stoner Rocks! Fastest man on the best bike. Those slides in Catalunya were epic. Love MotoGP!

[Thedbf]

6 races in the next 8 weeks will sort it out, but think everyone knew as soon as Stoner was on the Honda there was/is only gonna be one winner.

[Caddabs]

My money's on Casey for the championship too, if he can keep out of the hair-bears way. loved the way he rode the Ducati where Rossi couldnt - cant understand why he's not more popular.

who's going to win tomorrow? Casey will be up there, but Silverstone might suit the Yams better - Lorenzo or if it rains who'd rule out Crutchlow?

really enjoying 2011 - although sadly i'm out tomorrow and will miss it - who knows how to use the video recorder?

[subanator]

The comments by Mick Doohan in our papers in Oz was obviously supporting the fact he is riding a Honda, but did go to say the ease he has made in taking to the Honda in terms of being able to push the bike the way he likes, compared to riding the Ducati previously 99% and at limitation.

Pity that Pedrosa is out of the fray, as his mix would have made the fight for podium places even more interesting. Yes, Stoner will get there for the Championship I think too. Yes, I am enjoying this years racing too, some new faces and second tier teams now too at the pointy end like Spies and Simo are making it not easy for the experienced ones.

[TooFastTim]

Caddabs, on 11 June 2011 - 12:25 PM, said:

cant understand why he's not more popular.

Because he's about as interesting as a paper bag?

No doubting his talent (he's a bit of a moaner though) and he's on the right bike for this year.

[DGShannon]

rockyrider, on 08 June 2011 - 06:15 PM, said:

Is Casey Stoner on his way to win the 2011 MotoGP Title now like I think he is? I know we are only about 5 races through the season, but Casey has come back from that unfortunate mistake by his former team mate with as much confidence and style as anyone could imagine. Let's face it......Honda rules this year. (I've never owned one}, but, the Yamaha's ridden by Jorge, and Ben, just have not displayed the Ponies (HP),that the Honda's have. With a line up like Casey, Dani, Dovi, and yes even.....Marco, comment refrained, there does not look like any other Manufacturer has a chance. Forget about Ducati. Does any one have a different take on this matter?

Stoner moves off the Ducati and starts winning more regularly. Rossi, who was winning regularly, moves to Ducati and ceases to do so. It just doesn't seem as if Ducati is in the ballpark the past couple of years. And yes, it does appear that with such a great bike under him now, Stoner is on his way. But, it is still a good while before the fat lady sings, so we will see.

[Woody]

You have to have respect and admiration for what Casey achieved on the Ducati and the way he has just effortlessly switched to the Honda. The Ducati was capable of results but had to be ridden on a knife edge to get them and Casey rode it to that edge trying his hardest to win every race it seemed. Sometimes it worked sometimes it spat him off but it was entertaining if not a little frightening watch hime muscle it around. He has been the only one capable of getting on that knife edge for results. No-one else has come close.

Now on the Honda, he looks a pretty formidable opponent to the others but I still think Lorenzo is not too far away and will push for wins at times, as will Simoncelli if he can stay on it and Pedrosa if he can get back to fitness and stay that way. Still think it's going to be Casey's title, accident/injury excepted, but I think he will have a few fights along the way.

Ducati are in trouble as Rossi cannot ride the bike on the knife edge and is looking like a man losing his confidence with it. The Silverstone performance was an absolute shocker. Burgess' 80 second fix statement is looking a bit silly now, 7 months later.

[TooFastTim]

Woody, on 14 June 2011 - 11:22 PM, said:

Ducati are in trouble as Rossi cannot ride the bike on the knife edge and is looking like a man losing his confidence with it. The Silverstone performance was an absolute shocker. Burgess' 80 second fix statement is looking a bit silly now, 7 months later.

To be blunt, I don't think Ducati give a rats a*** about this years bike. They return to 1000cc next year, why throw good money after bad?

[Woody]

Well, they probably don't now, as the championship has gone and even a win seems unlikely. But I don't think that would have been the plan at the start of winter testing. I'd say the eye was firmly on the title.

Burgess had stated they have a very very good bike as a starting point, having seen Casey win on it at the end of 2010. They knew Casey was over riding it to compensate for defficiencies but after watching others ride the Ducati last year the problems in set up were obvious and with Rossi on the bike they could fix them in 80 seconds - whoops... Rossi just hasn't been able to ride it like Casey.

Casey now on the Honda, with a front end he has confidence in, is going to take some stopping this year but I still think Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Simo will give him a scrap at times. I wouldn't be surprised though if the wins go into double figures.

[subanator]

Interesting commentary (at our end anyway in OZ) during the race commentator and ex GP rider Daryl Beattie, says the gap of the back markers now is too big, some good ex 250 World Champs are in this mix and seem to be struggling with MotoGP 800cc bikes, and this gap would worsen when going out further to the new class of 1000cc.

I remember this was also the same for the 500cc bike in their day, the back markers struggled taming those animals and were constantly being lapped by the leads riders. What happens here for Moto2 riders coming up to MotoGP next year will be a bigger learning curve than it is now. I hope they dont mess with the formula too much, as the hole will get bigger, and looking at the number of riders qualifying now, that number is quite low in rider numbers per race as to a few years ago, as is the number of manufacturers still involved in MotoGP. 2012 will be interesting thats for sure.

During the race, good to see Dougie Lampkin got a mention whilst in the pits!

Edited by subanator, 15 June 2011 - 08:50 AM.

[sherpa325]

Interesting to note Ducati do give a rats as they have just rushed together the new 012 chassis with an 011 engine for Rossi to use this weekend at Assen.
If they don't get some results soon they are going to have some difficulty explaining how Casey had 3 wins, 4 poles and nine podiums in 010 and they basically have nothing this year. By the way if you have ever seen Casey, in the flesh, ride/slide the Ducati on the limit it certainly is more interesting than a paper bag, unless of course you have something interesting in that bag that we don't know about.

[Woody]

Yes, it was hugely entertaining watching Casey slide the Ducati around. Never saw it 'in the flesh' always on TV but I used to love watching him wrestle it around. Frightening at times. Whether people like him or not, he's good. Can't really see much wrong with his personality although Honda and Ducati paid him to win races, so what if he doesn't play up to the media. Personally I have no time and find nothing funny in Rossi or Lorenzo's post race staged antics but I can still appreciate what great riders they are. Casey's regional accent makes him sound like he's whingeing, much like Nigel Mansell's did, when all they are doing is answering reporter's questions in a no-nonsense straight talking manner. No stupid faces into the camers, no gimmicks, no ego.

I think now we've seen Rossi unable to ride the Ducati Casey should get the credit he deserves as he has exceptional riding talent. Stoner haters however are now saying he has the best bike and that is the only reason he is winning (overlooking Dovsioso, Pedrosa and now Aoyama should be posting identical times if it is 'just the bike') At least the TV commentators have finally begun to give him a bit of credit and it has finally killed the myth that they and the press created that Rossi can overcome any problem and still win. The Ducati has seen that one off.

As for the GP11.1 Ducati, what I can't understand is how the 2012 chassis appears to be so different from the 2011. I would have thought that the 2012 bikes (all of them) would just be a further evolution of the 2011 bikes, going from 800 to 1000 isn't a massive change. Casey has already said that this is the case with the Honda, very little difference from the 2011 to 2012 - if I read it correctly. Ducati seem to have built two different chassis altogether for their 2011 and 2012 bikes. Having tried the 2012 the riders like it so they are trying the 800 in it as it appears they cannot make the GP11 work (I would pay good money to see Casey run a few laps on it...) I read somewhere though, that this idea was spawned back at the Sepang tests when it became obvious that there was more to the GP11 issues than just set-up, so it is not a rushed out job, it's been planned. Hayden will continue with further mods to the GP11 whilst Rossi tries the GP11.1.

The GP11.1 must work as the test riders have bamged around on it and will know exactly how it compares with the current bike in terms of lap time and behaviour. It must be an improvement for them to wheel it out at Assen this weekend. For Preziosi to say it is a gamble, I don't understand.

Hopefully it will work as although I'm not a Rossi fan and don't want him to win, it will be good to see another bike at the sharp end battling for a result. Hopefully Spies will get it together and we could have 5 or 6 bikes within a few tenths of each other and a decent race. Hopefully with Casey still winning.

It's p****** down at Assen at the moment though.

[sherpa325]

One of my best motorcycling experiences was to watch Stoner in the 2008 Philip Is practice sessions. He went basically flat out in every corner of every session so much so that you could clearly hear the traction control kicking in midway through the corners. He was the only one doing this and continued to do so even when it started to drizzle half way through one of the sessions. I can clearly remember him coming onto the main straight with the bike flat out and in a perfect slide in the rain, just amazing.

[TooFastTim]

sherpa325, on 23 June 2011 - 03:07 AM, said:

it certainly is more interesting than a paper bag, unless of course you have something interesting in that bag that we don't know about.

I was talking about Caseys public persona. He's not the raging extrovert that Rossi is. AFAIK only three or four riders have become household names: Agostini (in Italy), Hailwood, Sheene (both in the UK, Sheenes popularity in UK shocked KR Sr) and Rossi (who transcended all the international boundries and became, arguably, motorcyclings first superstar).