Talkback: MotoGP: Rossi: "Stoner is not a great fighter"

Oh dear ... we have seen this coming for a while now. Mr V Rossi has become "bigger" than the sport he competes in. That he still feels threatened by Casey Stoner this season is illustrated by this " personal " and unfair mind-game he has set in motion with these comments. Stoner is not Sete Gibernau and therefore will not be intimidated in the least by Rossi's class-less, little stunt. We have all seen this before. While the GOAT milks his celebrity for all it is worth with his time-wasting and pre-planned trackside antics and theatrical carry-on - people are blinded to his negatives by simple overarching worship of fame. Think of a certain drug addicted paedophile in the news recently. While Rossi is perfectly entitled to his opinion, this going public with a lack of respect for a fellow-competitor is telling. I cannot recall, ever, hearing anyone having a similar "go" at him for any reason. Very recently, I remarked to several friends ( all ex-racers too ) that, while I hailed his towering ability and consistency, I was just a teeny bit "over" Rossi, expecting to be howled down. To my enormous surprise, all agreed with me. With this sort of self-destructive stuff, Rossi is treading dangerous waters.

Very true, I think he should leave the " boy " alone & just let his riding do the talking. He has an ugly side that may well work against him at some point & given his talent & achievements you'd think he wouldn't have to say anything at all. Hush now Valentino...

Dear Valentino, if you are a great fighter then you needn't kick your opponents while they are down.  Don't try to win at all costs, especially of the respect of your peers and your fans.  We want to think of you as a winner even when you lose the race. 

Erm, whilst there is a lot to be said about the "if you can't say anything positive then don't say anything at all" approach to media if you actually read the article there's little in there of any real contention.

Is Stoner an arrogant twat? Yes

Is Stoner capable of fighting his way through a race and winning? Rarely. He DOES like running off on his own and doesn't like a scrap.

So whilst I agree with your comments about Rossi learning to keep his mouth shut at times it's not as if he's trotting out anything ground-breaking or that hasn't been discussed in the media endlessly before. 

It's a sensationalist headline along the same lines of the "Andy Murray hates England" crap. 

I agree with Lostboysaint. Although Rossi is being rather crude about it, it makes sense and he knows Stoner far better than any of us internauts.

Rossi has given his opinion, it is not some opinion he has conjured up to 'kick Stoner while he is down'. If you Stoner fans or people who are "over" Rossi don't like that you can go suck a bag of dicks.

 I do too think Stoner's problems have more to do with the mind than his body.

 You see, Stoner has only been able to win because of the Duke, he sets the traction control to a maximum and rings that bike around the track like the throttle was just a button. This of course requires a very special kind of talent because many other elite riders such as Hayden, Rossi, Edwards are not able to do this because they are "throttle-fearing" people.

 Back in the day when TC wasn't invented, riders had to be ever so careful with throttle movement. Just 1 degree of movement equaled several horses and to open the throttle fully exiting a corner would spell an accident. It doesn't feel natural to open a throttle  without a care with the knowledge that doing so could make you high-side...

Don't ask me to prove this, watch any race between '07 and now and you'll see Stoner opening throttle entirely far sooner than anyone else. And just hear the bike when you actually espectate a race, the engine is constantly changing revs unlike all the other engines which have a more smooth sound variation...

So knowing this, and the fact that the Duke is the most powerful bike on the grid, if you have a computer which is able to put the maximum power on corner exit pair that with a bloke capable of trusting this computer you have a great combination - Casey Stoner.

This is why Hayden hasn't been as good although with a great bike - he doesn't trust the computer. And don't tell me it's talent because Hayden has won a championship so he has the know-how.

I think that now that Stoner realizes this package no longer poses a greater competitive advantage which granted him his typical "run away lead" victories he is feeling the pressure, facing up to the fact that he can't do it any longer as in the past - now he has to fight "OLD SCHOOL STYLE".

Perhaps this coupled with the simple disappointment of losing is causing him some psychological stress. Although this is all speculation, I don't think these reasons are enough to make a fit young man mis out 3 entire races, or could it?

 The body can cure quite quickly and definitely, being a high profile athlete grants you access to the best medical facilities so if he had anything they would have found it. Only things that doesn't cure quickly at a physical level might be serious diseases like cancer etc but something so serious would have been mentioned to the public.

 What doesn't cure as fast as the body is the mind, 3 races of is what they're hoping his mind needs to recover.

Please don't agree with me and then write that pile of shit.

Stoner doesn't rely on traction control, the view from the paddock is that the biggest problem with his team mates is that they have assumed they needed it, had the latest, best etc. and then found it's rubbish. He uses the most basic setting. 

Stoner also makes up almost ALL his time on the entry to corners, not the exit. The last time I checked traction control made absolutely no difference in that situation! 

Stoner and the Ducati are, in Rossi's words, "the perfect fit". THAT'S why he's a winner. He's a great rider on a bike that suits him.

Rossi is a racer. He's proven time and again that he can set a bike up. He's now under threat from Lorenzo and a rejuvenated Repsol Honda team and yet he's still there. He can cope with that, Stoner can't. That's the difference. 

I'm not gonna waste more time writing "piles of shit".

But please go look up the news article where Melandri, in 2008, said that Stoner was riding the Ducati with the Traction Control level several times higher than he was. The issue with Melandri was that he was unable to trust the computer in letting him pulling the throttle hard in plain corner exist.

Screw it, I went and looked the article up for you.

MotoGP: Traction control key to Casey Stoner's success

By Matthew Birt - MotoGP

12 February 2008 17:26

Struggling new factory Ducati rider Marco Melandri believes a huge part of Casey Stoner’s success is down to the Australian’s skill and confidence with the increased influence of rider aids in MotoGP.

Melandri, who has endured a torrid transition to the Ducati GP8 during winter testing, reckons it is in areas like traction control where reigning world champion Casey Stoner has got such a massive advantage.

Valentino Rossi recently described Stoner as the first of the ‘traction control generation’, with the Italian bemoaning the growing influence of electronics in the premier class.

Former world 250 champion Marco Melandri has seen first hand the devastating form Stoner can produce in winter testing and the Italian told MCN: “Casey uses a lot of traction control, and he is wonderful using it.

“I use very, very much less than him. Almost the next step down from the setting I use is zero and I am not able to use the potential of the system.

“It’s hard to use the throttle on the edge of the tyre because it made it so nervous.”

If you still don't believe me ou can do the following:

1) Next time you see a race pay close attention to the throttle bar in the on-board camera, you will see upon corner exit how the bar increases in an unsmooth manner.

2) And if you do have the chance to attend a race (or two), seat near the exit of a corner you will be able to hear the engine increasing in revs in a very abrupt and almost inhuman way.

3) Look at past races, if you've seen a race or two where Stoner fought with Rossi, you see the Ducati gain it's pace after the corner and when he loses it's always at corner entry to Rossi who is very strong in braking.

Perhaps what I wrote was not so much a "pile of shit", and it turns out your attitude resembles one. Good day.

+10000000.....to Michael Schumacher! Absolutely, Rossi has always been like this, that is, very open when it comes to opinions about other racers. He never shy away from making his point about anything! And yes, all those who are putting their "grey cells" to too much to test!!! you can definitely go and suck "that" bag!

And your friends who agreed with you that Rossi should keep his mouth shut. Please take them along!!