2009 MotoGP Round 1 - Qatar (Race Spoilers)

[The Don]

The villan is anyone that challanges Vale (Max, Sete, Stoner), Pedroso isnt in the hunt right now.

[Desmostro]

NO! I'm not saying I think Casey wins because of the bike, the tires, or any other singular element. At the end of the day, Casey kicks ASS!
I trust it's a team thing, and everything little thing helps, like Ducati chilling the fuel so that more calories fit in the tank, and all the other incredible attention to detail.
I'm guessing it all has to line up in that kind of competition.

Good point that Rossi won on those tires last year.

Comment based on hearing Rossi's prediction that his tires would be cooked by 7-laps-to-go and that the Duc was not as hard on the tires.
That's when Stoner gained most of his massive lead. Also about when Stoner said he turned off the fuel regulation.

Reading into it :

 tires were made for Casey after Bridgestone worked with Ducati for years and years
Please tell me you are not suggesting that its the tyre's that gave Stoner the win, or is it the bike, surely it couldn't be that he has skill

[desmoquattro]

I trust it's a team thing, and everything little thing helps, like Ducati chilling the fuel so that more calories fit in the tank, and all the other incredible attention to detail.

I thought that was against the rules in MotoGP?

[Desmostro]

I thought that was against the rules in MotoGP?

Commentary was made that the regulations are 15 degrees max chill below ambient temp. There is, they say on Eurosport, freezers in the back of the garage where they keep the tanks. Ducati was the only one who read the book and started doing that. Now it's common supposedly.
I heard pre-regulation SBK, Ducati had chilled fuel so much that riders would go out with a layer of ice on the tank like it was a can of frozed OJ. 

[Jester]

Comment based on hearing Rossi's prediction that his tires would be cooked by 7-laps-to-go and that the Duc was not as hard on the tires.

I didn't see where Rossi said the Duc would be fine on tires... but the comment about the tires being cooked wasn't just from Rossi.  The other races had the same issue and it was due to the track being dirty more than anything.  The dirty track was very abrasive on everyone's tires, including Stoner.  Rossi had to push extremely hard to take back ground on Stoner mid-race, and therefore ragged his front all to heck and had to eventually back off to avoid crashing and take his 20 pts.

[duc996]

It's ok to be a villain(stoner) as long as the villain keeps winning...then maybe the naysayers will start to like him.Being a hero(vale) is great,but i'm sure he is envious of Mr.Stoner right now.

[Jester]

It's ok to be a villain(stoner) as long as the villain keeps winning...then maybe the naysayers will start to like him.Being a hero(vale) is great,but i'm sure he is envious of Mr.Stoner right now.

Its still hard to be a hero if you don't endear yourself to the masses.  Win or not.  That's why Rossi's army is so big.  I like Stoner's ability, but I don't like the person.  He's kind of like Pedrobot in that respect to me.

[gm2]

It's ok to be a villain(stoner) as long as the villain keeps winning...then maybe the naysayers will start to like him.Being a hero(vale) is great,but i'm sure he is envious of Mr.Stoner right now.

...because he won a race?  one that everyone, probably including valentino, expected him to win?

didn't valentino win the championship last year with races to spare?

and besides wherever it was that his video thingy fell off the bike last year (Le Mans?), his front tire frustrations in the middle of the season, and then the complete schooling he got at Laguna, when in the world was stoner so nancy whiner?  he embarrassed himself after laguna, but then kinda retracted that crap and made up for it.

he made a lot more noise in 2007, just wanting credit for what he was doing. 


i don't get all this villain stuff.  you guys need to go back and watch the '02-'05 seasons. 

[Desmostro]

Stoner's too noble Ausi-apple pie for the Villon roll.
I'm just glad they're all there. Imagine the season without Vale, or Stoner, or the Sthpaniards... It would be so boring.

[BastrdHK]

Those are great pics!!!