Mugello GP Spoiler

[T-byrd]

Really a fantastic race...Rossi had me laughing my ass off with that helmet.  Awesome!!! 

What I would give to see him ride a Duc, just a couple of laps around a track.  Come on Casey!  Lend him your bike! 

T

[ZLTFUL]

The unofficial reports (and the visuals I get from watching Stoner closely) is that the Duc is borderline unrideable...and Stoner is riding just close enough to the edge to keep it under control.

I mean just watch his drives out of corners...that thing headshakes like a school headmaster scolding Angus Young...


On a side note, once again Vale has made me proud to be among his fanbase.

Now if they would just produce that damned helmet...I would buy it in a heartbeat.

[Ash]

What I would give to see him ride a Duc, just a couple of laps around a track.  Come on Casey!  Lend him your bike! 

T

+1!!

[Ducatiloo]

13. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team (M) 43min 21.593 secs

Come to Ducati we will treat you right!

[Ducatiloo]

The unofficial reports (and the visuals I get from watching Stoner closely) is that the Duc is borderline unrideable...and Stoner is riding just close enough to the edge to keep it under control.

So whats changed in the Ducati pits this year?  Back in the day we had two great riders to test changes on the bikes....

[gm2]

The unofficial reports (and the visuals I get from watching Stoner closely) is that the Duc is borderline unrideable...and Stoner is riding just close enough to the edge to keep it under control.

sorry.. i just love any good excuse to use that one   

[Triple J]

The unofficial reports (and the visuals I get from watching Stoner closely) is that the Duc is borderline unrideable...and Stoner is riding just close enough to the edge to keep it under control.

It seems to have gotten a bit better.  It didn't look all that loose when compared to eveyone else at Mugello.  At least not that I saw.

[ZLTFUL]

I know the info is outdated but the point is still valid.

The reason Stoner was so good last year and hasn't performed quite that well this year is last year he had ALOT to prove. ANd he earned himself a ride for a while longer. Loris on the other hand had gotten way too comfortable with his perennial Ducati ride. It turned him into something of a prima donna. Currently, the reason he is riding above the other Duc riders is a similar kind of prima donna mentality. Those other riders have been in the premier class a while (by sport standards) now and feel that even if Ducati punts em, they can find another ride elsewhere. So they don't risk themselves nearly as much as Stoner does.

I love watching Stoner ride. He is going a million miles an hour with his hair on fire while riding the most un-rider friendly bike on the grid. Yes, they have improved the package but they still have a long way to go to get to a point where they will have 2 riders in the hunt for top honors in the class.

That being said, Rossi is my favorite so neener neener

[sqweak]

Loris is a prima donna?   The reason Loris didn't perform well last year is because they shifted from the 990cc bike, which was closer in riding style to the 500 2 stroke, to the 800cc that favored the high corner speed style of the 250s.  Comparatively, it'd been quite a while since Loris had ridden in that style and it took him a while to get his legs.  He started to come on at the end of season, but too little too late.  Don't get it mixed up, Loris made the decision to leave Ducati not the other way around.

Casey was able to adapt for two reasons: his 250 experience was fresher, and his dirt track experience gave him the skills to tame a bucking beast.  I believe the struggles we're seeing him endure this year are a result of losing Loris' excellent development skills.

[Jester]

The reason Stoner was so good last year and hasn't performed quite that well this year is last year he had ALOT to prove

Keep in mind for a solid portion of the season, his Duc was much, much faster than the other bikes on the grid.  We would watch riders make up some ground in the twisties and then get blown away on the straights.  Not so this year.  The Duc still looks unstable as hell despite any changes.  He's a champ just for riding that thing.  You guys see his near get-off towards the end of the race?  His ass end got around a tad and saw a puff of smoke off the tire.  Scary stuff.  I think we might see Casey dump the bike a few more times this year.  He's riding on the edge methinks.

[gm2]

The reason Stoner was so good last year and hasn't performed quite that well this year is last year he had ALOT to prove. ANd he earned himself a ride for a while longer. Loris on the other hand had gotten way too comfortable with his perennial Ducati ride. It turned him into something of a prima donna. Currently, the reason he is riding above the other Duc riders is a similar kind of prima donna mentality. Those other riders have been in the premier class a while (by sport standards) now and feel that even if Ducati punts em, they can find another ride elsewhere. So they don't risk themselves nearly as much as Stoner does.

i don't even know where to start with this one.

[gm2]

... shifted from the 1000cc bike...

core', weren't you arguing single digit and tenths-of-single displacement digits in another thread?  i really can't let you get away with a whole 10cc.
 

[sqweak]

core', weren't you arguing single digit and tenths-of-single displacement digits in another thread?  i really can't let you get away with a whole 10cc.
 

smartass

[ZLTFUL]

i don't even know where to start with this one.

Then run with it. Nothing wrong with healthy discussion and debate. We all have our favorite riders. Last year, mine gave up on his season and still gave a pretty good show. Fact is, I don't care who is winning as long as the racing is good. I would rather see my racer lose in a battle of 4 or 5 all the way to the finish rather than seeing one person dominate a race from beginning to end.

[darylbowden]

Then run with it. Nothing wrong with healthy discussion and debate. We all have our favorite riders. Last year, mine gave up on his season and still gave a pretty good show. Fact is, I don't care who is winning as long as the racing is good. I would rather see my racer lose in a battle of 4 or 5 all the way to the finish rather than seeing one person dominate a race from beginning to end.

Then I'll start...  Rossi gave up last year?  I wasn't aware of that.  I remember him having one of the slowest bikes on the grid, I remember 2 mechanical DNFs, I remember Michelin habing a shitty year, but the part about Rossi giving up eluded me - maybe I should follow more closely.

The reason Stoner was so good last year and hasn't performed quite that well this year is last year he had ALOT to prove. ANd he earned himself a ride for a while longer. Loris on the other hand had gotten way too comfortable with his perennial Ducati ride. It turned him into something of a prima donna. Currently, the reason he is riding above the other Duc riders is a similar kind of prima donna mentality. Those other riders have been in the premier class a while (by sport standards) now and feel that even if Ducati punts em, they can find another ride elsewhere. So they don't risk themselves nearly as much as Stoner does.

I love watching Stoner ride. He is going a million miles an hour with his hair on fire while riding the most un-rider friendly bike on the grid. Yes, they have improved the package but they still have a long way to go to get to a point where they will have 2 riders in the hunt for top honors in the class.

#1.  Stoner has more to prove this year than he ever did. If he wants to rid himself of the "it was the bike/tires" albatross, he needs to do it now that Rossi (whom everyone, including Stoner, is compared to obviously) is on the same "magic" tires.

#2.  Loris is a prima donna? A) He actually won a race for Ducati last year - WAYYYYY more than anyone not named Stoner has done on one this year.  B)  He was the developer of that championship-winning bike, so yeah, I'd say he was a little offended when they wanted him to ride on the Alice team - I would be too.

#3.  Stoner rides like he rides because that's how he rides, not because he needs to risk himself.  One of the reasons that he can get so much out of the Duc is that he can ride it with the electronics seriously "overpowering" him, whereas the other riders prefer more "control" over the bike.  It has been documented that he uses the electronic aids (TC, etc) on their highest setting where Marco and Elias both prefer it nearly off.

Where did you get this MotoGP psychology book btw?  You seem to know exactly what's going on inside all the rider's heads.