Has your Attitude towards Stoner Changed?

[Raux]

I think Stoner was a 'victim' of the new Ducati ownership. They do not want anyone to bad mouth the GP bike as it's about to be the so-called flag bike for the entire lineup as the new SBK.

They are betting the farm on this concept and it's better to blame the rider than the tech.

What they did to Stoner last year when he was sick sucked. and again sucked.

Why any rider would sign with them after they tossed Stoner to the Sharks I don't understand.

[gm2]

What they did to Stoner last year when he was sick sucked. and again sucked.

he also handled that very, very poorly.

[Triple J]

I don't think ducati letting him go had anything to do with him "bad mouthing" the bike. Personally I think Ducati (and Marlboro) just tired of Stoner's attitude towards PR tasks...and maybe more importantly they didn't recognize his unique ability to ride their bike fast. I think they figured anyone could do it, especially Vale or JLo.

My guess is they miss him now...or at the very least recognize how good he was/is.

After the JLo contract issue, I doubt there is anything they could have done to keep him. They had maybe the best rider in the paddock on their team, and they treated him as expendable. Now he's kicking their ass. 

[ducpainter]

he also handled that very, very poorly.

No shit

[Jester]

I agree about Stoner's attitude towards PR and honestly Rossi is 10x more press and PR even when he's riding around midpack.  They get just as much press one way or another. ( really more press because everyone wants to know what is wrong )  Lorenzo would have failed on the Ducati the same as Rossi in my opinion.  They are both very similar styles that stress a good front end bike.  Stoner's style doesn't need the same stability to succeed because he uses the rear so much more.  He's doing the same on the Honda as he did with Ducati for the most part, except the front end is solid so he actually finishes races he doesn't win lol.  He's also matured a bit as a racer.  I don't think anyone has ever not recognized how good Stoner is.  He's just not the ideal marketing tool and that ultimately pays for those rides every year.

[lazylightnin717]

^^^ very good point on riding styles

I hadn't thought of it in that way before

[CairnsDuc]

But I notice that Steve Parrish has said that while Stoner was at Ducati he was a very prickly person to try and Interview, his emotions were bubbling away just under the surface, and it wouldn't take much for him to get stirred up, he has noticed this year he is much more relaxed, he is a lot happier/smiling and happier to talk to the press.

I wonder how much of that is Honda and there PR people coaching him or the fact he now is on a bike that goes where it's told to and doesn't try to throw you off and kill you if you take it anywhere near a corner. Or a combination of both?

I don't think ducati letting him go had anything to do with him "bad mouthing" the bike. Personally I think Ducati (and Marlboro) just tired of Stoner's attitude towards PR tasks...and maybe more importantly they didn't recognize his unique ability to ride their bike fast. I think they figured anyone could do it, especially Vale or JLo.

Interesting point Triple J, but again to play Devils Advocate, I wonder if it was also a case of Stoner getting tired of playing nice in front of the Camera's to make the Corporate Power Brokers happy, but the second those Camera's were off, they were telling him and his Team Mate that all the bikes problems were in there Head, and to Shut up and perform. Eventually you are going to get sick and tired of Slapped in the face with one hand, and patted on the back with the other. just to throw in a different take on things 

[thought]

same. never thought of it that way... that makes a whole lotta sense.

made me think of this video, wish there was a 1000fps version of him taking it the duc:



so what ducati really needs is another rider who just backs it into every corner?

1199 flat tracker?  haha

also, i'm guessing it's also just him getting older that's making him mellow out.  i mean, he's only 25 now and started moto gp around 20-21.  i was even worse of an idiot than i am now when i was that age haha.  he's married and has a kid now, so things are prob settling in nicely for him, he doesnt have to prove himself like when he first started.  and he also has a machine that works really well, and he's winning finally.

the question is... if he manages to break all of rossi's records... would you ever consider him the g.o.a.t.?  i dont think i could.  it's like how lennox lewis was a great fighter and has a great record... but he was a pretty boring heavyweight champ.

[Triple J]

he's married and has a kid now, 

He was married while at Ducati...and he has a kid on the way

[Grampa]

Stoner is fast because he has to be. He married way up the food chain and knows he's only a couple of steps away from the podium to shopping at Walmart with Hopper.

[gm2]

he was married before the 2007 season even started, so technically he was married before he was at ducati.

and ducati didn't let him go -- he left.  he was the first move of the 2011 silly season, very early on.  he was open about the fact that he was pissed about the jlo offer the year before.  and, obviously, Suppo made it very easy for him to move.  i think they planned that about a year before it was announced.

[desmoquattro]

...Suppo made it very easy for him to move.  i think they planned that about a year before it was announced.

And therein, IMHO, lies one of the core problems. Ducati's key behind the scenes talent started abandoning ship in 2008/2009.

Suppo + <insert team here> + Stoner = #Winning

[Jester]

the question is... if he manages to break all of rossi's records... would you ever consider him the g.o.a.t.?  i dont think i could.  it's like how lennox lewis was a great fighter and has a great record... but he was a pretty boring heavyweight champ.

Give this some time.  After last year, you would have though Lorenzo is the next one to assault Rossi's records.  He's smooth as silk, a great racer at his age, and fast as heck.  However you need the bike too, and the Yam is just a hair off the pace.  Its tough to put together extended dominance.  It takes lots of skill, plenty of luck, and revolving circumstances to keep going your way.  Rossi managed to race for a decade and a half before a major injury struck him.  That's hard to do, let alone getting a good bike underneath you for the majority of that timespan.

[gm2]

Ducati's key behind the scenes talent started abandoning ship in 2008/2009.

also the timeframe (latter part of 2008 + 2009 silly season) where even motogp hopefuls were turning down the chance to ride a ducati.  that's where the get-the-dirt-tracker idea came from.

[desmoquattro]

also the timeframe (latter part of 2008 + 2009 silly season) where even motogp hopefuls were turning down the chance to ride a ducati.  that's where the get-the-dirt-tracker idea came from.