Casey Stoner - World Moto GP champ

[Mort]

Well the Aussie lad won it. But was it a convincing victory over Rossi ?

I would say almost but not quite. For me, Rossi is still the better rider and on several occasions this year where Stoner could not apply his superior tyres and engine power he did lose to Rossi. Rossi is riding better now than he ever did.

I don't detract from Stoners performance which was superb.... much better than Hayden who won the championship last year.. but there is no doubting that Rossi is riding a bike that is inferior to the Honda and the Ducati in a year where Bridgestone wiped the floor with Michelin.

Stoner is a worthy champion. His performances and the Ducati team were fantastic. For me though, Rossi is still the the best rider despite losing the championship and can still win another championship.

[Dan32]

I just think its a shame that no one took the fight to Stoner (including Michelin) this year making it probably the most boring MotoGP Championship ever and detracting from his achievement, even though I think he will struggle when people actually start battling with him - listen to him moan when interviewed about aggressive overtaking. Never heard the old school doing that. In fact they'd get off the bikes drenched in sweat laughing about how much fun they had just had swapping fairing paint!

You could probably count the number of overtakes on both hands for the whole season. Difficult to see how they can improve the racing next year but is there rumour that they're going to remove traction control or is that F1? If they choose the control tyre route, how about splitting the season equally between manufacturers so Dunlop, Michelin and Bridgestone each get to develop tyres and make it a surprise as to which one will be doing the race weekend. That would allow Stoner to prove its not just the tyres. Imagine the whole field on Dunlops!

[Lee_]

It does seem a somewhat hollow victory, but credit due where credit is due he did put in some fantastic rides and he's the champion.

I hope GP soon takes the same route as Formula 1 and bans the advanced electronic aids, that should make things infinitely more interesting.

For me rider of the year would probably be Nicky Hayden, to come from absolutely nowhere with a bike which didn't work, to a pole setter is good enough but to not complain about the bike or team and only criticise his own riding style is worthy of a mention.

Dani Pedrosa for world champion next year, Honda aren't far off the pace of Ducati now and Dani is a several time over world champ so should have what it takes to be the champ. Also his victory at the Sachsenring was absolutely crushing.

[Mort]

I'm not sure a control tyre is in the spirit of a prototype class like MotoGp but there is no doubt the gap between the Bridgestone and the Michelin was as wide as the gap to dunlop. There is speculation that Michelin will pull out of MotoGP anyway (they did it before in the early 1990's)

I think the big change this year was the use of electronic traction control.... I'd be in favour of banning these. This would look great to watch (like the old 990cc bikes) and ensure there was more emphasis on riders. Whether this would ever happen is another thing. The manufacturers have a big say in these things.

MotoGP was boring at times this year. The 800cc engine means there is less power to burn (so to speak). This forces higher corner speeds and requires very precise one-line cornering for bikes who are close enough to the limit to be up the front. Most of the close race action is in the mid-field. Lower top speeds also means shorter braking distances ... again this denies more passing opportunities (although Rossi was superb at Estoril). I hope the organisers do something about how MotoGP can be dull at certain tracks. Its a serious problem. It should be easy to fix with more power or less electronics. The 800cc format is not sucessful and something must be done.

[Cris]

I say well done to the Aussie. I'd say he's a more deserving winner than last year's.

I have little doubt that Rossi is still the better rider but Stoner could still increase his game if/when the pressure is on.

TC is good for bikes (if/when it filters down to the road) but it doesn't make racing fun to watch.

I say if a single rider/team have won ohhhh three races in a row then both riders must ride on a single 'tandem' bike for the next race. The front one steering/braking and the back one operating the throttle/gearbox.

[Dan32]

I say bring back the 990s. MotoGP is where we watch these god like figures riding their hearts out on machines that are more akin to angry bulls and make it look as difficult as it actually is. The 800s look like anyone could ride them quickly (reality would be somewhat different!). Much prefer it when the bikes are sliding about all over the place, smoking the tyres on the exit and backing it in on the entry to corners. 800s look like scalextric racers.

Think its difficult to enforce no traction control as very easy to hide the code in the ecu. Be interesting to see how F1 gets on next season with no traction control rule.

[R32Ash]

I'm another one in the 'slightly hollow victory' camp.

I do think Stoner has done really well to turn over a new leaf in that he's stayed on the bike a lot better this year, but I don't think he's anywhere near the rider that Rossi is. The difference in top speed between the Yamaha and Ducati on the fastest circuits is amazing, and the unbelieveable tyre problems that half the field suffered with this year certainly takes something away from Stoner's achievement.

If they banned T/C for next year, regardless of the 'control tyre' scenario, I think Rossi would really stamp his authority on the rest of the field.

[Luke]

You can only beat whats put in front of you though, Stoner was on the better bike/tyres combo for sure but thats hardly his fault. Yamaha was too slow in the push to catch up and so were the tyres. Rossi is probably one of the best riders of all time certainly our generation so to beat him no matter what is still some achievement wouldn't you guys say? The best thing now is that Honda and Yamaha seem to be closing the gap to the Dukes, so by next season we could seen closer races. Certainly the racing has not been as good as before but some of the races have been pretty good. Like others have said TC seems to give the big budget guys a hell of an advantage over lesser teams which seems unfair, dont Ferrari design the Ducati one? All I hope is that Motogp doesnt go down the F1 route, which is so boring now.

Oh and lets see some spinning, smoking tyres out of corners again please

[Lee_]

Magneti marelli provide for Ducati and I would imagine for Ferrari aswell.

Bring back some of this - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9bw5Ob_NgHo

[Mort]

... Here's another

and another

I could only dream...

.... and this is what happens when it goes wrong

Beat that F1 !!

[Lee_]

That Melandri one handed powerslide is simply awe-inspring.

[timps]

I give Stoner a little more credit for the championship.

When Honda was the dominant package it was a Honda one two nearly every week who ever was on a Honda stood a chance.

Capirossi was on the same bike and tyres as Stoner and struggled this year and he is no mug, if it was just the bike package that was the deciding factor I would have expected Capirossi to be a lot higher up the field.

It will be interesting to see how Marco Melandri does next year on the Ducati.

[Dan32]

I think Capirossi has struggled as he has become a dad this year and puts different perspective on riding the wheels off a 240bhp motogp bike. Also, Casey is someone who has adapted very quickly to the traction control allowing ducati to optimise it best for his riding style. In other words, ride up to corner, crack throttle open and let the electronics dictate how much power goes to the rear wheel. Don't forget, this is a man who spent a lot of the last year crashing and yet not once has he made a mistake in a race. This is also why the truly talented riders - Capirossi, Rossi, Hayden - have struggled as it was down to their right wrist for traction control.

[R32Ash]

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You can only beat whats put in front of you though, Stoner was on the better bike/tyres combo for sure but thats hardly his fault.

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I wouldn't argue with that at all.

My point is simply that Rossi being hampered by his equipment certainly takes something away from Stoner's achievement. I'm sure that Stoner himself would have much rather beaten Rossi on a more level playing field.

[Mort]

I still think Rossi is the best and I am not hyping him here. What he achieved on clearly a 3rd rate bike on 2nd rate tyres was brilliant. Stoner is the best of the rest in my opinion. A worthy world champion but he doesn't yet deserve to be called the best rider in the world. Stoner coyuld not have done what Rossi did on that Yamaha.

Stoners day will come though... He is a brilliantly talented rider...

Av another piccie...

[dukeboy749r]

[ QUOTE ]

... Here's another

and another

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Simply superb!

[dukeboy749r]

Well I am sure the powers that be will be doing whatever they feel they need to to ensure that there is a more 'even' spread next year.

But as has been said, you cannot fault Casey for making ht emost of what he had. And it is credit to a tiny factory like Ducati - where unlike WSBk and BSB, they don't really call the shots.

Nice one Casey