This is really quite funny.
IMO:
I don’t think there is an issue over who is breaking the rules. I don’t know why you are so vocal about Casey’s outburst. It is after all exactly what Rossi wants to hear.
As I said before, Rossi knows he does not have the full package to deal with Stoners raw speed and skill. Rossi is using every trick in the book to hold Stoner back, and that includes brake checking, running out wide, bar bashing and trying to get under Stoners skin. But that is all part of racing. He is trying to make things happen. And for Stoner to squeal about it at the end, is music to Rossi’s ears.
I raced for 10 years, and from my experience Rossi is showing signs of desperation. He is doing everything he can to stop Stoner. At Laguna, Rossi was a little better on the brakes and Casey carried more speed through the corners and had a better exit speed. The simple fact is, if Casey had got to the final turn before Rossi then he would have disappeared down the start & finish and Rossi would have been left for dust. Rossi knew this, and he never allowed Stoner to exit that last corner first. But there is a subtle change in Rossi’s body language both on and off the track which appear as desperate. I have seen it many times before, if he does not pull it off this year, I would be surprised if he comes back next year. Regardless of what he has signed. Yes I am saying if Stoner beats him to the title, I would not be surprised to see Rossi move on.
I disagree with your points about Stoner being on the BEST bike. Both riders have fantastic skill. But a riders abilty to do well on the track is not simply down to the power of the bike. Its about the whole team, a rider has to be able to effectively communicate to his mechanics on what is happening on the bike. So that they can then together set it up better.
Of course there will be occurrences where a rider will jump on a bike and do well straight away, but that is more a case of the bike just happened to be suited for him, or the feedback he got from the bike allowed him to ride to his full ability.
Stoner can get the bike set up for him really well, and his tyre degradation is OK. However, Melandri just can not get the bike set up. For whatever reason he can not get on with that bike. Stoners ability to be able to get the best out of the bike is key and it is this that which probably scares Rossi the most.
Rossi had the opportunity to join Ducati a couple of years back. But chose not to. Casey did and while the dukes had been doing OK they were still really developing in Moto-GP. Casey has come along and BANG they win a world champ. I am a big Rossi fan but there is no 2 ways about it, what Casey did when he went to Ducati just shows how much talent the lad has. And Rossi, knows it…. That is why he is desperate.
Look it another way. Rossi has been with Yamaha for a number of years now. He has the might of the Yamaha behind him, he is a multi world champion. He is probably in the top 5 riders of all time. He knows how to get the best out of the bike, he knows how to play the game and all his mechanics know what to do for him. And yet with all of that, Casey goes to a new and still developing team in 2007 and ummmm basically SMOKES them all. And he looks like he is going to do it again. That is TALENT.
Casey is not a “good rider”, he will prove to be one of the all time greats. And Rossi, well he will just have to take up golf like the rest of us. Or skydiving.
BP
