"Elias is also supposedly a little bit happier since they had him come to Bologna for a meeting with Preziosi. Apparently he (Preziosi) is really interested in getting feedback from all the riders, and he is making adjustments according. Melandri said Preziosi helped him a lot, and Elias implied he might even get some specific parts just for him." that cold only make me laugh ANYONE FORGOT WHAT HAPPENED WITH BARROS WHEN HE BEAT STONER ??? of course they are getting worried now when Stoner doesn't have the advantage
Puig said the same things as any other "manager , nothing new or surprising and nothing that should make you think of Hayden . When Pedrosa will get a few more "rpms not even Rossi will keep with him . The title is his

Being on the podium every round and winning when you can is what wins multiple championship - Lawson and Rainey were standouts for that and won 4 and 3 respectively. Win or bin wins races and no championships. The serious boys like winning races but know their job is the title.

I didn't mind Stoner last year but he seems like a bitter kid this year - all indications pre-season were for a Stoner romp to his second title and nothing has happened as indicated (2nd year in a row for that, Yamaha was going to dominate '07, remember?) which seems to have fouled his mood.

I can imagine Melandri and Elias being a little happier but I think the nature of Shanghai played to the 'strengths' of the Ducati and unless there was a major breakthrough they'll return to the back at Le Mans. I'm probably wrong as usual... I seriously doubt Melandri will be consistently beating Stoner on that bike in the near future. It surprises me that you are hoping for that, RR, and that you don't like Stoner. Why could that be?

garyb425 - 07 May 2008 09:48 AM

I didn't mind Stoner last year but he seems like a bitter kid this year - all indications pre-season were for a Stoner romp to his second title and nothing has happened as indicated (2nd year in a row for that, Yamaha was going to dominate '07, remember?) which seems to have fouled his mood.

The "honeymoon" is over... Adriana has cut him off.

Dosed, PeePee isn't gonna win unless Rossi or B-Stone has problems. It is possible, but it will not be through PeePee's merit. Rossi still ownes him. The tire war might ruin this season as well, and that would be a real shame.


Garry, I have been a Stoner hater for a long time now. Couldn't stand him and the hype in 250's, and loved seeing him demoted to 125's. While PeePee seems to have grown up a bit, Stoner still seems like the same brat. And, just as a matter of nationality... I couldn't stand Dovi's personality in the past. Talk about arrogant. Dovi was one of the worst by far. He has been more humble in motogp, which is a surprise since the Italian media is already all over him, and already calling for him to take Nicky's seat.

Last week on the tv post race, they asked, "Do you think you are ready for a Honda factory seat?" and he replied, "Yes, I think I am definately ready." Still a cocky little punk. But if he takes Nicky's seat it would be a kind of sweet irony, since Nicky got the seat in the first place when he didn't deserve it.


But yeah, not to babble on (slow day at work), ESPN Classic is showing races from the 2003 season. Amazing to watch the 125's from that year. Suzuka featured a battle for the lead amongst Dovizioso, DeAngelis, Stoner, Pedrosa and others. Dovi and DeAngelis hit eachother in turn 1 after a few laps and both were out. Stoner crashed on his own (of course), and Pedrosa ran wide in the last laps. So who wins amongst all those future stars of MotoGP? Locatelli the 125 specialist? Nope... Stefano Perugini. A kid from Rome who is probably washing cars right now. Funny how the world works.

Seems ironic to me that Ducati caught everyone with their pants down last season, now it seems if the opposite has happened... it seems to me that Honda and Yamaha have caught DUC with their pants down.

Could it be that Yamaha and Honda were so embarassed last year that DUC winning the title only served to wake the beasts (YAM & HON)?



Its not like Stoner forgot how to ride or anything, it appeared that he is pushing the bike just as hard now as he was last season.



As far as Melandri having anything for Stoner consistently? I don't think any of the DUCs can hang with Stoner this year.


It would be cool to see Elias do better if he does get the parts he wants and all that stuff RR told us about. But seriously? I don't see Elias, Guintoli or Melandri doing anything of note with the DUC.

And of DUC don't get really aggressive, YAM and HON may very well leave DUC way way behind. With the resources and cash flow that YAM and HON have, we may very well have seen the end to a very short era (DUC domination).

Not to mention that Michelin obviously dug in and raised their game....... in fact Rossi jumping ship could end up blowing up in his face, but you have to admit, Rossi has really adapted to the Stones really well.



As far as PeePee having anything for Rossi? Not as far as I can tell, not much in the past and certainly not now. Rossi broke Peepee quite easily in the last laps, and IMO Rossi did it at will and could have at any point in the race.

Don't get me wrong, as much as I hate Peepee, I would love to see him stick it to Rossi, and unless YAM drops the ball, I don't see that happening.

So I guess my only real hope to see Rossi loose another is Lorenzo.

Is he the real deal? I certainly think so... and felt that way before his high side. After? Man he rode a great race injured or not.

But alas I really don't think Lorenzo can take Rossi this year... but maybe it can happen!!!!

mrmega - 07 May 2008 02:18 PM

Could it be that Yamaha and Honda were so embarassed last year that DUC winning the title only served to wake the beasts (YAM & HON)?

I think Yamaha and Honda set the bar too low last in year in their expectations of what an 800cc GP bike was capable of, where Ducati didn't have a standard to meet and simply made the best bike they could. Toss in Michelin resting on their laurels and you have the recipe for a long season.

I had a feeling Yamaha and Honda would be back with a vengeance (although in the off-season it didn't look that way), Michelin was the great unknown.

dosed - 07 May 2008 09:36 AM

"Elias is also supposedly a little bit happier since they had him come to Bologna for a meeting with Preziosi. Apparently he (Preziosi) is really interested in getting feedback from all the riders, and he is making adjustments according. Melandri said Preziosi helped him a lot, and Elias implied he might even get some specific parts just for him." that cold only make me laugh ANYONE FORGOT WHAT HAPPENED WITH BARROS WHEN HE BEAT STONER ??? of course they are getting worried now when Stoner doesn't have the advantage
Puig said the same things as any other "manager , nothing new or surprising and nothing that should make you think of Hayden . When Pedrosa will get a few more "rpms not even Rossi will keep with him . The title is his

RPMs won't make a difference for Pedro, Rossi just outrides him every time. Did you actually watch the race and see Rossi skunk Pedro coming out of the parabolica turn onto the back straight? Every lap, lap after lap. It was great

Pedro's gonna have to hope there are a lot of Michelin tracks on the sched this year if he's gonna win. Also gonna have to do good at any rain races. Just like I don't think Hayden will ever win a MotoGp race again, Pedro will never win a MotoGp title imo.

Pedro, and everyone, still have to contend with VR til he retires, and then you throw in Lorenzo/Dovisioso/Stoner and Ben Spies!!! in the coming years and you'll see he's racing against hardened racers. Dani can't pass the best on the brakes and that will always hurt him just like his wet race performance. He's gonna need luck, more than the usual, to win a title.

Again, just my opinion.

tzpilot - 08 May 2008 05:32 AM

Pedro, and everyone, still have to contend with VR til he retires, and then you throw in Lorenzo/Dovisioso/Stoner and Ben Spies!!! in the coming years and you'll see he's racing against hardened racers. Dani can't pass the best on the brakes and that will always hurt him just like his wet race performance. He's gonna need luck, more than the usual, to win a title.

I'm still puzzled by Dani's pathetic weakness on the brakes. Is it just his riding style and/or the way he likes the bike set up? Is it lack of upper body strength? What gives?

At Portugal Dani flat out could not get by Lorenzo or Rossi on the brakes, and if that's the case, he is never going to beat either one of them head-to-head. His only hope is to lead from the front and never look back, or pass on the straights.

That said, if HRC can get that pneumatic-valve engine out before the championship is out of reach, maybe Dani's poor braking skills won't matter.

MMsports54 - 08 May 2008 09:38 AM

I'm still puzzled by Dani's pathetic weakness on the brakes.

Just looking at the Estoril highlights, Pedrosa passed Dovizioso, Lorenzo and Rossi on the brakes, though of course he was ultimately re-passed by Lorenzo.

Pedrosa's size and weight means he has less ability to keep the back-end down under hard braking.

garyb425 - 08 May 2008 02:49 PM

I think Pedrosa's braking skill is vastly under-rated, but I'm so tired of hearing about it that I rarely reply to it any more.

There's a shred of truth in it, like his wet-weather weakness, but it's often out of proportion to the reality. I also noticed that at the end of Shanghai's back straight, at one of the most extreme sections in the calendar for hard braking, Pedrosa was hardly losing any ground to Rossi (though of course he never passed Rossi there either).