Is Stoner really the next big thing? You'd better believe it.
Ducati were always going to have a top speed advantage down the enormous 1.2km straight at Shanghai, and an acceleration advantage to go with it. However, the MotoGP race meeting didn't turn into the Ducati whitewash that everybody expected.
Alex Barros turned in some extremely quick lap times. Unfortunately he was doing them from miles behind the pack, after Toni Elias decided to turn from Hero to Zero, giving Nicky Hayden a fright by clipping his back wheel and dropping the Gresini Honda right in front of Barros's Ducati. The well-seasoned Brazilian was forced to a complete halt, ruining his race. The Kentucky Kid went through a gravel trap but kept going.
It was never going to be an amazing race at Shanghai, far and away the worst track on the calendar, its design process poisoned by the overblown, arrogant garbage that is Formula One.
The Japanese contingent tried valiantly to spice things up, with Nakano and Tamada colliding in the braking zone where the fast straight meets the idiotically slow hairpin. It wasn't clear from the TV pictures who was at fault, and the pair trudged off side by side. I can imagine the conversation between the two countrymen, both incandescent with rage:
Nakano: The collision was most unfortunate.
Tamada: I regret our coming-together.
(Unconvincing apologies are the Japanese equivalent of repeatedly beating somebody over the head with a golf club.)
At the front, Colin Edwards had started from the front row, and was rapidly disappearing.
Backwards.
The fight was between Stoner (quelle surprise, as they say in the Kawasaki garage) and Rossi, with Hopkins just about hanging onto them. Rossi had set an incredible pole position, 0.891 seconds faster than 2nd placed Hopkins. Stoner had settled for a 2nd row start, forced to qualify on his spare bike.
When they came to the back straight in the race, the Ducati showed an incredible turn of speed to visibly accelerate away from the Yamaha, shocking everybody who has just woken up after being in a coma for the last several months. The onboard view from Rossi's bike showed the Ducati simply disappearing into the distance. Valentino must have been wondering if his tubby companion Uccio was sitting on the back of his bike, weighing it down.
The young Aussie was his usual unflappable self, reacting with total indifference to Rossi's attempts to unsettle him. The Doctor managed to pass Stoner in the twisty bits a couple of times, and the cocky antipodean calmly followed the Italian, then motored past him on the straight. It was The Doctor who cracked, flying off the track onto the tarmac runoff after missing his braking point.
Hopkins sneaked past while Rossi was taking the scenic route, but the 7-times champion soon retook 2nd place.
Stoner took the chequered flag for his 3rd win in 4 races, now 15 points ahead of Rossi in the championship. Hopper was overjoyed by his first podium finish. Now that monkey is off his back, he should be able to stay calm instead of trying too hard and hopping off into gravel traps.
The second Ducati was Capirossi in 6th. He was riding slightly hurt after a low-speed crash with Vermeulen in qualifying, which left the little Italian with ripped leathers and an injured arm, while the Australian hurt a foot. Still, it showed that simply being on a Ducati was not enough to beat everybody.
MotoGP has discovered a new star in Casey Stoner. He has utterly eclipsed Dani Pedrosa, who everybody thought would challenge Rossi this year. When Stoner talks about racing with Rossi, he says that The Doctor is just another guy to beat. If anybody else said that, I would think "Yeah, right!" But when Stoner says it, he is deadly serious. He doesn't feel any pressure at all from racing with the Greatest Of All Time.
This year's Ducati is one hell of a machine. Stoner is one hell of a rider. This year's championship already looks like a two horse race between the Aussie and Valentino Rossi. One thing's for sure: whichever of them wins the title, nobody will be claiming that he did not deserve it.
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10 comments:
How is possible that Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha can not match Ducati's engine performance is beyond me. I read that they checked even the temperature of the gasoline used by the red missile from Borgo Panicale. Does anybody have any hint on what is behind the huge difference in power?
I've heard that the secret might be in the fuel consumption. Apparently they use very little fuel under braking and in the corners, leaving plenty to burn on the straights.
I have also heard that Suzuki have a very powerful new engine that will appear in about 2 races time. Maybe that will close the gap.
interesting ....very interesting! who knows if the jap are going to copy the idea or they have their own plans? Someone must have lose his/her job if doesn't come up with the right solution. On the other end it seems (read it a couple of weeks ago) that the Ducati in WSBK has pretty much reached the ceiling on the engine evolution.
Ducati certainly know plenty about engines.
It is surprising how a small company best known for big, grumbling V-twin engines can make the best little V4 screamer, while Honda's engine is a pile of junk.
Ducati have a MotoGP engine that produces Italian power, but with Japanese reliability!
Jim, what do yiou think with the idea to eliminate 125cc and 250cc by 2012? It seems that the 2 stroke will disappear for ever. It started several years ago in motocross and now is will happened to road racing too. Recently I had the opprtunity for a couple of sessions at the race track with an Aprila 250cc: I have never had so much fun! Light, quick on the stearing and no engine brake. Suddenly I started seeing the track in a different perspective arching my lines as much as I could to keep the throttle opened that it was closed only to slam on the brakes well after my usual brake markers ... At the end I even thought to purchase one if I will the opportunity.
So, you developed a Max Biaggi riding style!
2-strokes are disappearing in the real world because they emit a lot of pollution. I think they will disappear on the racetrack too. There are questions about replacing the 125 and 250GP bikes with 4-strokes. Will they end up with slipper clutches and traction control?
I'm not sure what's going to happen with them.
In the States a lot of new racers compete for a while with Suzuki 650 and then go racing with 600, 750 or 1000. Personally I never ridden one in the race track but judging from the body position it cannot be compared to a 250cc. I do not mind the use of a modern and smart 4 stroke engine as long as the final feeling on track it will be similar to the old one. As matter of the fact you can adjust the rear set and seat as much as you want but an ex-street bike will never feel like a race-born 2 stroke.
I think it is safe to say the Rossi era is over! Stoner is younger and better.
i eat my words after that race. Unbelievable!
Yes, Rossi hasn't forgotten how to win races. The championship will be pretty close!
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