MotoGP: Does Vale Have Casey's Number?

Valentino Rossi has won the last two MotoGP races, while Casey Stoner has fallen off in both, scoring a 2nd place and a DNF. Has Casey finally cracked under pressure from The Doctor?

At Laguna Seca, Casey Stoner was fastest in every session and expected to disappear into the wide blue yonder for one of his trademark tedious triumphs. But his arch-rival Valentino Rossi won the race using his knees and elbows. Stoner finally got flustered, missed his braking point, trundled off the track and ate some fine Californian gravel.

At Brno, Casey Stoner was fastest in every session and expected to disappear into the wide blue yonder for one of his trademark tedious triumphs. But his arch-rival Valentino Rossi won the race by hanging onto Stoner's pace, then suddenly banging in a fastest lap. Stoner finally got flustered, leant the bike over too far, flew off the track in a shower of sparks and ate some fine Czech gravel.

It was clear that the little Aussie was seriously flustered by the prospect of another bout of bumper cars with the Italian genius. He wanted to keep Rossi at arm's length. Instead, he got acquainted with the kitty litter.

This was the second time in as many races that the little Aussie had lost his amazing rapport with the Ducati and its Bridgestone tyres. Stoner hardly crashed at all on his way to the title last year, even in practise, even on test days. Now he's back to his 2006 form, when he spent more time in gravel traps than Ruben Xaus and Carlos Checa put together.

But why now? Why has he suddenly shown weakness? Because Valentino finally got close enough to race him properly. Show him the white line. Get close enough to make Casey think they would collide. Sure, they raced close once last year, but Casey won that battle.

It didn't help that after the Laguna Seca race, Stoner was whinging louder than an Australian who's just seen how far they are behind Great Britain in the Olympic medal table. Rossi smelled blood. He smelled Biaggi. Whining is a weakness. It means your opponent has ruffled your feathers. It would have been far better if Casey had buried his rage, shrugged off the pain and said "Two can play at that game!" but he didn't.

Rossi knows that if he elbows Stoner out to the edge of the track, he will get angry and frustrated. Now he also knows that if he starts lopping several tenths out of a Stoner lead, the young Aussie might push too far and fall off. The same as Biaggi used to. The same as Gibernau used to. The Doctor has done his fair share of whining too, but he doesn't get flustered and fall off twice in a row.

With Valentino holding a 50 point lead over Stoner, the rest of the season will be very interesting...