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Arsen Q Mark N 06-27-2008
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Posted by Champ on June 28, 2008, 5:54 pm
On Sat, 28 Jun 2008 12:31:14 -0700, Mark N

>>> Rossi and Pedrosa have to be really careful here. Assuming they both
>>> expect Stoner to ride off into the distance, they both need to be
>>> second, but a slip by either will let Stoner right back in the game.
>>
>> And so it turned out.
>
>Well, sort of - it's not obviously the case that he was pushing it to
>beat either Stoner or Pedrosa when you go down in the third corner on
>the first lap in heavy traffic.

I think he was just desparate not to let Stoner get away - he had his
(usual nowadays) poor start, and was in 6th, and new Stoner would be
checking out. We've seen him make mistakes like this before (eg last
year in Germany).

>But, yes, that changes everything for
>Rossi, who's now only 25 points up on Stoner. For Stoner, he's now only
>29 out of the points lead, so certainly within reach, although he
>can't really afford his own mistake down the road either. Nine races to
>go, so now at the halfway point and plenty of time left.

It's wide open now, sure.

--
Champ
neal at champ dot org dot uk

Posted by Julian Bond on June 28, 2008, 6:29 pm
>While Lorenzo is definitely out of it now, it sure looks like headed
>toward a three-way collision between Stoner, Rossi and Pedrosa at the
>end...

I really don't think he can do it but its too early to count out
Lorenzo. 57 points off Pedrobot and 28 behind Stoner. 9 races is a long
time.

It's been strange listening to Ryder up to the actual race predicting
Stoner and Rossi going in to Valencia equal and having a blind spot for
Pedrosa. When it's Pedrosa who comes out of this race in front. I guess
we're all still waiting for Pedrosa to actually race anyone. And the way
the camera cuts from Pedrosa on the podium to Puig in the crowd is
beginning to get a bit spooky. Not to say downright weird.

--
Julian Bond E&MSN: julian_bond at voidstar.com M: +44 (0)77 5907 2173
Webmaster: http://www.ecademy.com/ T: +44 (0)192 0412 433
Personal WebLog: http://www.voidstar.com/ skype:julian.bond?chat
Do Not Expose To Heat

Posted by Mark N on June 28, 2008, 9:42 pm
Julian Bond wrote:
> Mark N
>> While Lorenzo is definitely out of it now, it sure looks like headed
>> toward a three-way collision between Stoner, Rossi and Pedrosa at the
>> end...
>
> I really don't think he can do it but its too early to count out
> Lorenzo. 57 points off Pedrobot and 28 behind Stoner. 9 races is a long
> time.

That's an awfully big ask, particularly when you have three proven guys
to pass. Out of the four guys who broke away at the beginning of the
year he was the one I took least seriously, because I thought as a MGP
rookie he'd make the mistakes that would kill a championship. Which is
what happened. I do think he'll come back now, and I think he'll get
another win yet (making him one of those EuroMed ex-250 rookie
sensations with two wins, joining Cadalora, Biaggi, Rossi and Pedrosa),
but the championship? No way.

I have to say he's really impressed me so far this year. Not only has he
carried himself differently than I thought, but he really does have
serious talent on the bike, looking like a guy who can almost do that
"water thru a screen door" thing you've mentioned about Rossi (although
"screen door" Vermeulen got slammed today!). Yes, he's got a great bike,
great tires and of course a weight advantage, but one can see a
compelling figure there anyway. And it IS the year of the Rat...

> It's been strange listening to Ryder up to the actual race predicting
> Stoner and Rossi going in to Valencia equal and having a blind spot for
> Pedrosa. When it's Pedrosa who comes out of this race in front. I guess
> we're all still waiting for Pedrosa to actually race anyone. And the way
> the camera cuts from Pedrosa on the podium to Puig in the crowd is
> beginning to get a bit spooky. Not to say downright weird.

Yeah, he almost didn't mention Pedrosa in his post-race Soup column.
Maybe it's just a case of someone predicting what they want to see, and
unlike Lorenzo, Pedrosa simply isn't a very compelling character on an
emotional level. He's totally lacking in public personality, the "Dani's
brain" Puig thing just loads on top of that, and it doesn't help that he
rides for Honda, with pockets so deep and cold that only a spelunker
could love 'em. You'd wish that at some point he'd just say to Alberto,
"Hey, pooch, pack your bags, I've going it alone from now on, dude". But
of course that won't happen.

Since Valencia last year I've felt he'd win this championship, although
I haven't quite done so consistently. That he leads it even with the
injury he had last winter and the dog-slow development of the pneumi
motor really says something. On a certain level a championship is just a
collection of points, just as a Pedrosa race win is just a collection of
fast laps. He may not quicken the pulse or warm the heart, but he
certainly can be effective.

I'm not sure that he gets the credit he's due because of all that. A
couple years ago I think Pablo said that Rossi had complimented Pedrosa
for having figured out a different way to ride a 250 because of his
size. Now Pablo extrapolated that into Pedrosa even being at a
disadvantage on a 250, which I think is crap, but he certainly must have
had to figure out a different way to ride a MotoGP machine. To some
extent it's letting the machine do all the work, since he probably
impacts it less than any rider out there at his size, but it sure looks
different to me. The downside may be that he's simply at a disadvantage
in direct combat, he can't make it do things it doesn't want to do.


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