If Stoner won the championship....

 If Stoner won the championship, wouldn't that be the first time that a
rider won the championship riding a bike other than a Yamaha/Honda/
Suzuki since 1974?

Using my friendly neighbourhood Wikipedia, I note that no 500cc/MotoGP
championships were won by riders on Japanese bikes before 1974 (though
Honda won the 125 and 250 championships in 1961, and there were plenty
of champions riding Japanese bikes in the smaller classes after that),
and no championships have been won by riders riding anything other
than Yamaha/Honda/Suzuki since then.

Could a Stoner championship even be considered historic?

 

Without a doubt. A rookie on a bike that's never come close to winnning
consistently? It would be huge.

...pablo

 pablo wrote:

A rookie? No doubt it would be significant, but huge, or historic? Not
sure about that. It would likely be huge in Europe, because it would be
the first championship by a European manufacturer in over three decades.
It would also be Bridgestone's first championship, and the first time
Michelin has lost since 1991. Given that they'd pulled official factory
support from the series that year, you really have to go back to 1984.
And "never came close to winning consistently" is a bit of a stretch,
isn't it? Capirossi won three races last year, second only to Rossi,
finished third in points, only 23 behind the champion, and had he not
tangled with Gibernau in Barcelona he might well have won the championship.

If Ducati wins this championship you can thank Bridgestone and the
change in the class definition at least as much as the bike. Would
Stoner stand much of a chance if he was on Michelins and they were still
racing 990s? I have my doubts. I think the biggest power shift that may
be happening in MotoGP right now is from Michelin to Bridgestone, and
Ducati is the largest profiter in that.

 

Can you still class Stoner as a rookie ... this is his 2nd season.

 

You can, in my opinion. The guy's 21, it's his frist year on a Dicati, and
the Ducati does not have a track record of success, with a reputation on
stability but lazy reflexes. It's quite obvious he rides in a very inspired
way, and takes risks in doing so. May the gods of racing help him instill
some long term changes into MotoGP.

Early on in the season we though Rossi had it wrapped up on a superior
Yamaha. We certainly thought too quickly.

...pablo