Question on Stoner post-race quote

 

"It is very disappointing for the weekend to end like this after showing
such a high level of performance in practice. Basically we took the decision
to put one lap on the race tyre in warm-up this morning to get it scrubbed
in: we've done it before and not had a problem but today I could feel from
the first lap that the grip wasn't right. After a few laps it started to
feel better and I was gaining confidence but it let go."

So was the problem that he only scrubbed in for one lap?

 

just bob wrote:

Seems to me he's done a "Dani Primadona" the last couple of races.
Blasted out front, got reckless, and pushed the limits too far on race
tires.  He knew going into that race that he was on a hard front and a
hard rear.

With those bikes, any of the riders, on any of the turns, could tuck the
front by going in too hot or not braking well.  That they don't, and can
stay upright for the whole race, indicates the level of skill they have.

We can all draw our own conclusions about the solo crashes that Pedrosa
and Stoner have had.

 


I really don't think so.  He'd done six laps on it before it let go.
I've started plenty of races on brand new (but hot) tyres without
issue.

--
Champ

 


I wonder if he's fallen into the trap (a gravel trap?) of believing
his own hype?

He's consistently the fastest in every session beofre the race. He
"knows" he's quicker than everyone else.

He then pulls out an early lead in the race; all according to plan.

Then Rossi upsets the applecart by starting to reel him in a tenth or
two at a time. Stoner, "knowing" that he's the quickest man on the
track, tries to up his pace slightly; if Rossi can do those times,
then Stoner must be able to, because he "knows" he's faster.

Except he can't because - on race tyres, on that circuit and with a
full tank - he isn't.

Someone on the BBC coverage (Roger Burnett?) mentioned that they
thought Stoner didn't do enough race simulation runs during practice
and qualifying. See above re believing his own hype.

 


There's something else going on here as well. Or maybe not. Watching
Rossi's practice times, it seems that his fastest split moves around
from one session to the next. Like he's either working on setup to
optimise one split at a time, or mentally working on one split at a time
and not trying so hard in the others. This gives the impression that his
race pace is less than it actually is. I remember days in the past when
he'd really want pole and put together a scarily fast lap where he could
be seen to be trying. I don't feel like I've seen that for a while. Like
he's working just hard enough to get on the front row but not trying to
beat Stoner's pole time. All this feeds Stoner's belief that he is 0.5s
faster. But then when it comes to race time, Rossi matches him lap for
lap.

Stoner's strength is to go 10/10ths every time out and to race the
track, not other people. So he's probably doing the right thing to try
and lead from the front. As long as it works of course.

Roll on Indy.

--
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