Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner produce stunning US Grand Prix battle, but Australian unhappy at some 'aggressive' moves.
It was the race MotoGP fans have been waiting for, but certainly hadn't expected, at Laguna Seca on Sunday - when Valentino Rossi overcame a practice deficit to battle furiously with reigning world champion Casey Stoner for 24 of the 32-lap US Grand Prix.
Stoner, winner of the past three rounds, held a commanding half-second advantage over the field throughout practice and qualifying, leaving Rossi to joke about needing a 30-second head start to prevent the reigning world champion taking his fourth victory in a row on Sunday.
But some pre-race modifications extracted vital tenths out of Rossi's YZR-M1 and he combined his new found pace with a clear strategy of counter-attacking whenever the Australian took the lead.
That determination to 'smother' Stoner's advantage resulted in some thrilling overtaking: Stoner twice lost the lead to Rossi at the top of the Corkscrew - Valentino running over the dirt to make the second pass stick, forcing them both wide - and Stoner was twice block-passed by the Italian under braking for Turn Five.
Rossi also put up a stubborn defence. Stoner, who had closed to within 20 points of Rossi heading into the event, was stronger along the curved home straight - something Rossi reacted to by covering the inside, forcing Stoner to ride the long way around.
Stoner still made several such brave moves stick, but - just as Rossi had surely been hoping - began to show signs of frustration when he ran wide into the double apex second turn just moments after squeezing past the #46 on lap 14.
It took Stoner less than two laps to bridge the half second lead the mistake had handed Rossi - but his next error had more serious consequences. On lap 24 of 32 Stoner's rear wheel bobbled as he braked hard for the tight final turn, forcing the Desmosedici rider to run off track - where his front wheel dug into some soft gravel, tipping him over.
That mistake handed Rossi his first victory since June Italian's Grand Prix by 13 seconds from Stoner, who in turn finished 13 seconds in front of third placed Chris Vermeulen, riding in what seemed like a different race.
In terms of fastest laps, Stoner's best was 0.225secs quicker than Rossi - but third fastest Vermeulen was over one second slower than Stoner!
It had been a truly epic display of racing talent, but when Rossi attempted to shake hands with Stoner in parc ferme immediately afterwards, an angry Stoner refused.
A smiling Rossi responded by patting Stoner on the back and saying "this is racing."
"Oh this is racing?" replied Casey. "Okay, we'll see..."
There hasn't been such parc ferme tension since Rossi and Sete Gibernau collided at the final turn of the 2005 Spanish Grand Prix, but it should be remembered that Stoner was speaking in the heat of the moment and whilst still coming to terms with losing a race he looked certain to dominate.
Stoner and Rossi appeared on more amicable terms by the time the podium ceremony took place, although Stoner later stood by his claim that some of Rossi's moves were 'aggressive' - while taking full responsibility for the accident that ultimately cost him a chance of victory.
"We [Rossi and Stoner] were side by side much of the race," said Stoner. "There were a couple of moves I wasn't very happy with. Valentino was riding a great race and was very defensive and hard to pass. He wasn't making any mistakes. I was basically trying to find the right place to get past.
"I thought the passing was a little rough. I've done a lot of overtaking moves, and there were a couple of passes which were some of the most aggressive I've seen in a long time," he explained. "Just a couple I wasn't happy with. The others were fine - clean side by side.
"I made a mistake going into the last corner and I hit a big patch of sand instead of dirt and just lost the front of the bike when I was trying to get back on track," confirmed Casey. "I have to deal with it."
Ducati MotoGP Project Leader Livio Suppo backed his riders comments, calling some of Rossi's moves 'over the limit' whilst highlighting the exceptional talents of Rossi, Stoner and the absent Dani Pedrosa.
"It was a very tight race, spectacular to watch and evidence that it is not only the electronics that make the difference in this sport, but two riders who are one step above everybody else at the moment," he said. "Dani is also a part of that small club but unfortunately he wasn't here today.
"After three straight victories for Casey, today was Valentino's turn, that's fair enough. For sure if Casey had not shown a tremendous coolness and maturity, there would have been at least a few occasions in which they both could have crashed as a result of manoeuvres which, in our opinion, were a bit over the limit on Vale's part," he declared.
Rossi responded to the criticism by saying: "I need the tactics I need to win, and for sure, we make it hard for overtaking... I am sorry that Casey thinks some of [the passes] were a bit strong but I really don't agree; I passed only on the brakes, I braked in the same places every time and we never touched. Of course this was an aggressive race, but it was definitely a fair one... I enjoyed the battle, anyway."
Valentino, the master mind games, is unlikely to lose sleep over disapproving words from either Stoner or Suppo and was soon reliving 'a hell of a battle'.
"For me this race is fantastic," he said. "It is my first victory in Laguna Seca. We made some modifications to our bike after warm-up and these gave us the last few tenths that enabled me to fight with Casey today.
"I got a good start and I was able to pass him in the first lap, but I knew I had to try and stay in front of him and it was impossible to relax even for one second. My M1 was brilliant and so were my Bridgestone tyres; I really only made one mistake, at the corkscrew when I went a bit wide but in fact the dirt had quite good grip also!
"Casey was a bit faster on the straight than me but I was stronger on the brakes so I had to make all my passes there. I don't know how many times we changed the lead but it was a lot and it was great, great racing for me and I think also for the fans, because it's been a while since we've been like this.
"It was a hell of a battle, a lot of fun and it is an important victory," smiled the seven time world champion.
Rossi also explained why he stopped at the top of the Corkscrew to kiss the ground during his slowdown lap. "The Corkscrew is difficult [for me] in 2005 and 2006. I practiced and practiced to make it right," he said.
"Although it was not there, we saw the 'heart' on Valentino's helmet again today!" said team manager Davide Brivio. "This is a great victory because throughout the entire weekend we were at a disadvantage, but nobody ever gave up and we worked until the very last minute to find a way to help Valentino to fight with Casey.
"We tried to optimize everything we had and at the end 'The Doctor' completed the operation! This was a race Valentino did not want to lose. This is Valentino, one who never gives up and fights until the end. I hope to see battles like this one until the end of the championship," he added.
Rossi is now looking forward to enjoying a much needed holiday - but expects Yamaha to use the time off until Brno on August 17 to work flat out on improvements to keep his M1 at the top of the world championship standings.
"We have to work, to fix some of our problems, because it is a race to the end and the battle will be very hard. I have 25 points, which is a good advantage, but it's not amazing," he warned. "But anyway it was a good outcome. We have to work to try to go fast because last year was a disaster for us. There were a lot of problems. Today I have more points now than I had in all of last year, and I still have seven races to go. I'm strong and I'm ready for the battle."
Stoner meanwhile was quick to put the outcome of the US Grand Prix into perspective.
"We lost five points today," he said. "The important thing is that we've come away from here with 20 valuable points and after being written off in some quarters four races ago we now go on our summer holiday with a fighting chance of winning the title again. We're 25 points behind, which is a big gap, but there are seven races left and a lot can happen. We can take a lot of positives out of this weekend."
Comment 6 - 25 of 25
1 more thing, stoner is down rite rude the way he treated valentino in front of the camera's, great the way valentino reacted, stoner was bort down to earth wiv a massive bang, wiv a slight reality check by none other than 'the doctor' himself and he didn't bloody like it, he he.
i've now watched the race several times thanx 2 stoners unecessary comments, he is very good when he is x amount of seconds in front of eveybody but in my opinion is absolutely awful when put under any sort of pressure, in a wheel 2 wheel fight 99 times out of a 100 stoner will come out the other end second best and then blame everybody else cuz he simply isn't good enough, if he was on vale's bike he would neva win a race, its vale's talent and on the odd occasion lorenzo's talent that the fiat yamaha do so well, stoner stop whinging and learn to race, what eva respect i had 4 u [not a lot]has now gone, valentino, go on and win the championship, does anybody agree wiv me that if u put vale and stoner on the same machinary vale would walk the chamionship and jorge stop makin so many mistakes, your 2 good for that.
In my not-so-humble opinion, this was OF COURSE a great race, certainly one of the best duels I've seen in quite a while. The ONLY disappointment for me was the media and blogg responses to the Rossi-Stoner "controversy." If you look at the race as carefully as you can, you'll still be hard pressed to legitimately call anything Rossi did "too aggressive," and yet there's all kinds of criticism to that effect. On the other hand, it's completely understandable that a young competitor like Stoner is bound to be a little rattled after such a grueling fight (not to mention his evident embarrassment about having dropped the bike--for which he accepted full responsibility). So, it's totally forgivable if Stoner's perception of the race's events was ever so slightly skewed. And if you look at the interview tapes, Stoner really didn't say anything all that critical of Rossi, and yet we have Rossi fans calling Stoner a "whiner." I can only hope that the two riders aren't as melodramatic as their blogging fans and the armchair critics who took one side or the other. Precisely because the Yamaha is more nimble and better on the brakes, while the Ducati's top end is superior, the respective riders HAD TO make the most of their strengths. This time it was Rossi's day, due in no small part to the fact that Laguna is such a curvy track, which presumably would play slightly more to the Yamaha's strengths (in the right hands). What may have seemed like "blocking" or "brake testing" was just Rossi making excellent use of his assets to put up the kind of fight that race fans dream of. And way too much has been made of the incident at the corkscrew! Say what you want about Stoner, I'm sure that it'll be no time before he's looking back at Laguna Seca 2008, and thinking, "Ah, fair enough." It's just plain silly to hold it against him if he overreacts a little immediately after the race. And it's no better for spectators to criticize Rossi for racing as he did.
Forgot to say; remember when Rossi hunted down Stoner (assen was it?) last year from something like 10th on the grid, and went on to win?!
Loved it.
I liked Stoner when he came to Moto GP, shame he feels he has the divine right; that is only there for multiple champions
Kaveiros75:
you should be grateful to see the greatest racer of our time.
Sure there are other good racers, but why arent they challenging?
Rossi has an inferior bike to Stoner and he is 25 points ahead.
The reason rossi has so many fans is because he is gracious in defeat, majestic in his wins and a fun guy who people want to like.
I like nearly all the riders in the field but i am very dissapointed non of them are good enough to battle Rossi at the front.
All the greatest races in the last few years have always involved Rossi - that says alot doesnt it?!
Oh.... please stop, you "Rossi only" fans!!! Don't you see that there are also other riders who can race just as good?
Stoner IS a fighter, and he has proven it countless times.
It seems that "Rossi only" fans have very short memory, and forget how many times Stoner has straightly faced Rossi's attacks without panic... And they also forget Rossi's behaviour at times when he was not in a very good shape during the past 2 years. Oh... sorry... I forgot... Rossi is your God and only his opponents should be criticized! Right?
Brilliant race though!
karl.zdesar you need tu understand something about racing. It's not about how fast you can go, it is about how hard and late you can breake. This weekend was another masterpiece by Rossi! Go Vale, roll on!!!
Grow up Karl.zdesar and stop being such a tw#t. Rossi is a true champion he earned every title, not being gifted it like haydn and stoner. Stoner the moaner needs to grow up and stop being such a baby, Vale has won titles on 'donkey' bikes not like stoner the moaner won on a superior bike. Anyone going to bruno should proudly hold aloft 'stoner the moaner' banners preferably with a baby spitting out his dummy on it. See how much he likes people who whine then. I would pay good money to see these banners just to see how 'mature and cool headed' (according to livio suppo)he is.
And to timoates2391whatever Vale was cleared and the pass was classed as legal you tw#t get your facts right again showing a first class whiner in sete gibernau.
like Burgess said after the race, in the 80s & 90s you'd expect to see aggressive riding like that practically every weekend! Stoner just doesn't have the guts Rossi has.
To be a great champ you need to learn how to lose , Stoner and Ducati are very poor losers, This was a race not the Casey stoner exhibition show!!!!!! Wake up Stoner and Ducati your behaving like a bunch of spoilt kids! Valentino will show you how it's done, a true champion in every sense of the word. Roll on Brno!!!!!!
stoner your only good if you get your magic lead striaght away and race on your own,,but whenever you have had competition your always a sooky la la,,valentino is a legend do you understand 7 times world chhampion makes him a legend..and he was just showing you what he can do,,difference between you and him is GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP,,take defeat like a man you big baby
Well done Rossi, one of the few men who can take it to the Ducati - the ducati with more power. Stoner is a whinger and somehow feels he is the best in the world - He isnt; he is racing against that person; get on with it stoner and accept you were not good enough.
Thats what you call racing karl.zdesar, or maybe you should watch F1 if you like a high speed parade!
to quote the 'roman emperor'"it's bike racing not bally dancing"
brill race the best this year so far
are all aussies the same didn't vermeulen complain about toseland earlier this year
Maybe stoner should remeber an old saying. IF YOU CAN'T STAND THE HEAT GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN. WELL DONE Rossi briliant race. more please.
I think Rossi is getting desparate cause he is not as fast/good as Stoner, so he is resorting to foul tactics.
hth
I seem to recall "El Dettoree" punting off Sete Gibernau when in the lead at Jerez in 2005 & not being disciplined for it. One swallow doesn't make a summer Casey, you've got plenty of time left to show the Doctor the way home, as you did in 2007 & Hayden did in 2006. The Doctor is on the final throw of the dice, the only way is down for "El Dettoree"!
I really dont care if Stoner's unprofessional attitude towards Rossi after the race was due to 'heat of the moment and bitter disappointment'. I was stunned at the way he blatantly shunned Rossi at a moment when the cameras where on them, he could have at least shook his hand. Maybe Stoner has had it too easy of late, an open track with noone contesting his lead. He needs to grow up and realise its a race.....one of which is meant to be full of brave passes, late braking and the odd moment where it looks like two riders will exchange paint! I was on the edge of my seat last night with that race.....an amazing display from both riders but please Stoner, learn some manners. To gain respect you need to show some respect! Go Rossi!
That was one hell of a race, sorry stoner but now and again you will have to accept that you need to go knee to knee, to win a race. Had roles been reversed at the cork screw I don't think Rossi would have made such a fuss. Hoped we would see what stoner was made of when he had to race, and I don't think he quite has the right stuff yet. Rossi is a master of mind games and mentally v.strong, so good luck Casey if you want to play games!!
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