Valencia. .. gp talk here.

[boxerscott]

Poor Vale, he looks crestfallen in that piccy.

My mate Super Mario (gp insider) informs me (allegedly) that Rossi also had allies in the race and they were all the ones who let him pass and then either dawdled around behind him or crashed themselves or went in for siesta.

Funny innit, how there was an ever extending gap either side of Rossi.

Sports a great leveller and when you are on top there is only one way you can travel.

Dunno about a Spanish stitch up, more like a "Spanish stroll"

I am sure Vale will be ok with all his millions, bit worried about his emotionally vulnerable fan base though

[70tno]

Really sad that a great champion like VR has to resort to blaming other rider(s) for failing to win the championship this year.
In reality he didn't have the pace all weekend to match the front runners, so even if he had started on the second row, would he really have been able to challenge the front 3? This despite Crutchlow having a start line problem and Iannone crashing out - if not, would they have been drawn into VR's "conspiracy" allegations?
Facts are that VR hasn't won a WC since 2009 and he cannot accept the coming of the new bloods, which is inevitable and in which he as happy to have been in his prime, did he take any prisoners?
The old leader of the pack is having great trouble in letting go, as I have already said, this is sad and disappointing - did he congratulate anyone on the cool down lap? Stark contrast to the Moto 3 race!
Unfortunately, the Rossi fans tend to be a bit one eyed, if they stepped back a bit they would accept the reality - nobody can go on forever.
All this has overshadowed a remarkable (if narrow) WC victory by Danny Kent - hang on, is he a new blood too????

[Henners]

Really sad that a great champion like VR has to resort to blaming other rider(s) for failing to win the championship this year.
In reality he didn't have the pace all weekend to match the front runners, so even if he had started on the second row, would he really have been able to challenge the front 3? This despite Crutchlow having a start line problem and Iannone crashing out - if not, would they have been drawn into VR's "conspiracy" allegations?
Facts are that VR hasn't won a WC since 2009 and he cannot accept the coming of the new bloods, which is inevitable and in which he as happy to have been in his prime, did he take any prisoners?
The old leader of the pack is having great trouble in letting go, as I have already said, this is sad and disappointing - did he congratulate anyone on the cool down lap? Stark contrast to the Moto 3 race!
Unfortunately, the Rossi fans tend to be a bit one eyed, if they stepped back a bit they would accept the reality - nobody can go on forever.
All this has overshadowed a remarkable (if narrow) WC victory by Danny Kent - hang on, is he a new blood too????

I agree with all you say, David Emmett sums it all up very well:

https://motomatters.com/analysis/2015/1 ... p_how.html

[Corvus]

Really sad that a great champion like VR has to resort to blaming other rider(s) for failing to win the championship this year.
In reality he didn't have the pace all weekend to match the front runners, so even if he had started on the second row, would he really have been able to challenge the front 3? This despite Crutchlow having a start line problem and Iannone crashing out - if not, would they have been drawn into VR's "conspiracy" allegations?
Facts are that VR hasn't won a WC since 2009 and he cannot accept the coming of the new bloods, which is inevitable and in which he as happy to have been in his prime, did he take any prisoners?
The old leader of the pack is having great trouble in letting go, as I have already said, this is sad and disappointing - did he congratulate anyone on the cool down lap? Stark contrast to the Moto 3 race!
Unfortunately, the Rossi fans tend to be a bit one eyed, if they stepped back a bit they would accept the reality - nobody can go on forever.
All this has overshadowed a remarkable (if narrow) WC victory by Danny Kent - hang on, is he a new blood too????

I agree with all you say, David Emmett sums it all up very well:

https://motomatters.com/analysis/2015/1 ... p_how.html

A good article. I read into dovi's comments that they kind of support rossi's claim.

Regarding rossi's pace, I believe that, although he didn't quite have the outright speed of Lorenzo, he was fast enough on race pace that, had he started on the first two rows, he could conceivably have shuffled the pack a few times and who knows what the outcome would have been. I don't buy into the idea that it would necessarily have still been a fourth place for Rossi.

I happen to believe Rossi. A lot of people say that they don't see the motive for Marquez doing this. Maybe I'm on cloud cuckoo land, but I can see it. I can even see a motivation for Honda allowing (suggesting?) him doing it.

Bottom line for me though is whether Rossi should have said anything and then kept pushing the point? Perhaps this does make him a sore loser. Does it endanger the credibility of the sport? Dunno, let's see. But if it does, then it shouldn't have been there in the first place!

[boxerscott]

A lot of flowery thoughts in that, the bare facts are the championship is over 18 races and the fastest most consistent rider won.

Rossi is looking like a sore loser. I never even noticed him using his press conference to thank his devoted "Fans" That`s how much he cares about them. Showing himself for what he really thinks he is "Prima Donna".

I thought the race commentary was poor, biased toward a Rossi Victory and completely the inverse of what they were spouting two weeks ago.

[Blackal]

I'm not a Rossi fan - I've always liked the underdog, especially in the face of the "Man United effect" (the desire for kids and adults to "support" the best team/player/rider, and be part of that success)

But - I would have liked to have seen Rossi take this title, as - at his age...... it would have been a fantastic feat.

To my mind - he started the "head-working" at the press conference before Valencia, and it played out from that point.

Has he won more adulation? Possibly, and some might see that as a win.


But - it might have been his last chance to win a GP title, and that must go down as a resounding fail.

Al

[Corvus]

Eight ducatis on the grid next year! Wonder how they'll get on with the michelins?

[andy griff]

Thank God for the Man Utd effect .. in reverse.
My brother was a Leeds Utd fan when we were kids so I wanted to support their hated rivals - even though Man Utd were in the post '68 Busby era.
So, I supported them into the 1973 relegation, saw their first game back in the 1st Division v B'ham in '74 and got beaten up in the process, and then all the way up from there to the Sir Alex days.
What a ride !

[Blackal]

Thank God for the Man Utd effect .. in reverse.
My brother was a Leeds Utd fan when we were kids so I wanted to support their hated rivals !

Thankfully - their arch-rivals weren't Grimsby Town........


Al

[Corvus]

Casey stoner back to ducati. As test rider, but with wild card rides probable if not certain.