*OFFICIAL* MotoGP US GP Laguna Seca *Spoilers*

[freighttriain]

Originally Posted by tye1138

Stoner isn't doing well.

I'm betting its a Lorenzo and Pedrosa race. Stoner will get 3rd and bleed some more points

Originally Posted by tye1138

Actually, my prediction was made before anyone realized
Stoner lucked out, He did a great job to win the race though, it was not his expectations...

yer an entertaining man sometimes... Stoner did exactly what he needed to do. He rode a great race, and he showed that he could do to Jorge what Jorge has done to him... stalk... pass... and win...

Stoner getting lucky?... i suppose you could look at it that way. I wouldn't agree, but go ahead... Stoner's earning the championship title race by race, it's up to the other riders to step up and stop him.

put the crystal ball of predictions away man... and just sit back and watch...

[tye1138]

Originally Posted by freighttriain

Stoner getting lucky?... i suppose you could look at it that way. I wouldn't agree, but go ahead... Stoner's earning the championship title race by race, it's up to the other riders to step up and stop him.

put the crystal ball of predictions away man... and just sit back and watch...

You have to admit, Stoner got lucky. I was there, I was staring at his pits when he came back from free practice shaking his head. I was there when he came in from qualifying, nearly dropped the bike 4 min before it was over saying to his mechanics, the bike didn't work and he was done. He went back out and was 2 tenths off the pace, but eventually made it through to 2nd place on the grid. I was also there during his post qualifying interview when he said, he didn't have the pace and would be lucky to be on the podium.

But then dani crashed, then lorenzo crashed. Heck, both of them said after the race, they couldn't beat stoner due to injury. How was anyone of us suppose to know that Lorenzo was gonna crash?

[freighttriain]

now, you are talking about qualifying.... before... you were speaking about the race. And that is what i was referring to....

Stoner getting lucky during the race is what i was speaking of... and to what i was disagreeing with....

I get that you were there.... nice... but give Stoner some credit. If the bike wasn't set up perfectly.. and you "heard" Stoner say that he would get lucky to be on the podium?... well then... congratulate him even more... because even with out the pace or set-up in his own mind.. so to speak... he made it look easy.... very calculated.... and i would say the race went how he thought it would...

Two competitors up front... both slightly shook up and/or injured. Getting tired near the end of the race... and pounce on'em... done....

You predicted Stoner for third... you were wrong... it's ok for you crysatl ball to be little fuzzy some times... Stoner won the race... was it luck?... perhaps.... in some peoples eyes...

[tye1138]

Originally Posted by freighttriain

now, you are talking about qualifying.... before... you were speaking about the race. And that is what i was referring to....

I was merely stating, my prediction was based on data including qualifying results.

Originally Posted by freighttriain

Stoner getting lucky during the race is what i was speaking of... and to what i was disagreeing with....

I get that you were there.... nice... but give Stoner some credit. If the bike wasn't set up perfectly.. and you "heard" Stoner say that he would get lucky to be on the podium?... well then... congratulate him even more... because even with out the pace or set-up in his own mind.. so to speak... he made it look easy.... very calculated.... and i would say the race went how he thought it would...

I don't think you understand what happened. Stoner is a calculated guy, he looks at his dashboard all the time, sees his laptime and runs those laps. I'm watching the race again right now and looking at his times, they're pretty much even running and his competitors faded quick.

If you keep your laptimes in 3rd and your competitors fade, you got lucky. Stoner got lucky, straight forward and based on the data at hand (which is all you have to base an opinion on) he wasn't going to win.

I give stoner credit for keeping with the race and not fading like his competitors. I give lorenzo way more credit because he had a huge highside saturday and was still able to race sunday!!! WOW, thats amazing! Even in the post race interview, he was shocked he was able to race.

IDK what your arguing about, its kinda stupid cuz I'm a huge stoner fan.

[Harry]

Originally Posted by tye1138

I give stoner credit for keeping with the race and not fading like his competitors. I give lorenzo way more credit because he had a huge highside saturday and was still able to race sunday!!! WOW, thats amazing! Even in the post race interview, he was shocked he was able to race.

Hi Tye,

I think the rider who had the luck on the weekend was Lorenzo, a huge crash that he was fortunate enough not to be injured in.

After QP Lorenzo stated as much himself:

"This pole position was unexpected for us after this morning, but thankfully I feel more pain walking than I do riding the bike. Of course I'm not in perfect condition on the bike and for sure I have to put more pressure on my arms and will get more tired. I think I was very lucky this morning that I had no big injuries. I think this pole position is for us an impressive result."

Stoner rode a great race, he is never happy in practice and Q and always demands more from his team, that is why he is a great rider.

As it is, he thinks he would have won the race without finding the little bit extra they found before warm up as well.


Cheers,

Harry.

[freighttriain]

Tye... i wasn't arguing... i was simply mentioning that i thought that it was a bit silly to call Stoner's victory "lucky" ( as you did ) ...
like Harry mentioned... the lucky one of the weekend was Jorge... in a weekend of a major high-side, Jorge came away with good points towards the chase....

When i a guy like Stoner performs as he did, i consider the victory earned... that was all... if you wanna talk luck?... well i guess all the guys out there can be considered a bit lucky to a point.... it's a crazy job at insane speeds...

But in my eyes... Stoner's win was not luck... i saw it as being earned...
that was all....

[Tard]

Tye, all this talk of Stoner 'getting lucky' is BS mate.
How did Casey chase down Pedro and Lorenzo? By waiting for them to fade? No. Look at the 'analysis by lap' of the race and the lap times to see what I'm talking about.
It wasn't as if JL and Pedro started going slower and Stoner just kept the same pace. Casey upped his pace midway through the race to run both Pedro' and Lorenzo down.

If they chose to throw in the towel once Stoner had passed well that's good riding by Stoner to pass them, pressure them with pace, and cause them to fold. That's not luck, that's making the most of an opportunity.
Stoner knew they both had fitness issues, but he just didn't sit back and rest in the hope that they may fade late in the race.

He attacked them with his speed and pushed them to the point where they couldn't respond to his challenge. That's just good riding, not luck. It matters not that fitness was an issue for them, because if Stoner had continued the same pace he had up until lap 15 he wouldn't have won the race, he had to put the hammer down, catch the leaders, pass them, and evoke a response.

Did you say Lorenzo and Dovi were lucky at Mugello when Stoner faded because of his tyres? I think that scenario is more suitable to what your trying to suggest here in terms of 'luck'.

[latte committee]

Lorenzo & Pedrosa weren't the only ones riding injured ......

Read on .....

Stoner hampered by neck injury
Tuesday, July 26, 2011 - 5:20 PM

Source: BigPond Sport

Stoner hampered by neck injury - News - BigPond Sport

MotoGP championship leader Casey Stoner has revealed he is fighting yet another injury.

Stoner, who sealed his victory with one of the sport's most spectacular passes, is praying a neck problem will not wreck his hopes of a second world crown.

It has been the Australian's childhood dream to win the MotoGP world championship with Honda.

The 2007 world titleholder has been in sublime form winning five out of ten races so far, a strike rate of 50 per cent, unmatched by any other rider.

Those five wins are part of a streak of eight consecutive podium finishes - a career personal best - since the Spanish GP in April.

With his win at Laguna Seca at the weekend Stoner is now on target to turn his 'dream season' into a championship.

'With dreams you can always think up a better one but being realistic this is a fantastic season for me and no matter how it ends up I know I have done a great job,' Stoner said.

And five wins could have been even more according to Stoner who admits that he did not capitalise on his winning potential at recent races in Germany and Italy.

'I'm a little disappointed because I know I could have won more although at this point I can't complain,' he said.

'But you can always strive to be better. The main thing is I'm very happy with the Honda team and what they have done this season.'

As he heads for the annual three week European summer break Stoner hopes that a nagging neck injury will not derail his season.

He has been unable to maintain his strength conditioning program in recent weeks because of an injury suffered in a high speed crash in Holland last month.

Doctors have told Stoner that it may be the beginning of October, just before the Australian GP at Phillip Island, before his neck is fully recovered.

'I can't do strength training because of my neck, just cycling,' Stoner said.

'In the Assen crash I came down hard with all the G forces through my shoulder and it has trapped a muscle between my vertebrae and discs - the muscle is damaged pretty badly.

'I've had a scan and the doctors said it will be two-and-a-half months before my neck is right, it will take a long time to heal,' he said.

'At Laguna Seca I could barely breathe after qualifying because my neck and also muscles on my ribs tightened up.'

Stoner requires daily physiotherapy and massage during race weekend although he said the injury did not restrict his riding on Sunday.

His classy performance in America drew rave reviews from 1993 world champion Kevin Schwantz who said even with an injury Stoner was unbeatable at Laguna Seca.

Schwantz was watching the race from inside turn one when Stoner pulled off his race move on the leader, Spanish rival Jorge Lorenzo.

'That was a big balls move, it took my breath away, I haven't seen anything better than that,' Schwantz said.

'When I saw Casey going for that move I thought, 'no fing way.'

'That corner is wide open at 300kph, flat in sixth gear over the top of a blind crest and Casey came down the outside of Jorge and just sucked the paint off his bike.'

The next race is the Czech GP on August 14

UNQUOTE


So there you go ,,,,,, I guess the "Whinging Whimp From Downunder" ain't happy unless he's got something to complain about

So where does that leave those who think he "GOT LUCKY" by running down two injured rivals ? ? ?


For the benefit of those who haven't sweated in leathers themselves .....
Half the bloody field is riding injured by this stage of a season.
Races come around faster than injuries heal.

But riders of that calibre, with the commitments they have, and the prizes they chase, put injuries as far out of mind as possible.

Sometimes it can't be completely forgotten about ,,,,, it hurts too much.


FFS ,,, get off Stoner's case.
On the day, he was the best rider
End of story

By end of season, he may well be crown Best Rider for 2011
But given the knockers ,,,, that won't be enough to ... End the story.

Won't happen until the Star Spangled Dunny Roll gets hoisted over a GP podium ,,,, but don't hold your breath.
From what I've seen from "The Good Ole' Boys" this season, it will be rotted before it's needed again

[cb4265]

Don't waste your breath Trev, you cannot educate mugs, & you will never convince them otherwise.

Let the dickheads stay that way, they will never change their opinions.

Let's just count the points & add up the results at the end of the year, I am feeling pretty good about Casey's chances at a 2nd World Championship.

If Stoner had left Ducati two or three years ago, he may have a couple more Championships under his belt had he been riding for Yamaha or Honda, but circumstances, only allow what history has shown us.

I can guarantee if Stoner wasn't riding the wheels off the Ducati over the last few years, it would not of had any race wins, & Flossie would not have entertained the idea of riding a bike that was not competitive.
Too bad for Flossie he doesn't have the gonads to ride it like Stoner could/can.

my 2 cents

Craig

[Shalei]

There was no luck involved in this race for Stoner.

He was simply the best on the day. He rode an intelligent race, waited for his fuel load to lighten, conserved his tyres as best he could. At the chosen moments he made two brilliant, very difficult, courageous passing moves and simply raced away from his competitors.

An incredible calculated, smooth and very mature ride. I think Casey's previous 'win it or bin it' tactics may be a thing of the past (hopefully). The last few races show he is looking firmly at the title this year, I believe. He wins when he can, if he can't, he finishes on the podium. That is the way to take a championship. I think he will too.