[ashwin.terminat]

Originally Posted by Mashblue

But Stoner himself tweeted this "Sorry to everyone but I am not racing @circuitamericas next weekend, it would have been an honour to ride for @26_DaniPedrosa".

What a downer! Oh boy have I missed seeing Casey on a motorcycle.

It would have been so much, so much fun to see Stoner taking on Marquez, Rossi, Lorenzo and Dovizioso! Moreso when all of them seem to have equally capable bikes below them.

C'mon Honda! Let Stoner race!

[Sheel]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/118370

Honda and Casey Stoner discussed the two-time MotoGP champion replacing the injured Dani Pedrosa, but the downside of a short-term comeback outweighed the positives.

Stoner won titles in 2007 with Ducati and 2011 with Honda before retiring from MotoGP at the end of 2012, aged 27.

While he hasn't raced on two-wheels since, the Australian has remained one of the Japanese manufacturer's test riders and will contest July's Suzuka 8 Hours.

Pedrosa is set to miss at least the next two races after undergoing arm surgery in Madrid on Friday, with HRC tester and 2009 250cc champion Hiroshi Aoyama to stand in.

Stoner tweeted on Friday that "it would have been an honour" to replace Pedrosa, but team manager Livio Suppo told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport it was never a realistic proposition.

"Yes, we have talked about it," he said of potentially using Stoner.

"There were some pros, but more cons, so we decided it would be better to leave it. People don't realise how high is the level [of competition]. Having won a lot doesn't mean one is immediately quick on his return.

"Casey doesn't know the upcoming two tracks, and in the last two years he has only run for four days with this bike.

"I understand a return may spark people's imagination, everyone would have liked it, but what if he wasn't quick? What would people have said and written then?"

Suppo highlighted the tough comebacks endured by Michael Schumacher in Formula 1, and more recently Stoner's countryman, Troy Bayliss in World Superbikes.

A three-time WSBK champion, Bayliss recorded a best result of ninth last month in a two-event cameo, after six seasons away.

"Casey is Casey, but do we really think he may trouble Marc [Marquez] these days?" he said.

"Troy, too, was convinced he was going to [the WSBK round in] Thailand to win. When I heard he was returning I sent him a text message and he replied 'Death before dishonour'.

"Riders are a bit crazy sometimes, but in the end I think who was left more disappointed was himself.

"Another example is Schumacher: he finished his career at Ferrari with a spectacular recovery in Brazil, while on his return with Mercedes he struggled to get one podium.

"At this time it's better to stay out of trouble for no reason."

Suppo did, though, leave the door ajar for Stoner to appear in MotoGP this season, if he's sufficiently motivated and prepared.

"If he seriously wants to return, he must prepare," he said.

"Entering a one-off race would be more of a disadvantage, for us and for him, with the added risk of getting hurt. And anyway, I keep on believing that he doesn't want to race full time.

"A wild card entry at the end of the season? He can ask us and we'll think about it."

[fz_rider]

Wow! That was something. On a qualifying run, bike gives up, parks by main straight, jumps the wall into pits, hops onto other bike, just gets in time for a single timed lap, and voila P1.
That's Marc Marquez for you. And what a timed lap that was! He was in middle of traffic, pretty edgy and shaky, sliding and wobbly. For once I thought he won't make it. But boy does he love this circuit. He's just unstoppable in Texas.

[fz_rider]

Marquez wins again in Texas. He's just too good on this circuit. That Ducati has some serious pace. Dovi just managed to take 2nd from Rossi. Lorenzo too had a late surge, kept Innone on bay who was pretty quick in initial stages.

[Mashblue]

Both Ducatis running out of fuel on the cool down lap . Seems like Ducati's resurrection will be short lived

[naveenroy]

I totally missed this race. The power went off during qualifying and I missed the race. Anyone give me a link to watch the qualifying and the race?

[Mashblue]

Originally Posted by naveenroy

I totally missed this race. The power went off during qualifying and I missed the race. Anyone give me a link to watch the qualifying and the race?

I dont think motogp races can be viewed officially after the live telecast. However you may find some content on searching YouTube.

[naveenroy]

Finally checked out some videos taken by the spectators on Marquez' qualifying lap. What commitment! There are a lot of Marquez haters but man, you gotta appreciate his "run" there!

[Urban_Nomad]

Originally Posted by naveenroy

There are a lot of Marquez haters........

I agree, there are. And I for one cannot understand why. He's an awesome rider who has been hell bent on breaking records one after the other ever since his arrival

And again, most of these haters are Rossi loyalists. I think Rossi is great too but there are other fantastic riders that I appreciate. I for one never understood the approach of "Rossi & no one else"

I feel Dani Pedrosa is a brilliant rider too. So very calm and composed. I also like Crutchlow & Bautista, very talented indeed!

[Mashblue]

@ Urban_Nomad "Rossi & no one else". This is what happened to casey stoner years ago when he was beating the field comprehensively. Remember he was booed constantly at race podium presentations and this finally led him to retire prematurely. Same with Max biaggi (he quit motogp to race wsbk, letting rossi dominate).
Some believe marquez is making the races boring which is so wrong, it's the competition thats not stepping up!

[Urban_Nomad]

^^ I absolutely love the "mind games" Rossi plays on the track. To watch him stay at kissing distance from the rear wheel of the bike in front to intimidate the rider is just amazing to watch

At the same time, I absolutely hate his off the track tactics with not just his competitors from rival teams but his team mates as well. Cannot remember the last time he simply "got along" with someone and not use his popularity to demean and bring down a fellow rider. His rivalry with Stoner is legendary. What a fiercely talented rider

This part of Rossi's personality / strategy I simply do not like. Cannot recollect other riders employ such tactics, at least this successfully

[Parth46]

Originally Posted by Urban_Nomad

^^
At the same time, I absolutely hate his off the track tactics with not just his competitors from rival teams but his team mates as well. Cannot remember the last time he simply "got along" with someone and not use his popularity to demean and bring down a fellow rider. His rivalry with Stoner is legendary. What a fiercely talented rider

This part of Rossi's personality / strategy I simply do not like. Cannot recollect other riders employ such tactics, at least this successfully

Could you throw more light on how he doesn't "get along" and uses his popularity to demean other riders? He's one of the most popular and liked blokes in the paddock and has a lot of respect for other riders. I've been following his career since 2001 and besides the usual arguments sometimes due to on-track events, even for them others have whined not him, I've not really come upon any instance where he demeaned other riders or used his popularity to put them down.

Peace.

[Parth46]

Originally Posted by Urban_Nomad

I agree, there are. And I for one cannot understand why. He's an awesome rider who has been hell bent on breaking records one after the other ever since his arrival

And again, most of these haters are Rossi loyalists. I think Rossi is great too but there are other fantastic riders that I appreciate. I for one never understood the approach of "Rossi & no one else"

I feel Dani Pedrosa is a brilliant rider too. So very calm and composed. I also like Crutchlow & Bautista, very talented indeed!

I'm one of the "Rossi & no one else" brigade.

If and when Marquez can re-invent himself over almost two decades, win on different machinery, compete and win with a huge age bracket of riders, deal with changing bike technologies and riding styles, and keep himself motivated and fit after 9 world titles, he'll earn my respect, even though I've not got anything against him.

Max Biaggi was always a whiner and a moaner and he himself moved to WSBK since he simply could not beat Rossi once Rossi started dominating races. Biaggi never liked Rossi's growing popularity and became a very sore loser, no one forced him to move to other racing series, he did it himself simply because he couldn't win at all.

The Welkom 2003 season opener race, when Rossi became the first and only rider to win back to back races on different machinery, cemented the Rossi legend and that was the time when Max Biaggi realized he wasn't competitive enough.

Post that, there were epic battles with Sete Gibernau which Rossi mostly came out on top of, and the more recent rivalry with Casey "Moaner". Again, you simply don't quit the top rung of your sport just because your rival is more popular than you, that's just being childish. In every sport, there are passionate fans who only want their demi-god to win and no-one else, but that's just their own passion and no-body's fault really.

All my opinions are my own, and not intended to hurt anyone at all. I just consider Valentino Rossi to be the GREATEST OF ALL TIME, and this is not just going with the tide, but a result of watching him race, struggle and win everything he came across, since I started watching bike racing from 2000-2001.

Peace and love,
Parth

[naveenroy]

Originally Posted by Urban_Nomad

I agree, there are. And I for one cannot understand why. He's an awesome rider who has been hell bent on breaking records one after the other ever since his arrival

And again, most of these haters are Rossi loyalists. I think Rossi is great too but there are other fantastic riders that I appreciate. I for one never understood the approach of "Rossi & no one else"

Originally Posted by Mashblue

@ Urban_Nomad "Rossi & no one else". This is what happened to casey stoner years ago when he was beating the field comprehensively.

Yeah it is mostly the Rossi brigade that hates Marquez. Well, I think Rossi is good too but there are other amazing riders too. Stoner was a favourite of mine and again the Rossi brigade hated him too. Stoner, the quintessential Aussie never kept quiet about it either

Originally Posted by Parth46

I'm one of the "Rossi & no one else" brigade.

If and when Marquez can re-invent himself over almost two decades, win on different machinery, compete and win with a huge age bracket of riders, deal with changing bike technologies and riding styles, and keep himself motivated and fit after 9 world titles, he'll earn my respect

Then we'll discuss this again in 10 years my friend

[Parth46]

Originally Posted by naveenroy

Yeah it is mostly the Rossi brigade that hates Marquez. Well, I think Rossi is good too but there are other amazing riders too. Stoner was a favourite of mine and again the Rossi brigade hated him too. Stoner, the quintessential Aussie never kept quiet about it either



Then we'll discuss this again in 10 years my friend

We surely will.

I don't get one thing. Why would the "Rossi brigade" hate only Marquez. Everybody agrees he's a great rider and is in top form, is on great machinery, has age on his side and is hence winning almost everything.

But on the rivalry front, it's hardly the first or the greatest rivalry that Rossi has ever had.The fact that Rossi is still motivated, and equally fit and fighting to win, and is also winning but not as much, should speak volumes about him and at the same time take nothing away from Marquez.

I'd love to put Marquez on the Yamaha and see if still dominates the way he has. Or for that matter, if Rossi had never parted ways with Honda, we can't even begin to imagine the kind of domination and one-sided racing we would've seen in such a scenario.