In the aftermath (fallout?) of this weekend’s MotoGP opener in Qatar, many will say that Casey Stoner has finally stepped up to the level of, shall we say, a serious contenduh (to chop that oft-repeated bit of cinematic drama). In my opinion, it’s not quite such a done deal yet.
Don’t get me wrong, Stoner is one of the most talented racers on the grid on any given Sunday (or Saturday, for that matter), and he showed an incredible amount of skill in defeating Rossi in a straight-up race. Even Rossi showed a bit of amazement, calling Stoner’s riding “perfect”! This despite leading a race (always a difficult position to be in), not to mention being shadowed by the man who, current lack of championship notwithstanding, almost everyone considers the greatest MotoGP rider of all time!
Not that this is Stoner’s first time leading the pack: he won five times while racing in the 250 class, battling and at times roundly defeating Honda’s prodigal son, Dani Pedrosa. But this isn’t 250s anymore – this is MotoGP, the Big Show, and the stakes here are about as high as they get.
So what happens when the whole MotoGP circus rolls into Jerez, Spain two weekends hence for round two of the new “Battle of the 800s”? Stoner will be riding high on a wave of confidence, having defeated the aforementioned King. Many of the riders in the paddock are clearly intimidated by Rossi, and not just due to his results – behind that cheerful facade, he can play mind games with his competitors. However, having slain the giant once, this intimidation should be hugely lessened for Stoner – mentally, David just had a growth spurt, and Goliath doesn’t look so big anymore.
However, we have to consider that Stoner’s victory was aided by his Ducati 800’s obvious horsepower advantage over Rossi’s Yamaha. Japanese corporate pride being what it is, we’re certain that innumerable Japanese engineers are burning the midnight oil to make sure that horsepower gap shrinks as rapidly as possible. For Stoner, this means that by Jerez, or the next round in Turkey, his horsepower advantage may have shrunk, or be completely gone.
So, the question is, how will Stoner respond? There seem to be two possible options. One is that the young Australian, with his newfound race-winning confidence, will push his Ducati to its limits, and beyond, in an attempt to return to that coveted top step of the podium. There’s a good chance he’ll succeed, but the downside of Stoner’s riding at his very limit (as he will be forced to do if the competition’s machinery becomes more equal to his) is the fact that he’s sometimes not quite sure where that limit is – Stoner cartwheeling through the gravel has not been a rare sight.
The other option is, of course, ‘slow and steady wins the race’. That is to say, Casey, get out there, ride your butt off, but if riding your butt off puts you in second or third or even fifth, don’t throw it all away trying to get back to the top step of the podium. If Stoner can show this kind of maturity as a rider, it’s not farfetched at this early point in the season to consider him a serious contender for the 2007 World Championship. We can expect his bike and tires won’t hold him back.
