MotoGP’s quote “aliens” Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa race at a level all their own with the outcome often dependent on who has the best bike at the moment. Honda’s MotoGP weapon came on strong toward the end of the 2010 campaign, as evidenced by the results of its riders. At the Valencia test following the last race of the year, Casey Stoner stunned the paddock by his speed on the Honda.
Jeremy Burgess is the guru of the MotoGP paddock. He has shepherded riders to more premier class championships than anyone else, including Mick Doohan and Valentino Rossi, among others. Burgess is quoted in a European publication suggesting that Stoner and Honda may have the advantage at the start of the 2011 season. With Dani Pedrosa as his teammate, we could see an epic battle for supremacy within the Honda paddock this year.
No one is discounting the riding skills of Lorenzo or Rossi, of course, but Burgess has inside knowledge as to the state of affairs within both the Yamaha and Ducati paddocks going into the new season.
Thanks for the responses to jimbo, all. I’m not sure that he didn’t respond to my post by accident – I can’t much in it that relates to what I wrote!
I think that there’s always a danger from bigging people up too much and it’s something that we here in the UK are more guilty of that anyone. For Spies to be champion, he has to beat at least four guys who are at the top of their game.
Spies is the motorcycle racing character that I like the most – he’s humble, insightful, witty and is the only person whose interviews aren’t laced with personal grudges and complaints. Motorcycle racing is so (marketing!) political, and we all have our suspicions that favouritism within teams make it a false spectacle. That’s why the Yamaha situation this past couple of years was interesting (more than the racing), whereby the B rider has come to prominence.
Control tyres have helped to some extent (Michelin were notorious for having rider preference, especially in WSB), but I’m not someone who wants to see the bikes forcefully evened out. I like to see the rider and bike combination and how they work from track to track.
meh..i’m still disillusioned by the 800cc ‘electric’ bikes. A displacement that dictates the most talented midgets and Rossi are the front runners. The obvious talents that they are all the same, this displacement and all the riding assist technologies have stolen something for me. Yeah, i’ll still watch the races but much like the AMA during the era of suzuki and spies/mladin its really simply a show about the chosen few all other contestants are simply filler.
Yeah, i’m gripin’ cos I’m a normal sized oaf that doesnt have a prayer.
Rossi is my boy but I’m also holding a candle for Spies quite honestly, I simply love his riding style, elbowz-n-all..
ok, i have the run down for season 2011. sadly, it’s less sensational having thought it through. lorenzo will successfully defend his title. kind of a no-brainer. his bike and settings are the most sorted and consistency pays dividends. spies will play his role as defender to this goal (since he holds the wrong passport, all yamaha is paying him to do is be #2 at this point). honda will become victim of their own inter-team conflicts for the brilliant idea (NOT) of running a 3-man team during a recession. stoner’s ego is going to clash with dovi and dani’s ego is going to clash with casey. meanwhile puig’s ego is going to clash with EVERYBODY…! (shocker) down on the boot, nicky will continue his quiet march forward in the background, getting a few more P3’s but that’s about it. the big story (or non story in this case) will be rossi. rossi will unfortunately coast 2011. there’s simply not enough time to do the gp11 chassis justice. if rossi gets something he’s happy with, it’ll be by pure (hit or miss) luck, not because he and corse have worked through a myriad of solutions. and i forgot about rossi’s ZERO love for the 800. combine that with ducati’s lack of funds and that means all resources (including AMG’s) are being are being directed behind the scenes upon 2012 and a completely new bike (likely per contract) for rossi. i think they’ve even hinted as much. the plug got pulled on WSBK for good reason. suzuki…? who cares, their reduction to single seat is a good sign they’re eyeballing 2012 also. prolly preoccupied with adapting the GSVR chassis around a cost effective “gizzer” engine (maybe part reason for denying batta support?). though they’re not really touting it, kawi’s certainly poured all the knowledge gleaned from motogp into the new ZED engine for this same reason. if the factory doesn’t return, i can see many a CRT wanting green power. sure we’re all spun up now with anticipation, but with the benefit of hindsight, i fear 2011 will be looked back upon and acknowledged for what it is/was… a transistion year.
Thanks for the editorial work on the comments Dirck.
I’m not going to count Rossi out, there’s no reason why that bike can’t be improved to where it handles on a par with the Yamaha or Honda, though admittedly no one has done it recently. In the meantime I see Stoner, Lorenzo and Spies rounding out the group on the podium (one of ’em is going to have to miss each race obviously). I’m not predicting much better from Hayden, I think his heyday is passed I’m sorry to say. Should be an exciting year.
There’s an old saying here in Australia – and it is always appliciable everywhere racing is involved – “WHEN THE GREEN FLAG DROPS, THE BULL$HIT STOPS” …. Bring it ON!!!
2011 will ge great but 2012 will be sensational when back to 1000cc ….
Cheers from OZ …
When they get rid of the electronics and the “battle of the algorithms” the best will always emerge. Meanwhile, it’s fun to watch
Spies will be joining the Aliens this year, believe it. Stoner might have a chance (god damn his wife is hot), Rossi will be in the mix, Pedrosa can crash out for all I care, and Hayden may draft Rossi into a better finish than his last couple of seasons. And by draft I mean use Rossi’s formidable setup/feedback into making the Duc a great bike, and using that slipstream to make his bike handle better, which he obviously needs. The front end is just a mess and they need to sort it. Lorenzo will be back with a vengeance. It’s anyone’s best guess… I’m going to be at Qatar!! And Laguna Seca, and maybe Indy. This is a historic season, I literally can’t wait.
Stoner should be a force to be reckoned with. Not mentioned about his previous Honda customer bike foray, was he on Michelins or Bridgestones? I think Pedrosa’s best chances at a championship are past him now, especially with Stoner on the Honda.
This should still be a good year for Yamaha, 2012 is the year to see if Lorenzo and/or Spies can develop the new bike. This year the rules have not changed much, bikes should only have evolutionary changes. More podiums for Ben, I’m sure, probably not a championship unless the planets align. Lorenzo is sure to be a threat for wins and championship.
Only time will tell how Rossi makes out with the new bike and how his shoulder works, I wouldn’t bet against him. Nicky…well, I have hopes for Nicky to do a little better than last year. Having Rossi there may help or hurt him, I bet on help…..
Stoner’s first motogp was on the RC212V, a customer bike laacking a sophisticated traction control system. We can’t learn much from that, except that he was willing to go beyond the edge in order to find it and was World Champion the following year. That’s also true of Rossi in his first 500cc year and Lorenzo in his first MotoGP years. I’m not saying that it’s a given, but it’s an interesting point.
What JB is also saying is that he doesn’t see the Yamaha as a threat, and he’s probably the best placed person to say that. Ultimately, it seems, Ben has missed the boat with Yamaha. I like him, but i don’t think he’s ever gonna be MotoGP Champion.
I hope you are correct about Spies. I know I’m in the extreme USA (please cease the bigoted term “American”…the USA is one country of two huge American continents…the USA now declines in world dominance due to its over-reaching and shrinking military/financial world abuse) minority. USA ego-centricity causes our downfall to come sooner. Each of us is only 1/7 billionth of the world population. Our egos are inversely related to our numbers.
How/why did the Yamaha fall behind? Is Yamaha not the current MotoGP champion brand?
Jimbo, what in God’s name are you rambling about?
I am not sure how you got from MotoGP to geopolitics, but it was fun watching you limbo down to the ground like that. Next time you do it, light yourself on fire. That will make it even more entertaining to watch.
HUH??
I thought this was a motorcycle-only site for people that ride motorcycles …. did the link somehow redirect me to the Michelle Obama site “I’m an American that hates America”??
” USA ego-centricity causes our downfall to come sooner.”… what does that mean?….
Sounds like you need to spend some quality time in some other country so you get a little gratitude for what you have here Jimbo…. maybe a few months along the border with our friendly neighbors to the south or some relaxing time on a nice tropical island…Cuba or Haiti, your choice!
you should stick to talking about bikes & keep your political opinions to yourself. nothing wrong with having them but no one wants to hear them.
i hope he’s incorrect about spies.
Spies is the real thing. Anyone who wants to argue that is blind.
He beat Mladin for the AMA title on Mladin’s own bike……three times straight.
He beat everyone in WSBK on what amounted to an un-raced Yamaha in his Rookie season. New bike, new track, new series…..title winner going away.
He ran away from Colin Edwards (*ahem* 2-time WSBK champ) and ran as close to the front as anyone on a customer bike, finishing as the top non-factory rider. Oh, and he was a rookie who scored a podium.
Get it straight. Ben is the Real Thing. The only question mark is will the bike be up to the task.
WSB is where MotoGP washouts go to rejuvenate their careers. Exhibit A: Biaggi.
I hope you are right, and that Ben does great things. But you can’t deny MotoGP is a whole different level from anything he’s done to date.
I’d bet good money that Stoner is the next champ. Ben would do well to finish in the top 3.
Don’t tell Troy Bayliss that WSB is a second tier group. (Rides once race after the WSB season on Duc wildcard and wins!)
I don’t want to force everyone to be “PC” on here, but we need to stay out of religion and politics. I will let this comment stand (other readers have tried to balance it with their own comments), but I will not allow this site to be a home to political bickering. Focus on motorcycling, please.
Wow, you should have those issues looked at.
Anyone but Pedrosa and Lorenzo I say!! I totally believe Spies is going to be on the top box this year! I hope Rossi and Hayden get the Duc working like we know it’s capable of! I’m for the small folks in life such as Ducati, but Spies can get it done! With that said, we need more than 17 bikes on the paddock… competitive bike/rider combo’s!
I just hope the racing is closer and more exciting than in years past…there is rarely passing without Rossi ….
NO MORE PARADES!
I think Burgess also means that as a way of saying Rossi’s physical ability will still be in question come the first race of the season due to his shoulder condition/operation, not to mention getting used to the Ducati and getting it up to his satisfaction.
I think Stoner will be very much as he always was:
Fast with some crashes.
If he happens to suffer a couple poor finishes right away, then we’ll be told how much more work Honda still needs to do in order to make the bike better.
If not, then it’ll be the greatest bike since sliced bread and margarine in resealable containers, just as when Rossi was unstoppable in 2002 and 2003 with the RC-211V.
I am looking forward to the coming season, and I really hope all of the riders are fit and present. 🙂
I hope Spies does very well and becomes the next “aliens” club member.
Amazing seeing the mind game being dished out to the public, so early in the season. You feed, we bite. It is like religion. You believe, it is. Burgess is an amazing guy. Don’t try to play poker with that guy.
SPIES is going to open a very methodical can of whoop a$$!!!
Whatever … but 2011 has got to be the greatest season in a long time. Get your Indy tickets ASAP.
mark my words, 2011 will find us becoming experts on the rarely seen craftsmanship and detail HRC have done to the underside of stoner’s 212.
Or,… just Jeremy fires the first salvo in the mind game.
I’ve been thinking it will likely be Lorenzo and Stoner battling it out for the championship. As the article points out, the Honda was really fast at years end. Pedrosa is inconsistent because he takes too many chances and crashes out too much. I also believe his riding style is hard on tires. Stoner has proven what he can do on a fast bike, even one with the handling issues the Ducati has had the last couple of years. My money would be on Stoner next year primarily because I believe he’ll likely have the best bike. Rossi may tame the Ducati’s handling problems, but they need to find more top end speed if they want to compete with Stoner and Lorenzo.
When they go back to the bigger motors in 2012, we’ll get a better idea of who the best rider really is. For 2011, we’ll likely just find out who has the best bike (among the top 3 or 4 guys.)
I’m anxious to see what Spies does now that he’s had a season to get familiar with the bikes and the tracks, and now that he as a true factory ride. A top 3 or 4 finish would not surprise me at all.
Tim, I’ve got to agree with you. Stoner was competitive the last few years, including a championship in 2007, and the Honda is a much better more polished, better handling bike than the Duc. I think Stoner will flourish and Rossi will struggle. My predictions for the end of 2011 standings are:
1. Lorenzo
2. Stoner
3. Pedrosa
4. Spies
5. Rossi
6. Hayden
There were a lot of rumors floating around 2 seasons ago that Stoner’s mysterious illness was actually based on fear of riding the Ducati, because of its unpredictable handling. As you point out, the Honda is more polished. It could be just what the “non-Doctor” ordered.
I’m still a big Rossi fan, and would love to see him prove me wrong, but I’m not counting on it. I strongly believe he is the G.O.A.T., but if he wins the title this year on the Ducati, they can just lock up that G.O.A.T. title and throw away the key. His first year on the Yamaha was pretty impressive as well. It was far from the best bike on the grid that first year he was on board.
I totally agree.
Everyone is so afraid of Stoner-Honda after a little test session…
…Everyone forgot Stoner’s first/single season on the RC212V?
He failed to finish almost half of the races.
Yes, he was fast on his first try, but the bike is probably the easiest to ride hard and Pedrosa was still broken up…
Too much nails bitting, too soon.
I agree that the first test session doesn’t mean much at this point. Yet at the same time, I’ll trust Burgess’ opinion over just about anyone else’s.
As far as him not finishing or crashing out of nearly half of the races that one year on the Honda… Well, according to Stoner’s telling of it, it was related to the Michelin tires and how only a few riders got “the good stuff”.
no fear…