So was Rossi really unfair in his riding against Stoner to get that win at Laguna?

Question

So was Rossi really unfair in his riding against Stoner to get that win at Laguna?

Answer 1

Not as unfair as Stoner made out. It made the racing amazing for those 20 or so laps and at the end of the day, no-one got physically hurt (Stoner's pride took a bit of a battering lol). I was also disappointed to read the article below, but Rossi's answer made me laugh!!!

http://www.rte.ie/sport/motorsport/2008/...

Answer 2

I find it interesting that everyone sides with Rossi. A good point shown by Thunder M is Rossi made his reputation on the brakes. (Late Braking) This incident is passed now, but it should be remembered how close these guy race with each other and the distances covered in a fraction of a second. IF a rider brakes earlier than he should. its not just a dirty tactic, its plain dangerous. its not like following a car on the roads where you get to see the brake lights and have a couple of seconds to react. these guys need to trust each other. When Rossi says he would never use such a trick. I think Maybe he just hasn't been caught .......

After saying all that.  Rossi rode like a man possessed and did what he had to to win that race. and if he wants to keep winning he will have to ride that hard again. which he is capable of doing. I just hope in the future we get to see close CLEAN racing.  and we all leave this race as a classic with a touch of controversy.

Edit... just found this on the soup site

Witness Rossi's statements last year wen he was locked out of a podium position by the hard-riding Toni Elias at the Turkish Grand Prix

"I'm also quite unhappy with Elias today because I think he was quite dangerous - more than once he passed me on the inside and then altered his line. This is not a correct way to race," Rossi said last April.

Answer 3

No to nothing. In these races is normal that there are overtaking sudden and sincerely i prefer to see races so rather than races in which there is no show. I am not saying this because I am a fan of Rossi but only because I think so.

Answer 4

Not really.

As J.B said, it was just like watching racing the 80's early 90's.

If it was unfiar [ read : dirty ] then race direction would have noted it so.

At the end of the day, Vale did what was needed........ to stay ahead of Casey.

Casey rode the 2nd place of his life. That sounds really bad, but when you know the race, you know what I mean.

Paul Butler, [ race direction ] is number one in his game, in the world.  If it was dirty, it would have been noted.

Answer 5

No....

Stoner just knows that Rossi is the best and has no excuse for not bieng as good......

Just like everyone blaming Chad Reed and Bubba Stewart for riding dirty in Supercross.....

Everyone has to find some excuse for not bieng as good at whoever won.....

Stoner just plain is not as good a rider as The Doctor.....

Answer 6

agressive yes

unfair no

stupid yes

that move at the corkscrew could have put them both for the season

Answer 7

Not even. Rossi is the premier rider in MotoGp. When yer battling it out in turns at 120MPH+, yer on your own. Rossi has built his racing reputation on late-braking, that's part of his standard racing technique. He was leading Stoner the whole race, with Stoner hot on his heals. Stoner knows how Rossi races, and if he ended up running wide (twice!!!) because he was too close too Rossi's rear end when Rossi braked...that's his fault. Blaming Rossi for racing his race is ludicrous and shows the lack of maturity in Stoner. Stoner is a good rider, potentially great, but his Championship last year, and his success this year are mainly due to his machine...the Ducati is flat out the fastest machine in MotoGP. Put Stoner on any other bike, and he finishes 5th at best. Put Rossi on a Ducati...game over.

Addition: I just rewatched the race last night (Man, I LOVE my Tivo!)...and, just for the record;they were racing side by side up the short straight right before they came thru the left hander that drops into the corkscew (where Rossi ran into the dirt and then forced Stoner wide when he got back on the track), when they were coming up that hill Stoner blatantly bumps Rossi, solid bike to bike contact, and no mention was made of it by either rider. I guess my point is Stoner could be accused of the same unsafe riding as Rossi. Also, Stoners bike was bucking and chattering the whole race, he was having a helluva time just keeping the Ducati under control.