Originally Posted by
The Black Knight
Agreed as well. Yamaha may have shot themselves in the foot by not giving Rossi a better package to work with. Or I should say, a package that he could tweak better to his liking, because the M1 is a good package. It's just suited to Lorenzo's style of setting. But Yamaha, could have utilized Rossi a bit more, in order to take points from the Honda's. Sure he may have not won more than Lorenzo. Maybe he would have only taken two or three race wins. But they might have been race wins from the Honda's he would have taken away.
My personal opinion and this is just me going off into one of my favorite conspiracy theory modes. I think after Yamaha saw his performance in Qatar, that early mistake only to make a huge charge to the front, shocked and worried them. Especially Lin Jarvis. I believe that after Qatar, we saw them "do whatever it is they do" to Rossi's bike to make him less competitive to Lorenzo. They knew that if Lorenzo stood any chance of retaining his crown, that he would need to do it without Rossi inside his head.
Since I watch Rossi and Lorenzo so closely during the races. I could honestly tell that Lorenzo was too an extent butt-hurt when Rossi passed him in the wet race at Le Mans. He messed with his head and he started drifting back. Only a fall by Rossi gave him back what he lost.
As far as finishing 4th in the championship(some 100 points ahead of Crutchlow) is nothing to sneeze at and something for Rossi to be proud of, considering that two shitbag years he just spent on that crappy Ducati. Which I think if anything vindicates Rossi immensely because, it just goes to show that it was the Bike and not the rider. Sure Stoner is/was the only who could win on a Duacti. Stoner was also the only one to crash out more on a Ducati and willing to ride with the "Win it or Bin it" mentality on the Ducati(which cost him dearly after 2007). Rossi, Hayden, and Dovi aren't/weren't willing to push that POS past its abilities and they'd all much rather walk away from a shitty result, than be carried off on a stretcher with a DNF.
Really if Rossi can just get the bike he asks for in terms of braking, I really don't think he'd have a problem with Lorenzo getting the most powerful motor and best parts. If Rossi can get the bike he wants to brake the way he wants. We've seen in the past, he'll make due with a weaker and less powerful engine. Look at 2004 when Rossi came to Yamaha. He opted for a very less powerful M1 engine than what Yamaha wanted to put in the bike. He knew, that braking and balance were more important that sheer power and acceleration. He knew that having a bike he would put anywhere he wanted in a corner meant more than smoking everyone down the front straight.
That's why we've never really seen Rossi clear off and ride like Stoner, Lorenzo and Pedrosa. They all have/had bikes that were powerful and accelerated very hard. But those three have never been known for their dog fighting skills. Most of Rossi's wins came with him dog fighting his way to the front and winning by just a few tenths or maybe a second or two.
I've always believed that balance, agility and braking will trump power and acceleration. The problem now that Yamaha face, is that Honda have figured out a way to put all of that into a package. They've got the braking, balance and agility. Problem is, Yamaha doesn't have someone who knows how to dog fight and wear people down at the front. Sure Lorenzo can put up a bit of a scrap. But once he can get in front, he tries to break free and leave the person behind him. He doesn't have the stamina to keep up the fight over the entire race.
I can't count the times I've watched Rossi stalk someone lap after lap. Wearing them down, getting inside their head..
I know Drano and KawiRob made fun of me in the last thread about Rossi being "Unleashed" but I only have to point to his win in Assen to prove my point. With Lorenzo out of the picture(injured) and Rossi carrying the Yamaha flag into battle. Look at how he shined. He put in a ride like I've seen him ride in the past. He was unstoppable that day. But again, I think Yamaha saw his potential at Assen and the subsequent races that followed you could tell that something had happened and his bike was as competitive as it was on that day in Assen.
Again, let the conspiracy theory kick in. But I don't know what happened, whether it be team orders saying, "o.k. you've had your day in the sun this year, now time for Jorge to come back.", or they dialed his bike back, didn't give him the right parts or less performing parts. Or they just flat out said, "when Jorge is healthy, you don't come anywhere close to him on race day. Just be thankful you're back on a competitive bike and enjoy it, type thing..."
Which if the theory is true and Yamaha truly are hampering his potential, why I said that if he does manage to get a bike that performs the way he wants it, brakes the way that inspires confidence in him. Then I say go for broke and win as many races as possible. Try to earn a 10th Championship and if he can pull it off. As soon as the final race was over, I'd tell Yamaha to pound sand and then retire on the spot.
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All in good fun.
