It is expected that Stoner will be the toughest rival to Rossi this year too...he is extremely strong on Ducati. He's the one who makes Rossi work hard to win races and the championship, recently. The good thing with having Stoner on board is that we will see more Laguna Seca like battles.

Rossi knows that!

However, Stoner have a long way to go to even be counted in the same level as Rossi. I am not gonna repeat what Rossi did in 2004 and that it was the bravest thing that nobody would even think of doing at the peak of his career while working with the best team at that time and just to prove what he is capable of!!! Last year, Rossi became the most successful rider in the history of MotoGP and he is showing no signs of slowing down. Writing down his achievements would be good enough to make a fat book!

Its because of Rossi and his crew that Yamaha today is at the same level with Honda and Ducati in MotoGP, infact might be slightly better. Rossi is not just a great racer, but also one of the key man in the development of Yamaha M1. The rise of M1 from a non-competent motorcycle to a GP winning machine is a testimony to Rossi's and his team's hardwork. Rossi is a great racer with equally great brain

Rossi gives you the reason to not to change your favorite racer with each new year!!!

You just have to look at his fans and the crowd reaction at ANY track he wins to understand what he is to the motorcycle community!

Its Valentino Rossi, as long as he will race

Razor bugger i am gonna confiscate you camera next time you are seen next to my bike

Well said dude. I have seen in initial laps how Rossi is not bothered when other bikes die to get past him. He knows its matter of 2-3 laps and eventually he takes on the lead as if we are playing PC game MotoGP on Amateur level . So Rossi it is for me too!!

Not good dude..Shaadi kissi se karta hai aur pyaar kisi aur se

^ Why are people fighting/discussing over personal choices..!!

hey, who's fighting we are talking healthy, right.

by the way, how does the motogp organizers prioritize tracks for racing....for example, Rossi won his championship in Motegi last year and it obviously in the second half of the season. And this time, Motegi is the second in number to have the race!!!

Well, everyone was putting up his own views..!!

Dunno, may be randomly..

Gharwali(yammy) Baharwaali(casey)

I guess everyone was waiting for the season to start . It's early days to be fighting really but its the right time for predictions & everyone telling everyone whose gonna kick whose arse.. so let a healthy discussion continue..

The situation will get clearer by race 4 or 5. Stoner won the first race last yr too but he had problems with his bike which took lot of time to sort out, this year it seems all is fine with it... last year Rossi took his first victory in China, it was the 4th race of the season & went on to win 5th & 6th in row. As Rossi says "We will see"

Ok sir ..but just think about it.. a hard machine to ride and a person who can never become 100 % .. i was a great fan of him ! lets wait n see !

Someone forgetting Mr.Colin Edwards! .. Think about 2006 season When Camel yamaha existed !..Rossi kept cursing the tires n the frame.. And between 2007 n 2008 during the off season .. he pushed yamaha to make a competitive bike ! colin did all the wrk ! Rossi had some issues did nt attend tests ! Lorenzo was a new boy ! and Toseland was gettin used to the lighter motogp bikes !
And do remember the then existed kawasaki was bidding a lot for colin just bcos of his developing capabilities ! If it was not for him no lorenzo nor toseland would find it easy to go that fast in the 2008 M1 !!!

You are right, Collin did all the donkey-work and Rossi took the cake by winning the championship!!!

Not taking anything away from Collin, but you don't have to be in MotoGP to know that Rossi, Jeremy Burgess and their crew are the core of the M1 development. Its a known fact.

And throughout 2008, Collin was very open in his criticism of his M1 and mentioned that it is behind the M1 of Rossi in development!!! (taking michelins out of the equation).

Regarding Kawasaki's interest in Edwards, they approached Rossi too and I wonder why that was

Also, tyres are the most important thing in the motorcycle's development. The chassis / frame and suspension are tuned according to the tyres to be used for racing, right. Now, how can Collin develop a bike for Rossi when he was on Michelin and Rossi switched to Bridgestones in 2008??!!!!

But we can definitely say that Rossi is actually developing M1 for everyone in Yamaha because since tyres are same now (Bridgestones), everyone will benefit from Rossi's last year data

Its always Ducati for me..the riders can come and go..Capirex then, Stoner now and may be someone else in future..but the heart and mind supoprts that one team in MotoGp and WSBK and thats Ducati.

Losail is pretty much a Ducati and Stoner track, Rossi and Yamaha tried but werent good enough again on Losail, period. Casey Stoner is as talented as Rossi and I am sure he will prove it over the years..hopefully by winning the MotoGp championship in 2009.

Ducati rocks!

Paradoxical eh ?? Lets reserve the judgement till he does that shall we !!

No offence here bro !! You are a Stoner fan and I respect that ! Just my opinion !!

I think it's very controversial to discuss if Stoner is as talented as Rossi. Stoner has just begun and quite young compared to Rossi. Rossi is the most talented when it comes but he too is not invincible. Did anybody see Rossi's body language while crossing the finish line at Losail? It looked like he was telling the track side crew that he tried but couldn't catch Stoner. But of course its Losail - Stoner's track. And I am pretty sure that Rossi is gonna take the 09 Championship too but it is going to be a really close call. I really want to see someone other than Rossi being crowned this time. It's boring to see one man win always .

Even I am a Rossi fan. But as of this moment I'd say its a 50% chance for either of Stoner or Rossi to win !
Stoner is definitely the fastest rider in the world now, and thats the problem with him !! In my opinion he is a one trick pony, to bugger off at a distance at the start of the race itself. He still hasnt shown a real talent at dog fights and fairing scraping !!

But also, I sometimes feel he has the misfortune that be just happen to be a threat to the rider who is loved by 95 % of the fans !!

I'm sure I'd liked him a lot more if it wasn't Rossi he was beating !! That and if he had a more personality than a toothbrush !!

Wow.. thats a news straight out of India TV

I would really like to know what test Rossi miss after he switched to Bridgestones after the end of 2007.. and how did Colin do all the work when he was using Michellins. Everything in a bike including chasis, suspension, traction, engine power delivery is tuned to increase tire life & traction.. u can't develop a single bike at one point of time for two different tires. Also, Colin was out of the factory team in 2007-2008 off season..

It will take a lot for Stoner to prove he's as talented as Rossi!

Only a 2007 or couple more titles won't do.. there's a lot to be achieved. His brilliance came out with Ducati, though he gave glimpses of talent earlier but there's nothing much to show before Ducati.. the 125 & 250 days were average & so was his first year in MotoGP with Satellite Honda.

We'll see what happens!