BRNO '07

by Mark Bracks

The Czech Republic is a pretty good place but it is still amazing how much it has come into the modern world. Compared to under the old Communist regime the change is mind blowing. At one time there were border checks and bribes, and you had to change a certain amount of money at the border for every day you were in the country (the idea was to keep as much as possible to change at the track as it was a heap better exchange rate). At the track there were hawkers that would sell you very cheap precision tools and the famous Czech crystal.

The city was very drab with no shops or restaurants, and the shop fronts were all painted the same colour. You filled up with petrol in Austria or Germany because there were not many servos and if you could find one it cost a fortune.

Ant & Fio

"Winners are grinners" programme: step 1 -- Chris Vermeulen

The garage

If you got caught taking photos, there was a good chance you would be locked up.

How things have changed. Now there is a servo every 100 metres. All the big brands are there and there are masses of stupendous outdoor dining spots. You can snap away to your hearts content, but alas the precision tools and crystal are no longer as cheap.

One thing that hasn't changed is the quality of the beer and the beauty of the women. The amber ale has to be some of the best in the world as it is the home of pilsner (from a place called Plzen) and also the origin of Budweiser and a damn site better drop than what masquerades as "Buttweiper" in the States. Besides women and beer they also produce some of the best armaments in the world with the Brno under/over shotgun considered one of the very best to have.

Australian motorcycle fans and supporters in general must be pinching themselves to see the 2007 season unfolding the way it is. At the start of the season who would've thought that with six races left to run there would be a 21-year-old Australian from the town of Kurri Kurri (NSW), in only his second MotoGP season, decimating all before him with seven wins from 12 starts and leading a seven times world champion by 60 points!

There is only one way Rossi can win the title now and that is if Casey loses it. He handles pressure better than a deep water free-diver, and learning more is only going to make him harder.

Casey's effort in qualifying was absolutely remarkable when you consider how long he sat in his pit box. Within a lap he was back in with a brake problem forcing him to sit and twiddle his thumbs for nearly six minutes. Heading out he was back in a lap later for a further nine minutes before he did three laps, all in the 1'58 sec bracket before he had to come in for a further 15 minutes while another problem was rectified -- one that that forced the removal of the fairing. He went out for three laps on a qualifier, and nailed the pole time with over 45 minutes of the session gone. He then came in for another five minutes, they threw another qualifier in while he looked at the timing monitors, then he went out and shaved a further two tenths off his own time.

Including out and in laps he was out of action for over 35 minutes and out of 14 laps in the session and only completed five flying laps! Stunning.

It's good to see that he is now getting the accolades his results have warranted. There is no doubting the quality of the package he is on but there are three more Ducatis out there too! The excuse that it was the top speed and acceleration of the Ducati that caused his dominance was wearing thin from about the fourth race in. If it was the bike, Capirossi, who missed out on last year's world title by a gnat's knacker thanks to a wayward team mate, would be battling for the title as well; but we know he has been having troubles with the bike. He has again proven that there is more to a race track than a straight black line.

One of Stoner's assets this year is that he has never ridden any other Ducati before. Capirossi has struggled to come to terms with the new generation screamer 800, the engine management, its being shorter, and it being more rigid now that the seat is bolted straight to the engine. For all of the faults of the 990 it's the old story of "it's not the same as my old bike. I can't get used to it." Stoner has just got on it, loved it from the first and has ridden the wheels of it while Loris has been trying all sorts of directions to find comfort with his bike; but I think we will see a return to the Capirossi we all know very soon.

He has achieved more in his short MotoGP career than either of our past world champion Australians managed to do in a similar time frame when they started their glorious careers, so the future is looking pretty bright for him.

And he is only going to improve.

Now he seems to have the entire competition psyched out and it isn't just the riders as all the teams reckon he has the title in the bag. About the only ones not saying it are Ducati themselves. Asking Team Manager, Livio Suppo, on air after Casey's win at Brno if they now at least think that the championship is now within grasp, all Suppo could reply was "ask me after the next race".

It's ironic that Stoner was signed as the youngster and Loris was going to take him under his wing to show him what it's like to be in a two rider factory team, but it has turned around and Casey has made his own mark in more ways than one. Maybe Troy Bayliss can take some of the credit because Stoner reckons that Troy told him how good it was to be a part of the Ducati family and that he should take the chance.

Stoner has set a number of milestones already this year and he could be inline for a few more.

Although unlikely, it's not beyond the realms of possibility that he could win the remaining six races and become the first rider to win 13 races in a season. Either way he is set to equal some of the sport's masters.

Doohan won 12 from 15 in '97, Rossi 11 (from 16) in 01, 02 and 05 (17 races) while Ago won 11 from 13 in1972. And all of these guys plus Mike Hailwood managed to win eight or nine races in a year at various times as well

Stoner's 2007 could be compared to the one Rossi had when he won his premiere title in 2001 but Stoner has already amassed more points than Valentino in the same period (246 vs 225) At this stage they share the same amount of wins.

Rossi was 22 years old in his second season of the premier class while Casey is 21. He has a long, long career ahead of him.

Stoner now has the psychological advantage on all his rivals in a similar way to how Rossi's did.

Phil Read was the last to win a title on an Italian machine in1974 with Ago starting the Japanese domination with his win for Yamaha in 1975 (although according to the record books Yamaha won the constructor's title in 1974 equal on points with MV when only six of the ten races counted).

While Stoner, Ducati and Bridgestone have adapted better to the change than others; next year promises to be different in that the racing will be a lot closer and Stoner will have to fight even harder to retain the crown that is now within sight.

This is a transition year - the biggest since the four-strokes were introduced -- as not only do teams have to work out and develop new bikes, but they have a dilemma with the tyre rules. Tracks have been affected by wet conditions and two of the recent races in Germany and the USA have been on resurfaced tracks, making tyre performance and judicious tyre selection a key factor in success.

Vermeulen...

Obviously the tyre rule is negated in wet weather but it demonstrates how much homework is needed in all areas in this new era. There are no plans to throw out the tyre rule, but it wouldn't surprise me if maybe there's an increase in allocation for next year. Any talk of a controlled tyre at this stage is a bit wide of the mark and after interviewing Jean-Philippe Weber from Michelin at Brno he is sure that if anything Michelin will increase its focus on MotoGP after leaving F1 and the WRC. And after the money that Bridgestone has spent getting to where they are, it would take a gambler of the long odds to think they would leave without a tussle. Jean-Philippe also said that both Bridgestone and Michelin are discussing the banning of qualifying tyres with both companies trying to nut out a solution.