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One of the main points of interest in Moto GP this year is the return of Rossi to Yamaha. So far Lorenzo has been faster in every test.

Can we expect Rossi's racecraft to make up for the difference when it comes to actual racing, or is Rossi simply no longer a real contender for the championship and will spend the season behind Lorenzo?

I think Rossi would be doing extremely well to compete regularly at the same level as Lorenzo. I have no doubt he will take him on a few times but a full campaign may not be possible. I think Rossi should focus on getting back into the swing of the front of the grid and plot a title campaign for next season.

He's got those Hondas to worry about too.

But if there's one guy that can shock it would be Vale.

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"I am a believer, but I start each Grand Prix with 195 liters of fuel behind me," he explains. "I don't rely entirely on God, I rely on Prost."

As with F1, this is TESTING.

In F1 Vettel and Hamilton rarely if ever post the fastest times even on their own teams as they concentrate on learning the car and its systems as well as getting a feel for the overall performance of the car. It's not until Q2 in the season opener that we get a better idea of what cars are fast and which drivers have the most speed in hand in those cars.

This is no different. Lorenzo is spectacular but he's no Rossi as of yet. Rossi is one crafty and scrappy rider and on top of that his mind is going as fast as his bike and he's always looking for a way to outsmart everyone else and has made quite the career for himself. As well sometimes a car or bike simply feels better to some than others and that can be the difference. I say let's wait until the first 2-3 races to gauge where they are in terms of one another.

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Second place is the first loser!

I think there was a point during their last season at Yamaha together where the abilty between the two 'crossed over'. In terms of that Lorenzo was improving and beginning to fulfill his potential and Rossi's powers were starting to decline. It may have only been gradual but there comes a time in every drivers career where they are rising, then at their peak and then in decline (even if its only small or very gradual). Different racers will peak at different times and some for longer than others, but it happens to everyone. I think Rossi would be doing well to get within a few tenths of Lorenzo this season.

Although it's testing, I expect to see Lorenzo edge Rossi this season. Although at his peak Rossi was arguably the greatest rider ever, I think he's starting to decline. In 2009/10 they were extremely close, and since then Lorenzo's only gotten better. I don't think we can say the same for Vale.

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I'm going to wait till mid-season before I write Rossi off, purely that the Ducati was such a dog to ride that he lost some of his 'bottle' as he wasn't sure if it would spit him off or not. Hopefully the Yamaha will bring his confidence right back, unless he has a bad season as poor old Spies had in regards to reliability / random bike failures. (the rear swingarm / suspension incident at Laguna Seca springs to mind).

Testing in MotoGP is a million times more representative than in F1.

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Apparently religious people didn't like my signature, hah! Don't read it if you are so offended by it.

When one person suffers from a delusion it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called religion. - Robert Pirsig

Yes and Rossi being the clever chap he is tried to engineer Lorenzo out of the team, Lorenzo was beginning to beat him before he got injured, 3 years on you have to believe Lorenzo has improved even more whilst Rossi has had 2 years struggling to beat Hayden at Ducati.

I've no doubts Rossi will be competitive performance wise and he has great racecraft, but i think he will struggle against the relentless pace of Lorenzo.

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Current Standing: 16th

This is very true

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PFI Pick 10 Competition

Current Standing: 16th

Nowadays he's just like Michael Schumacher in F1 the past 3 seasons. Nothing more, nothing less. Being on a better bike will result in consistent podium finishes but there's no way in hell he could beat Lorenzo on a regular basis.

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In it to win it

Rossi's on the decline. While the greatest rider of all time IMO (and my favorite sportsman ever), he would be no match for Lorenzo. Lorenzo is a great rider and at the top of his game.

Do you remember the episode when Rossi thought Yamaha needed different tyres to the ones they had? Lorenzo, continuing on the initial brand, proved him wrong. I think that was the moment Rossi's decline began. The whole defeat at Ducati may have made him forget about the difficulties he had at Yamaha, but after the tyre episode, it was strange to see him go there in the first place.

There's no reason to write Rossi off as such; he is well within the top bracket of competitors. But nothing more.

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Use every man after his desert, and who should scape whipping? Use them after your own honour and dignity.

Maria de Villota

I don't think you're right about the tyre business. In 2007, Rossi was constantly bleating about the michelins (rightly so) and there inferiority to Bridgestone on the Ducati. He got the Bridgestones on his Yamaha for 2008, won the championship and again in 2009.
People seem to forget though just how strong Lorenzo was becoming in 2009, he was faster than Rossi, but Rossi got into Lorenzos head. We should credit the fact that Rossi beat a younger, incredibly gifted rider to the championship.
Another interesting dynamic is how Lorenzo will deal with a threat from inside Yamaha for the championship. He hasn't really had that yet in either of his championships. He had Rossi covered in early 2010, but things do change, in my opinion its still a niggle to Lorenzo that he didn't have the chance to beat Rossi on the same bike.

Prediction: Lorenzo will beat Rossi overall but there will be times where Rossi will be in the ball park, and that's when Lorenzo will worry. Catalunya 2009 anyone?

I see this as the year that Dani finally goes all the way and beats them both

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"Where are all the good men dead, in the heart or in the head?"

Give 'em hell Dani!

British Driver Supporter (and Daniel Ricciardo)

I really would like to see that

He needs to get a move on though, Marquez is only going to get better. That'll be fun to watch. Marquez = Stoner minus the chip on the shoulder.

If he doesn't I think he may find himself ousted from HRC.

Regarding Rossi, I'm expecting a few wins and multiple podiums. Marquez looks the business too so there'll be plenty of competition up front you'd hope!

AND I hope Yamaha give some new bits to the Tech 3 lads.

I can't see Dani taking it this year, I actually wouldn't be surprised if Marquez beats him. But you never know of course, I've never been a fan of Dani.

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Rossi is so hungry for winning again, and that alone will drive him to fight lorenzo all the way.

I think this might be a good season. No way is he going backwards.

Nah. He's the perennial bridesmaid.

I agree, this is a make or break year for him. Last season he was really on it and came up just short. If he can keep that momentum and Rossi and Lorenzo take points off each other then I think he can do it.

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"Where are all the good men dead, in the heart or in the head?"

Give 'em hell Dani!

British Driver Supporter (and Daniel Ricciardo)

Having seem the times from today, Rossi is stuffed. I fear this may be a long year for him.

Lorenzo' consistency is unreal. I know it's only testing but Lorenzo applies this to Practice, Quali and the Race. Rossi doesn't stand a chance unfortunately.

If you think that then you don't know Valentino very well. He was on a dog of a bike for two years where he couldn't put the hammer down & trust that the bike wouldn't throw him off & yet you think that testing, after such an experience, on a new bike where he is finding his feet & confidence again, shows that he doesn't have a chance this season . Oh, & Lorenzo is not infallible. When pushed, especially if fellow Spaniard Pedrosa is ahead if him, he can make mistakes & does. That is not to say that he hasn't made huge leaps & bounds in the last few years

That's more or less what I was going to say. MotoGP testing is different.

It's pretty normal to me.
Lorenzo has a huge confidence with the bike, after a nearly crash-free succesfull season and he can push always to the limits, when Rossi was struggling even to stay on the track with Ducati.

I guess better not too bring Stoner into this?

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Current Standing: 16th

Rossi is old, it doesn't surprise me that he may have lost some raw speed. But he showed last season he's lost nothing in racecraft and determination. Much like MSC part 2. If MSC had a proper top car he would have won races, especially in 2012. Rossi has a top bike so I expect he will win some races.

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Official Kamui Kobayashi Fanboy

Aren't you forgetting the injuries Lorenzo suffered? Would Rossi have won had Lorenzo not been injured? Regardless of whether Rossi won in the end, it was shown that the Yamaha didn't need the tyres Rossi made so much fuss about.

This year should prove interesting, with Rossi having just suffered the biggest defeat of his career in failing to win the titles with Ducati. Going back to Yamaha is such a climb-down, that anything other than winning the title from Lorenzo will be another defeat.

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Use every man after his desert, and who should scape whipping? Use them after your own honour and dignity.

Maria de Villota

Aren't you forgetting that in 2009 Bridgstone was sole tyre supplier and Lorenzo had a injury-free year. He beat him to the championship because he was bullet proof in the head. But i absolutely believe Lorenzo was faster. Lorenzo has the benefit now of experience. He will beat Rossi, i am fairly convinced of this.

This just comes across as delusional. The M1 isn't a new bike to Rossi, he was the man that put it on the map, remember? I hope you're right, i really do, i'm a huge Rossi fan but Lorenzo is part of the new generation, much like Rossi was in his prime. Who could beat Rossi in his prime? Its the same situation.

It's an interesting point with regards to Pedrosa however. But Rossi could only interfere in these circumstances if he's fast enough. Judging from what everyone has seen so far, he's not in the mix. Pedrosa poses the greatest risk to Lorenzo, not Rossi.

The one thing I have never been accused of before is being delusional. Of course it's a new bike to Rossi. Apart from the fact that he has been riding a bike with totally different characteristics for the last two years, the Yamaha has also moved on in that time & changed. And, yes, I do remember that Valentino put Yamaha on the map, so to speak, considering I have been following his career since he first started racing. Dani might have improved in the last couple of years but he's not exactly at the level of Lorenzo, who like Valentino, showed his exceptional natural talent from the moment he got a ride in MotoGP. If it wasn't for Dani's backers & supporters since he arrived in MotoGP he would have been out of the premier class considering the number of years he has been there & the results, or lack of, he has had. Other riders haven't been so lucky.

No, I'm not, because once there was a sole tyre supplier, the "problem" of needing "better" tyres didn't present itself.

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Use every man after his desert, and who should scape whipping? Use them after your own honour and dignity.

Maria de Villota

[/quote]
Aren't you forgetting that in 2009 Bridgstone was sole tyre supplier and Lorenzo had a injury-free year. He beat him to the championship because he was bullet proof in the head. But i absolutely believe Lorenzo was faster. Lorenzo has the benefit now of experience. He will beat Rossi, i am fairly convinced of this.

[/quote]No, I'm not, because once there was a sole tyre supplier, the "problem" of needing "better" tyres didn't present itself.[/quote]

Ok, so you're talking about 2008 then?

Obviously.

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Use every man after his desert, and who should scape whipping? Use them after your own honour and dignity.

Maria de Villota

Right, the year Rossi won the championship on Bridgestones in a tyre war. Ok.

He is only 34 though, and Michael's best season lately came at the age of 43.

I might add that perhaps F1 and MotoGP are not the same. Maybe the latter is more physical?

People, much like a lot of you, wrote Rossi off after the '06 defeat to Nicky Hayden. They were wrong. They said he had lost it and was slower than before, they were wrong. A lot of people here say he has lost it and he is slower. We will see if you are wrong. To be sure, that spanish sheet of cardboard Lorenso is as fast as Rossi and Pedrosa seems as fast as the cardboard....should be an interesting year! Oh and in some of the tests so far Rossi was riding last years Bike vs the 2013 bike.

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Aprilia RSV Mille.

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OK....

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Use every man after his desert, and who should scape whipping? Use them after your own honour and dignity.

Maria de Villota

I think it's odd to say the least, that people are writing off Rossi like he's washed up. I think that most of the people in this thread will be in for a surprise come the end of the season. Will he win it? Maybe, it's not beyond the realms of possibility. Will he be right up there? I'm sure he will.

Would Lorenzo have won in 2010 or 2012 if it wasn't for injuries of other people?

What Ifs.