Stoner admits defeat in title race
Added on Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments
Stoner concedes world championship defence.
World Champion Casey Stoner has conceded defeat in his title defence after Valentino Rossi opened up an 87-point gap with victory at Indianapolis.
Stoner, who has trailed Rossi for much of the season despite four victories, has managed just 33 points in the previous round, compared to the Italian’s haul of 100 points from four consecutive wins.
Following Sunday’s win, Rossi needs just 14 points out of a possible century to secure the title whilst the Australian must secure at least two wins and further two podiums - one of which must be at least a second place finish, to stand any chance of reclaiming his crown should Rossi slip-up.
It’s a task that even the normally-confident 22-year-old has dismissed, with the Ducati rider claiming that the title race is all but over.
“It was gone a while ago,” he conceded. “We started to bring it back again, and it was gone again.
“We gave too many points away at the beginning of the season and that’s really stung us now with these two crashes (in the previous two rounds at Brno and Misano).”
“If we hadn’t done such a bad beginning of the season, we would still have been within reach. But that’s the way it’s gone this year - that’s the way things seem to be panning out for me.”
Stoner also quashed suggestions that he was passing the blame onto other factors, having had trouble with the 2009 Ducati earlier in the season.
“We’re not putting the blame on anybody and I’ve been riding the best I can,” he continued. “The practice sessions have gone perfectly and I’ve been learning a lot more. But the races just haven’t worked out.
Stoner has however gone back on team advice to withdraw from the final four rounds of the season to undergo wrist surgery, whilst he still has a mathematical chance of claiming the title.
No Comments