Valentino Rossi: Great mistake to dismiss Casey Stoner threat

Valentino Rossi has told MCN it would be a great mistake to dismiss Casey Stoner’s MotoGP title hopes as the Aussie struggles to overcome health problems.
Stoner has surrendered crucial ground in the world championship battle in the last three races as he’s battled chronic fatigue and nausea in Catalunya and Assen.
And last weekend a bout of arm pump left him off the podium in Laguna Seca, with the 23-year-old remaining in California to undergo a series of rigorous medical checks to try and diagnose his problem.
Rossi has outscored the 2007 MotoGP world champion by 25-points in the last three and Stoner is now 16-points adrift of the in-form Italian heading to the German GP at the Sachsenring next weekend.
But the Fiat Yamaha rider certainly won’t be dismissing Stoner’s title challenge and the eight-times world champion told MCN: “For me it is a great mistake to think that Stoner is not competitive this year or that he is finished because he was behind in the last three races and sick on the podium. I expect him very strong for the rest of the year and he is still a massive rival.”