Video: Casey Stoner's warm-up lap crash

I make no apology for having a crack at kawasakibiker.co.uk. But I think we are starting to develop a slightly perverse symbiotic relationship within these pages - what am I saying?!

However back to issue - Casey Stoner. It seems pretty apparent to me through reading various press articles that during the last two years Casey has not been at 100% for reasons of either injury or sickness. It would be a brave man that says he is not the fastest man on two wheels. You're not going to hear it from the other 'Aliens' but it's been uttered enough times by the lesser lights - least not Ben Spies recently.

Of course 2010 is 'must win' for Casey, as it is for all the Aliens and their fragile egos I believe. Second place =  first loser..... As we do, I'm sure they would all revel in a 2010 title fight where no tangible excuses can be rolled out, and the best man wins. Not that I'm saying Rossi didn't deserve title no.9 - he most certainly did - he was the best. But that's in the past now.

Yes Casey is not Mr Gregarious populist Valentino Rossi or even as WWB astutely said Rossi v2.0 - aka Lorenzo, with all their post race theatrical pantomines. Yeah Casey is a bit spikey in the manner of many a past racing great. Lawson, Roberts, Gardner, Doohan. I don't watch them for their personality which cannot be judged through a T.V lens anyway - you need a few beers and a good yarn for that. As a Kiwi, cocky Aussies usually grate on me, Stoner doesn't - he seems pretty on the level. I can only watch in awe of his sublime abilities on two wheels. Time will tell if he is truly great with enduring sucess or a Spencer esque supernova. I'm picking the former.

On this video we see Casey weaving the bike almost  to the corner. Unfortunately, we don't quite see what happened as he exited the corner, but it seems the bike's rear end was wagging like a dog's tail before it finally highsided the rider. The question is, 'Was Casey weaving the bike as he exited the corner i.e. while he still had some lean on? '  Call it overconfidence, arrogance or what you will, he made a mistake which presumably he won't make again. Far better to screw up at the end of this year than next year when a stupid mistake could knock his confidence.

So what if Stoner whinges? Rossi does too. Everyone does. It's no big deal really. I'm a fan of Rossi and always have been since he started in 125's and I have become a fan of Stoner. I'm not a Lorenzo fan as I feel that he tries to be Rossi 2.0 instead of being Lorenzo 1.0.

So what if Stoner rarely says anything nice about the other riders. When did you ever hear Doohan praise someone? At the end of the day it all comes down to mind games and who can play them best, and right now it's Rossi.  I forget who said it first but when you have the other guys worrying about what you're doing instead of concentrating on what they're doing, you have them beat.

Let's not forget that Stoner is only 22 or so so could be forgiven for not being a complete person just yet. Honestly how many people can say they were a finished product at that age?

In life there are always going to be people who are undeniably great at what they do but polarise opinion and when they are at the pinnacle of motorcycle racing it makes it so much more fun and interesting for the likes of us to exchange our opinions. All of which are equally valid. Unless you disagree with me. (That was a joke.)