Bye Bye Casey

For those who like motorcycle racing, and the performance of Ducati in particular (David against Goliath, with the Japansese quartet of manufacturers in the role of Goliath), here is one of the last images (on a Ducati) that you will see of the rider who won the world championship for the Italian manufacturer in 2007: the Australian rider Casey Stoner.

Stoner's record has been pretty good, and he has been the only Ducati GP rider to make his bike show regularly at the front, with plenty of pole positions and a lot of top placings, as well as one world championship. He has now signed with Honda for the next few years, and is replaced by an Italian rider, one of the greatest ever, Valentino Rossi. Now I am not a great Rossi fan, as the guy has seemed arrogant and generally "over-the-top" on many occasions over recent years. And the rumours have it that he is very greedy in his financial conditions. But there is no doubt as to his skills as a rider. We shall see whether he still also has that incredible will-power to get ahead of the others, despite sometimes adverse circumstances. The "killer" instinct that made him win races even when suffering from injuries. For Ducati's sake, and for ours as spectators, let's hope so. An Italian rider on an Italian machine will certainly add some spice to GP racing.