Say--are you surprised by ...

If you want to irritate Casey Stoner, something that journalists can do all too easily, ask him if he is surprised by the form of the rookies in MotoGP this season. He gets that question put to him about four times a day at the moment thanks to the form of Jorge Lorenzo—three poles, a masterful win and two more rostrum finishes in the first three races, James Toseland—a front row start and three fighting top-ten places, and Andrea Dovizioso—one of the many fighting with Toseland in Qatar and Jerez and he ran with the front men in Portugal. Of the quartet of new boys only Alex de Angelis has failed to make a significant impact. To some cynics this is evidence that MotoGP has been dumbed down and the new generation of 800cc bikes is too easy to ride. And of course it is the evils of traction control that gets the blame.

All of which conveniently ignores a few facts. The nature of MotoGP bikes indisputably changed with the lowering of the capacity to 800cc, but it is the one-liter reduction in fuel tank capacity to 21 liters that has been most significant, certainly in terms of electronic control. First, a basic truth. Traction control only matters when you don't have enough grip. It mattered a lot with the 990s' excess of power on worn tires, but it doesn't get used at all when an 800 is out on qualifiers thanks to their excess of grip. The vast majority of the work on electronics is currently focussed on fueling, on how to use those 21 liters most efficiently. Qatar saw Hondas running out of fuel on the slowdown lap, something Ducati have previously been best at. Fillipo Prezioso, Ducati Corse's Technical Director, is known to get very upset if there is more than a small wine glass's worth of fuel in the tank at the flag. After all, anything left at the finish is a waste of the potential to go faster. The clever trick is burning the fuel where it does most good. Last year we saw some Hondas slide rapidly down field in the closing laps as the engine management software leaned the carburetion right off to make sure they finished. One of Casey Stoner's major talents is being able to race the Ducati when its motor is in that viciously-peaky lean mode, something no other rider has been able to do. That's nothing to do with electronic aids and everything to do with the rider.

As for the rookies, we are dealing with a very talented crop. Lorenzo won the last two 250 titles, Dovizioso pushed him all the way on the outgunned Honda and is an ex-125 champ, while Toseland has won World Superbike titles on both a V-twin and a straight-four. De Angelis won just one GP in 130 starts. Add-in the way in which MotoGP bikes now need to be ridden, much like a super 250, and it is no surprise that Lorenzo and Dovizioso have been so quick. The surprise is that James Toseland has been so competitive, and it is a tribute to his intelligence and willingness to listen to his team.

He brought no preconceived ideas of how to ride a MotoGP bike and with the guidance of his engineer Guy Coulon—who Toseland says has 'forgotten more about motorbikes than I'll ever know'—has impressed the whole paddock, including Valentino Rossi who singled him out when asked about the rookies. Casey Stoner agreed, or did when he was still answering questions on the subject, and brought up another significant reason for their impressive debuts, the amount of testing now done in the close season. The World Champion has also suggested there is too much of it and most other riders agree. Team members are completely sure they are already away from home for too long. Seriously, this was identified as a real problem in Formula 1 where team management were finding it difficult to hang on to experienced staff as the number of races increased.

Casey Stoner's opinion is simple. Give riders as talented as Dovi, Jorge and James that amount of testing before they get to a GP and you really shouldn't be surprised when they go fast. However, the first two races were on tracks where they have all raced and or tested. The third and fourth are both on tracks where none of them has neither tested nor raced a MotoGP bike. In Toseland's case, he's never seen either track. The rookies' form in these races can and should tell us a lot more about their potential. So far it confirms the above analysis—but this was written the week before the Estoril race.