| Rossi rides better under pressure, and Sete knows this too. I really don't think there's anything that anyone can do at the moment to beat him, maybe in the odd race just not over the whole championship.
Something always makes me think that Rossi is toying with people, exactly as you say by stalking them and going past at will. We'll never know just how much he's got in reserve (like negating a 10-second penalty as he did at Philip Island in 2003 iirc?) and that's why he's the best rider out there.
Does it make the racing any less exciting? No. We know he's on a lesser machine - you're not telling me that the Yamahá is better on paper than the Hondá! - and it makes the racing that much better and maybe more even. Having Rossi on a Hondá this (and last) year would have been like F1 with the Schumaker/Ferrari partnership over the last few years and turned it into a procession.
All credit to Sete for being up there with him, but he'll only win on Rossi's mistakes and that just ain't gonna happen.  |