Schwantz on Stoner.
www.superbikeplanet.com
"Stoner's retirement. My take on it is, if you're satisfied with what you've done and how you've done it, and you don't enjoy doing it any more, then go. I'm not just directing that at Casey, but at anybody. The sport that we've chosen is a competitive one. It's a trying one. It is dangerous. And if what you're doing is not the most fun that you've ever had in your entire life, you really ought to quit, because there are a lot of other things that you could go do, that are a lot safer than that. You need to be 100% on your game and focused on what's going on out there. Casey's been one of those that struggled to get there, got there, and when he got there in '07 he made it look pretty easy. He had some rough years since then, but at the end of last year, you would've thought a 26-year-old Casey Stoner would race for another ten years.
I guess what I don't like the most about Casey and his retirement is, that now he's taking the opportunity to bag a sport, or to ditch on a sport that has given him so much. "Yeah," Casey will say, "but I've given just as much back." Yeah, but we all do. It's something that we love. It's something that's given us an opportunity to make a really good living. But if you just don't want to do it any more, you don't have to have something to beat up on, to be able to give you a reason to walk away. If you're going to quit, just man up and quit. If you don't want to do it any more, then retire. That's your choice. But don't continue to talk trash about a racing series that is the premier two-wheel motorsport in the world, and has a long, long-standing history of great competition, great champions. Tip your hat and walk away from the sport and be graceful about it. Don't talk sh*t."