Stoner Retiring

[sprtbkbabe]

http://www.bikesportnews.com/news-de...12&newsid=7024

[Ted]

Hmmmm .... wow... ok !!! I don't like when silly season starts this early.......but whatever.. Rossi to Honda ? .... just saying !

[JustSomeDude]

Hmmmm .... wow... ok !!! I don't like when silly season starts this early.......but whatever.. Rossi to Honda ? .... just saying !

I'd say that's a definite.

Honda won't mind bringing Rossi back (regardless of their recent statements), as long as he'll be gunning for Agostini's record. Who wouldn't want to be a part of that kind of motorcycle history?

Bummer to see Stoner go for sure - but this will create opportunities for other riders.

[longrider]

Wow!! I do want to see verification of this but if it is true I dont know what to say

[Ted]

Wow!! I do want to see verification of this but if it is true I dont know what to say

Its on Motogp.com ... can't get more official than that.

[oh10raven]

I think his "pass" was revoked after having a kid.

[sprtbkbabe]

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2012/Casey+retirement

Ugh.. I was hoping for rumour, too. But, nope

[sprtbkbabe]

“After a long time thinking, a lot of time talking with my family and my wife, this has been coming for a couple of years now but at the end of this 2012 season I will be not racing in the 2013 Championship. I will be finishing my career at the end of this season in MotoGP, and go forward in different things in my life,” Stoner told the assembled press.

“After so many years of doing this sport which I love, and which myself and my family made so many sacrifices for, after so many years of trying to get to where we have gotten to at this point, this sport has changed a lot and it has changed to the point where I am not enjoying it. I don't have the passion for it and so at this time it's better if I retire now.

“There are a lot of things that have disappointed me, and also a lot of things I have loved about this sport, but unfortunately the balance has gone in the wrong direction. And so, basically, we won't be continuing any more. It would be nice if I could say I would stay one more year, but then where does it stop? So we decided to finish everything as we are now.”

[Jmetz]

“After a long time thinking, a lot of time talking with my family and my wife, this has been coming for a couple of years now but at the end of this 2012 season I will be not racing in the 2013 Championship. I will be finishing my career at the end of this season in MotoGP, and go forward in different things in my life,” Stoner told the assembled press.

“After so many years of doing this sport which I love, and which myself and my family made so many sacrifices for, after so many years of trying to get to where we have gotten to at this point, this sport has changed a lot and it has changed to the point where I am not enjoying it. I don't have the passion for it and so at this time it's better if I retire now.

“There are a lot of things that have disappointed me, and also a lot of things I have loved about this sport, but unfortunately the balance has gone in the wrong direction. And so, basically, we won't be continuing any more. It would be nice if I could say I would stay one more year, but then where does it stop? So we decided to finish everything as we are now.”

Good for him, he's doing it right. Instead of muddling through and being miserable, he knows he's not happy anymore and it's time to pull out.

[troy_v]

he knows he's not happy anymore and it's time to pull out.

That's what she said!!

[045]

I think his "pass" was revoked after having a kid.

hate when that happens..

[salsashark]

I've seen numerous interviews w/ Stoner where he said that he didn't expect his career to last much longer, but this is the first news of an official retirement.

But, he's a new father and it's not surprising at all.

So yeah, look Rossi, a position at Honda just opened up

[rybo]

Remarkable -

Casey is the one rider in the paddock who really stand a chance of taking the title of GOAT away from Valentino.

I've always liked Casey's form and behavior on track, and sometimes disliked his whininess off track. He's a fantastic rider for sure and deserving of the championships that he has won / earned.

That being said, he is the man who has pushed the way that moto gp bikes are ridden and for that he has my respect.

He's been great fun to watch through 125's / 250's and Moto GP - thanks for some great entertainment Casey!

[kawasakirob]

Remarkable -

Casey is the one rider in the paddock who really stand a chance of taking the title of GOAT away from Valentino.

Right?

[flyingmonkey]

Sad to hear stoner is on his way out.

Mark Marquez might be the future for Honda in motogp. All he needs is a season or 2 and in the motogp class.

[CYCLE_MONKEY]

Remarkable -

Casey is the one rider in the paddock who really stand a chance of taking the title of GOAT away from Valentino.

I've always liked Casey's form and behavior on track, and sometimes disliked his whininess off track. He's a fantastic rider for sure and deserving of the championships that he has won / earned.

That being said, he is the man who has pushed the way that moto gp bikes are ridden and for that he has my respect.

He's been great fun to watch through 125's / 250's and Moto GP - thanks for some great entertainment Casey!

Hell, Rossi hasn't taken the title of GOAT from the great Giacomo Agostini yet......

Mmmm, he's a great rider, no doubt, and has DEFINATELY stepped up his mental game from the "win it or bin it" (mostly bin it) style he used to have, but I don't see him being at Rossi's overall level yet, or ever. Rossi has won a title in every class (125, 250, 500, 1000, and 800), riding 2-stroke and 4-stroke, and winning for 3 different manufacturers. Stoner has only won it on 800's, and you could say he definately had the best bike both times. The Duc had insane power relative to the other 800's that first year, and then once the others figured out the FI fuel-saving strategy, it became uncompetitive.

[salsashark]

I guess I'd better go out and order a maisto stoner honda to go w/ my stoner duc...

[The Black Knight]

Wow guess I'm the only one who won't miss Stoner..

[Graphite675]

Wow guess I'm the only one who won't miss Stoner..

I'm with you. Can't deny the guy's riding ability but the off track whining is just too much for me.

"I'm going to take my toys and go home! wah wah wah" ...

Can't believe he is hanging it up at the prime of his career?

.

[CraigB]

I'm with you. Can't deny the guy's riding ability but the off track whining is just too much for me. ...


.

I'll third that. What changes exactly is he whining about now?

I've only been following MotoGP closely for the past couple of seasons but I can't imagine what the guy's whining about. If it's the introduction of CRT, the guy's more of a whiner than I thought.

So, they modified the rules so that they could keep teams on the track while the economy is bad. BFD!

[Ghost]

Wow guess I'm the only one who won't miss Stoner..

Nope, I find him whiny and annoying, won't miss him either.

And, as someone said, maybe Rossi can take his slot, that's a trade I'd welcome.

[The Black Knight]

Nope, I find him whiny and annoying, won't miss him either.

And, as someone said, maybe Rossi can take his slot, that's a trade I'd welcome.

Dude exactly, you want to know my theory? Based on some of Stoner's comments in that press release on MotoGP.com I think what he means by "things in the sport have gotten worse(to paraphrase him)" is that Honda has secretly been courting Rossi to come back. They know Rossi has a chance to break Agostini's records and they are probably more than willing to put their past differences aside and have Rossi come back and do it on their machine. Now Honda has more than likely made their intentions known to Stoner and that's why he's upset over the "some things haven't changed and gotten worse in this sport" aspect. Honda told Stoner that he doesn't have a prayer in surpassing anyone's records. Rossi does and they'd love to go down in history as the manufacture that Rossi set all time records on.

That's just my take and with the way motogp is run, business is business. And for Honda that's a great business move. I mean think about it. Every major rider in the MotoGP paddock is due to have their contract up at the end of 2012. I don't care what anyone says, Rossi still has a lot of speed left in him and with Stoner retiring and Spies not performing, you know both Honda and Yamaha are giving it some serious thought to having "The Doctor" back on their rides. Even Pedrosa hasn't produced the results that were once thought he would. The flip side is everyone knows Rossi can and will produce results if he's on a bike that works and is fast. I mean it wasn't but just a few years ago that Rossi went back to back GP championships and finished 2nd to Lorenzo in 2010 and still managed a 7th place overall in the championship last year riding that piece of crap Ducati.

Rossi may be getting a little long in the tooth but that man still has some thunder left in his stride. I wouldn't count him out if he's on a bike that is just as fast as everyone else. The guy didn't win 9 Championships by just being lucky.

If anything I think Rossi had tougher competition back in the days of Biaggi and Gibernau. I mean, nobody could scrap like Rossi and Gibernau. Watching those two race was awesome. In my honest opinion Gibernau was the only racer I've seen that could actually hang with Rossi and ride at his level. Stoner has been proven in the past that Rossi owns him with mind games and breaks him during the races. Gibernau was the one rider I watched that could actually challenge Rossi's mind games. Unfortunately Gibernau had to retire due to injuries that just never healed but that dude was nails when he raced Rossi.


Proof:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo5EAznbBCo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF9X7776j1o

[CYCLE_MONKEY]

I mean, nobody could scrap like Rossi and Gibernau.

I dunno......maybe Schwantz, Rainey, Lawson, Doohan, Gardener, Mamola?

[kawasakirob]

I dunno......maybe Schwantz, Rainey, Lawson, Doohan, Gardener, Mamola?

Roberts, Sheene, Kosinski, Spencer,