Stoner Retiring

[mauser72]

Thats what bothers me about stoner he has all the talent in the world but doesnt posses the heart of a racer that is willing to ride no matter the injury or ailment he could be something great but obviously doesnt have the drive to do it and proved my opinion right by leaving gp in his prime

[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.

[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!

[FZjake719]

Stoner: a blast to watch, a pain to listen to

Rossi: a blast to watch, a blast to listen to

IMHO Rossi will always > Stoner.

I am sad to see him go, but i dont blame him. As its been said his heart isnt in it, and ultimately its his decision. We dont have to agree with it, but i personally respect him for making the(im sure)difficult decision to hang it up.

[kawasakirob]

Thats what bothers me about stoner he has all the talent in the world but doesnt posses the heart of a racer that is willing to ride no matter the injury or ailment he could be something great but obviously doesnt have the drive to do it and proved my opinion right by leaving gp in his prime

He's going to have 3 premier championships from 2 manufacturers. I think that means he's pretty great? No?

[Ted]

He's going to have 3 premier championships from 2 manufacturers. I think that means he's pretty great? No?

wow..... not so fast ! I bet someone puts milk in his tea, coffeee or whatever he drinks before the races !

[stubbicatt]

I understand the symptoms and effect of severe lactose intolerance, and understand the psychological burden of knowing something severe is wrong, but not being able to figure out what it is. I don't fault the guy for figuring it out.

I also admire the man for doing what is right by his family, and feels right in his heart. I don't have to agree with his decision, but I respect a man so talented as Casey Stoner.

I still cheer on V.R.46 as I have been following him since the mid-late 90s, and always enjoyed his showmanship. I hope he is able to reach his goals with whichever team he is with.

[sag]

ill believe it when i see it. gonna be tough to hang it up if he doesnt win the 'ship

[oh10raven]

I see is like someone saying, "this will be our last run" at the end of the day snowboarding; so many times it just doesn't end well.

I don't like Casey, but I can respect his ability to ride a motorbike. I'd like to see someone (Rossi on a Yami) knock him off his thrown. Probably not likely to happen this year.

[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

[lth]

Incredible news. Retiring at 26, one of the fastest riders ever, skills not diminished even a tiny bit...wow.

Week in and week out he's been duking it out...and winning...against the other best racers on the planet, with the finest and most dedicated engineers and techs in the world, and now he's going to do what? Play with his kid? How in the world is he going to keep from getting bored out of his skull? With all due respect to family life, he didn't get to where he is without some serious drive, and it's going to be hard to replicate the passion and dedication of a Moto GP paddock playing with a baby. I have to believe he'll have to come back or start racing something else.

[salsashark]

^^ The dude's been racing for over 20 years... He started when he was 4!

Read an interview once where he commented about how much his family (not the wife and kid) had sacrificed to make sure he could race. Very similar to Nicky Hayden's story. Now, this was before his retirement announcement, but he then stated that he intended on retiring early to make up for time lost with his family. I don't think he'll have any issue filling his days. And I think you're somewhat right. He won't walk away from motorcycle racing forever, but will probably will probably be a presence in Australia like some of the racing legends in America... Consulting, teaching, working within the industry, but not gridding up.

Either way, I wish him the best. And while I got tired of the whining (it's all everyone talked about when we went to Indy was him whining about track conditions), he is and was an amazing rider to watch.

[CYCLE_MONKEY]

I mean, nobody could scrap like Rossi and Gibernau.

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

[Sean]

Anyway you look at it, he's a motherfucker on a bike. I don't really care how he is off the track. If there's an interview, I'd be happy to mute the TV and check out his wife, but he's a hell of a rider. He was riding his ass off on a bike that Rossi can't even break top 5 on and he's killing it on the Honda. Sad to see him go, but it's part of the game, new riders coming up!

[salsashark]

seems pretty comfortable with his decision...

2012 MotoGP LeMans Combined Free Practice Times:
1. Casey Stoner (Honda) 1'33.740
2. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) 1'34.005
3. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) 1'34.136
4. Alvaro Bautista (Honda) 1'34.437
5. Ben Spies (Yamaha) 1'34.467
6. Andrea Dovizioso (Yamaha) 1'34.585
7. Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha) 1'34.610
8. Hector Barbera (Ducati) 1'35.079
9. Valentino Rossi (Ducati) 1'35.112
10. Nicky Hayden (Ducati) 1'35.132
11. Stefan Bradl (Honda) 1'35.201
12. Karel Abraham (Ducati) 1'35.787
13. Randy De Puniet (ART) 1'36.438
14. Yonny Hernandez (BQR) 1'36.928
15. Mattia Pasini (ART) 1'37.093
16. Michele Pirro (FTR) 1'37.310
17. Aleix Espargo (ART) 1'37.585
18. Danilo Petrucci (IODA) 1'38.255
19. Ivan Silva (BQR) 1'38.260
20. James Ellison (ART) 1'38.395
21. Chris Vermeulen (SUTER) 1'39.383

[kawasakirob]

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

Roberts, Sheene, Kosinski, Spencer,

[Sean]

21. Chris Vermeulen (SUTER) 1'39.383

Did I miss something? I didn't know he was back racing MotoGP? Have I just not been paying attention to the back of the pack?

[rybo]

Did I miss something? I didn't know he was back racing MotoGP? Have I just not been paying attention to the back of the pack?

Filling in for Colin since Colin is broken.

[kawasakirob]

Collarbone

[Sean]

Filling in for Colin since Colin is broken.

Guess it threw me off since Suter didn't have a sub for the last race.

Colin is two races down. He may only be able to place 2nd this year.




Do you think Stoner is retiring because he found out Colin is mortal, and it blew his mind?

[VFR]

seems pretty comfortable with his decision...

Nice Bautista

[CYCLE_MONKEY]

I wish him best of luck and happiness in his retirement. He's brought a lot of excitement to the sport.

That all said, I think that most of his success are due to all the electronic band-aids in MotoGP, and the fact that he, beter than all the riders, trusts them to make things happen. Not that he isn't a good or maybe even great ridere, but you look where he was before all the amazing TC devices and you look where he is now. He won the inaugural 800cc title on the Duc because their FI Engineers had figured out how to save fuel during closed throttle, so they didn't have to run lean/low power. you can see this in how much harder it accelerated and was faster than the other bikes. they also had a lot better TC due to the F1 Magnetti Marelli connection. Last year and this year the Honda is definately the best bike, with better power and better TC. I've seen him do things that would not be doable without it. The biggest advancement in TC was the programmers figuring out that you can't cut power abruptly, and that you need to let the slide happen, and SLOWLY dial it back. Casey has proven the master at this. Look at what happened in the rain, and earlier in his career when he didn't have that safety net. Like Rossi, I think TC has no place in racing. Street, yes, racing, no, because it then comes down strictly to programming.

Like I said, best to him, and let the silly season start early!

[kawasakirob]

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."