[Closed] Stoner to retire from MotoGP...

Hell of a shame.

He's a better rider than Rossi, possibly the best of all time.
Shame he's not going to be around to prove it.

I like his attitude as well, Rossi's has always come across as a two faced little sod and I'm quite glad he's failed at Ducati.

Bit early to say Rossi has failed, when started at yamaha it took him a while to get bike working.

Stoner will be missed though, no one lays it all out quite like him!

To concentrate on alternative energy sources... ?

hahaha

Surely you're trolling Rusty?

Casey is a hell of a rider for sure, but he's only won consistently when he's been on the best machine. Not taking anything away from him, but he's always been too quick to blame his equipment/the weather/absolutely anything he could, when not winning.

He has been by far and away the best competition Rossi has ever faced, certainly I remember the 2008 Laguna Seca race where those 2 were in an absolute class of their own.

He has matured well though, 4/5 years ago he was just ridiculously quick, now he's ridiculously quick and knows how/when to conserve tyres and energy. But I still don't think he's up there with the greats, of which, IMO Rossi is still number one.

Interestingly, no specific reasons given for his retirement. He's only young still, OK so he's married, and perhaps not enjoying it quite as much as he did. But my God man, normal life is so much more dull! Methinks he'll be back in MotoGP within 2 seasons cos he can't hack not being on a bike.

Rusty spanner wins daftest statement of the year award 😆

Go on then, why?

Rossi (Pre Ducati) has had the best bike AND Jeremy Burgess to help him.
Stoner has won on his own merits. No one else has been able to ride that Ducati, apart from Troy Bayliss.

Except that the yamaha wasn't.

when started at yamaha it took him a while to get bike working

erm...? winning his very first race on it, and the championship that year and the next?

The Yam was a much better bike than the Ducati, much more conventional and Burgess was able to adapt it perfectly for Valentino.

To Casey to have achieved what he did on that Ducati is amazing.
For me he's the best rider of the modern era.

Interestingly, no specific reasons given for his retirement.

He's said he doesn't like the way the sport is going and is retiring as he doesn't really like it. Means the door is open if the regs change I suppose.

And the regs will change - CRT for Moto GP, treaded tyres for WSB, or in the worst case an amalgamation of the two.

I just hope he's well.
Didn't really believe the wheat intolerance thing, tbh.

Lorenzo to HRC, Rossi back to Yamaha, Cal to take Spies ride?

So Honda or any of the other teams haven't anyone like Burgess 😆 Burgess shines when he can get the manufacterer to change designs to suit the rider, Honda did this for Doohan then Rossi. Yamaha had a bit of a dog and were happy to accomodate Burgess and Rossi. Ducati are set in their ways and wont change the angle of the engine in the frame which causes front end vagueness. It took a monumental effort to get them to change the frame so it has a bit of flex in it.

You will have to define the modern era

Rossi has won 9 world championships and you dont think he is as good as Stoner.

I don't even think Rossi is the GOAT.

Pigface - Member

So Honda or any of the other teams haven't anyone like Burgess

Not since Erv Kanemoto packed up, no. 🙂

Burgess shines when he can get the manufacterer to change designs to suit the rider, Honda did this for Doohan then Rossi. Yamaha had a bit of a dog and were happy to accomodate Burgess and Rossi.

Rossi and JB are a great partnership, but the simple fact that Stoner won on a bike that no one else could cope with speaks volumes.

Rossi isn't John Hopkins - if he can't win, he backs off.
He's obviously much better than his results this year, but he only left Yamaha 'cos he was scared that Lorenzo would beat him in a fair fight.

If we're arguing about GOATS, Nieto, Ago, Hailwood, Doohan, Hislop and Dunlop are all up there with Rossi imho, but in the 4 stroke era, Stoner's ability, dedication and results with such an evil pig of a bike as the Ducati lift him way above.

Hey if you think that Rossi left Yamaha becuase of that then fine I cant change your mind. I think you are way off the mark.

That Ducati had a hell of an lot of electronics on it 😉

I think the corporate mind set at Honda changed when Erv left. The fun went out of it, though that is true for Motogp full stop.

Its all fun and games and I dont hide the fact that I think Stoner is a little whiner, he even moans when he announces his retirement 😆

Not totally unexpected I guess. For many riders, once they have kids their priorities change. For some they carry on racing but become uncompetitive, others like Casey couldn't live with that and call it a day. You've got to respect such a brave decision.

I would love to see Lorenzo to Honda, Spies to Ducati and Cal to get his ride alongside Rossi.

Even CS announcing retirement causes people to bitch about "Rossi is better and blah"

I'd be doing the same if I was him.

Rossi drifting that Honda 990 around Barcelona blew my mind as did Casey skating the Duke around on the edge but why does it always have to descend into this.

Gotta be time for condescend-smilie 🙄

Anyway they're all shit up to McPint 🙂

Shame, stoner had so much more to achieve and most likely would have.....

What on earth will he do though......?

I'm not going to denegrate Casey Stoner's retirement with talk of other riders.

Having watched him in UK Aprilia cup races to his 'dramatic' style in 125s and his very early jump up to 250s and then back to 125s and then 250s again and finally exploding into motogp in 2007, it seems like such a short carear. He has managed to fit a lot into it and it has always been a balls out style that has made him such a pleasure to watch riding a motorcycle so fast, faster than it should go.

How would stoner do on a good old fashioned fire spitting 500cc two stroke.
That would be interesting?

What on earth will he do though......?

Stoner says racing in the V8 Supercar series is something he will consider in the future after announcing his retirement from MotoGP.

The 26-year-old Australian confirmed in a press conference at Le Mans on Thursday that the 2012 season will be his last in MotoGP after two titles with Ducati and Honda.

Stoner said he had lost his passion for MotoGP and admitted he will consider a future in V8 Supercars, but not right away.

"It is something I am definitely interested to do in the future, but whether I will be fast enough or not is another thing," said Stoner.

"That will be not in the near future, the immediate future. There are many things that I would like to do with my life, and to be honest I don't want to keep racing bikes to the point where I lose completely my passion.

"I don't want to finish racing and then not want to ride a bike for the next five or 10 years, I love bikes, it has been my whole life and if I keep doing it I am afraid I will lose completely my passion for it and not want to go near a bike for the next 10 years and that would scare me, for many, many reasons."

Stoner denied, however, that racing in the Supercar series had anything to do with his decision to retire from the world championship.

The Australian impressed when he drove Triple Eight's Holden V8 Supercar in a test in December last year.

"It is by no means any reason for my decision," he said. "This has been coming for a long time, it is not something that has just happened.

"I have tested the V8 car, and that is something we have been trying to do for the last two or three years, to be honest, and finally it happened. So there is no coincidence to it whatsoever.

"Also the birth of my little girl had nothing to do with this. It had a small part in making the decision easier but by no means is it the reason why I made this decision."

What will he do when he retires?
More money than I the average mere mortal could cope with...
A beautiful wife...
More talent in his turds than most people I know have in their bodies...

He'll probably move back to Kurri Kurri and moan about how rubbish it is. At least this time his moan will be spot on!

While I'm disappointed that he's 'jumped' while so young, he's obviously got the cash to retire and if he hasn't the will to race - better he does what he wants, rather then continue. Shame really.

And anyway RS, I thought we'd established that Mike the Bike was the best rider ever?

threads like this really **** with my vanity searching.

And anyway, Rossi is much better than me.

He's just become a dad and I think what happened to Marco last year has made him think a little on how precious life is. He's achieved his goals in life and he's nothing really to prove to anyone. I will miss him racing as I think he's brilliant and I know Troy won on the Duke but only Casey ever did over a season and he's proved just how good he was on it by everyone's poor showing on it since.
Casey doesn't like the way MotoGP is going too with the CRT bikes and maybe just maybe in the future he will come back but don't count on it. I wish him all the best and hope he goes out as reigning champ too.

Although i concede that Stoner's a hugely proficient rider, he's just a bit, well, boring to watch race. Once he got over his crashing phase (some awesome high-speed getoff's!) and he started to get consistent pole positions he'd just bugger off into the distance and avoid a scrap (Rossi would actively go looking for one...). On the odd occasion when he'd get into close racing i find he'd bottle it. Plus he's not exactly charismatic... just my opinion.

Still loving this photo...[img] [/img]

and then there were two 🙁

Marco Marco Marco 😥

Marco Marco Marco

He's a great rider,but one that I can't warm to. It's a massive blow to a series that is disappearing up it's own orifice.
And as for the pointless GOAT debate,it has to be Kenny Roberts.....the Sheene/Roberts battle at Silverstone was my first GP.

Still miss marco on the track - only thing I'll miss about Casey is his missus

The main problem with Rossi is the army of braying mongs that pass for his fans.*

*I realise they probably aren't all morons but it just seems that way.

Bye Casey, it was nice knowing you.

People talk about the Ducati as if it has never evolved, unlike the other bikes out there. Not being funny, but it has at times been a very competitive machine, and other times not. It has always suited certain styles of rider though, Stoner, Capirossi and Bayliss, the 3 guys who've ever made it sing properly, have all had quite an agressive style on the bike. It needs a rider to grab it by the scruff of the neck and wring the arse off it. Forget turn in speed, back the bastard into the corner then get on the gas real early and get it upright. It has evolved slightly under Rossi, but whilst both HRC and then Yamaha have essentially let Rossi and Burgess design a bike (another reason that Rossi is the GOAT, probably the best development rider there has ever been), Ducati have been a lot more Dogmatic about their approach. I think if they relent and essentially give Rossi the bike that suits his much smoother riding style, he will start winning again readily.

Stoner is an awesome rider no question, on the Honda, easily the easiest bike to ride fast. The Yamaha suits Lorenzo well, as it did Rossi, and Crutchlow is starting to do well on it too, but it's not the package the Honda is.

I'm kinda in agreement with Stoner on the CRT bikes etc. problem is that the money seems to have gone out of the sport, and less people wanna spend mega bucks to compete.

I'll miss him, he's impressive to watch, he can wring the neck of any bike, sliding a 240bhp litre GP bike like its a dirt tracker. He also provided Rossi with the best competition he ever had, he really made Rossi sit up and take notice. But ultimately, as someone above already said, Stoner doesn't like to race so much. On his own he's awesome, but get him in a nip and tuck battle, and 9/10 times he'll come off second. Whether that's the red mist, or lack of focus under real pressure. Which is where Rossi has always excelled, searching for a battle on and off the track to make it harder for himself, keep him on his toes. When he destroyed Stoner at Laguna Seca in 2008, when they were both a country mile ahead of the pack (it was almost embarrassing to the rest of the field how much faster these two were), it was IMO the best bike race I'd seen. Bayliss Vs Edwards in WSB back in 2002 at the last race of the season was also awesome, but Rossi destroying Stoner in the manner he did at Laguna purely because he was up for the battle and Casey didn't like a fight, was just awesome.

Oh, and unless they shake up MotoGP in a big way now, losing its top rider (currently) for the next season is only going to hurt even more! They've definitely shot themselves in the foot with Moto2 being so popular, as MotoGP really needs a resurgence!

A1 brolly holder

[img] [/img]

Good luck to him. He is bowing out on top of the game and that is something which takes balls to do. He has always been entertaining to watch on track but dull as ditchwater off it, like a 2 wheeled antipodean Alonso. Fingers crossed that this opens up an opportunity to get cal crutchlow on a bike that can match his ability next season.

Not going to add to the GOAT debate but I'll be very sad to see Stoner go. Moto GP really can't afford to lose any riders of his class.

Casey Stoner, whether you like him or not, he is a genius and brilliant rider with huge talent but of course he can be a bit a moaner but that's his personality, everybody is different.

Best thing happen to him to show us fans what an awesome rider is having Rossi to ride Ducati and failed to do anything with it, it's only Stoner can ride the Ducati, I mean the real Italian Ducati with carbon chassic, Rossi couldnt do anything with it and force Ducati to change to Japanese style with aluminuim chassic mid way of 2011 season and it's havent made much difference.

Stoner name will always be up there with the greats, he won some awesome races, I rate his best wins is Bareclona '07 and Phillip Island '09, both races with Rossi on his tail and couldnt past him after putting him race long pressure which he didnt crack.

I admire for him to retire at the top of his game and he havent nothing else to prove, good luck to him whatever he choose with his life.

Whatever anyone thinks of any of the riders abilities and perceived greatness, this can only be bad for Moto GP.
I reckon there's a fair chance that Rossi will call it a day either this season or next too, which pretty much leaves a field of also-rans. Saying that us probably a bit harsh, but any racer worth their salt would rather have a close race than run away victories time after time. Even Stoner has looked happier recently than I think I've ever seen before in the races that have been a bit closer.

Flip side though - I can see a works ride of some sort for one Mr C. Crutchlow in the offing if he carries on with his current form, especially if he can beat Dovisioso this year...,

If Stoner leaves it will leave the door open to a few years of Lorenzo domination ...because to be fair they are head and shoulders above the rest at the moment ....(until hopefully Call gets a full factory ride )

But any top rider leaving the sport is going to be missed

I dont think so Moto 2 is always going to provide new riders. With the Whinger cracking a sady and spitting the dummy it will be a really interesting closed season. Who will Honda take? Will Marquez go straight into the HRC set up? It looks like Smith who is hardly setting the world alight will get his Tech 3 ride. Spies to get dropped Cal to get second berth at Yam? What happens to Dovi Could Rossi really form his own team on Hondas with Coke being the main sponsor?

Bautista where does he go? Bradl is doing ok.

I like the CRT experiment it just needs a bit of tweaking.

Marquez would bring some of that entertaining chaos that the greatly missed Marco used to provide.

"Ducati have been a lot more Dogmatic about their approach."

Hopefully some Audi influence might change that.

Bautista - his name always conjures up images of a 70's racing playboy for me and he should stay for that reason alone.

Pos. Num. Rider Nation Team Bike Km/h Time Gap 1st/Prev.
1 1 Casey STONER AUS Repsol Honda Team Honda 307.5 1'34.321
2 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 308.0 1'34.908 0.587 / 0.587
3 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 304.7 1'35.065 0.744 / 0.157
4 11 Ben SPIES USA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 299.3 1'35.202 0.881 / 0.137
5 8 Hector BARBERA SPA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 308.3 1'35.213 0.892 / 0.011
6 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 303.8 1'35.239 0.918 / 0.026
7 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 302.8 1'35.318 0.997 / 0.079
8 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 304.3 1'35.336 1.015 / 0.018
9 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 303.5 1'35.403 1.082 / 0.067
10 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Ducati Team Ducati 302.4 1'35.829 1.508 / 0.426
11 17 Karel ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati 304.3 1'36.291 1.970 / 0.462
12 6 Stefan BRADL GER LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 305.3 1'36.500 2.179 / 0.209
13 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA Power Electronics Aspar ART 283.8 1'36.935 2.614 / 0.435
14 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Power Electronics Aspar ART 284.1 1'37.916 3.595 / 0.981
15 54 Mattia PASINI ITA Speed Master ART 282.1 1'38.140 3.819 / 0.224
16 68 Yonny HERNANDEZ COL Avintia Blusens BQR 287.0 1'38.209 3.888 / 0.069
17 51 Michele PIRRO ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini FTR 289.9 1'38.255 3.934 / 0.046
18 77 James ELLISON GBR Paul Bird Motorsport ART 284.2 1'38.943 4.622 / 0.688
19 9 Danilo PETRUCCI ITA Came IodaRacing Project Ioda 273.1 1'39.110 4.789 / 0.167
20 22 Ivan SILVA SPA Avintia Blusens BQR 284.9 1'39.729 5.408 / 0.619

What do those times relate to?

LeMan first free practice. With Chris Vermuelen in 21st 🙂

[i] Will Marquez go straight into the HRC set up?[/i]

AFAIK he can't, rookies have to start with a satelite team.