Casey Stoner to retire

StillGoing

Moto GP learned today that Stoner intends to retire at the end of the 2012 season. A sublime talent on a bike and the greatest natural ability of any rider as professed by many experts in the sport.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/motogp/18108872

d87heaven

Would Have been great to see him on a 500 2stroke. Would Have suited his style. Prob decided to bail out rather than deal with the next boring step in motogp.

proto

Must admit I didn't see this coming. I'd have put money on Rosssi calling it a day at the end of the season.

MotoGP has rather lost it's way at the senior level imo. Moto2 has some great racing, World Super Bikes too. In facr if we could get Rossi into WSB I suspect he'd get his motivation back and we;d see some great racing, but I doubt Max Biaggi would like it!!!

pauldavid

Possibly the worst thing that could have happened to Motogp. Rossi will never regain his old speed consistently, Pedrosa just never was as fast as Stoner consistently, and after Stoner wins the title this year to end on a high and Lorenzo retakes control from 2013 onward he will find all the critics saying "but stoner would have beat you"

Probably the most talented racer of his generation and I don't really see anyone to fill his shoes in any other class of racing.

singleton

Hopefully it's all about politics within the Honda team (yes I realize that I'm probably clutching at straws).

It would be a real shame - but on the other hand it would increase the chances of Cal getting a full factory ride somewhere...

Yossie

Seriously? Blimey, didn't see that one coming.

Ok, he's not everyone's cup of tea (bit of a dullard really) but utterly fantastic on a bike - the only man to really take it to Vale and stuff it up him.

Very sad for the sport, however I feel that the decison may have something to do with his sproglet - many racers lose the mindset a bit when sprogs come along - they realise that they are shutting off earlier/not takling the same risks because at the back of their minds they know that its just not them anymore.

As above, I can't really see anyone filling his Alpinestars - since Marco left us there isn't really anyone with the skill to be an alien and the personality to match.

Stick them all back on real bikes (ie 500 strokers) and watch them go is what I say.

Remember lads - real bikes don't have cams.

proto

Remember this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfPM77TsGaA

Bozman

MotoGP will miss the rider but not the moaning and it throws up the question - who'll get his ride?

It'll be Marquez in 2014 and they'd be mad to give Bautista the ride in 2013, so if it was me i'd chuck Rossi on it for the year just to save the sport because it's going to be the George show from now on, plus it'll answer the past it or not question and give Honda a shed load of cash that comes with the name

GiantMike

Is Casey one of those who hangs his inside leg out on corners?

prawny

It's a shame what's happened in motoGP in the last couple years, now Rossi is going backwards there's no one that's got a chance of winning that I actually like.

Stoner's good, but I won't miss him. My overriding memories of him are from my first full season watching where he used to scarper off into an early lead, get caught then chuck it down the road. The last two years have shown me how good he is, but it's just got dull. At least there's more bike this year so there's some half decent racing further down.

Moto2 & 3 are still great though, although I miss the 2 stroke noise of the 125's

StillGoing

The moaner label is uncalled for. Stoner when asked a question gives a straight answer. He isn't into all that corporate publicity stuff and that is the main reason he has lost his appetite for the sport. There is more and more PR stuff for the riders to do and he'll be glad to get away from it. No rider has more natural ability than him and the stories of him only being able to ride using the electronics as put out by a certain rider, have long since been proved to be untrue, as were the spiteful rumours of his wife being caught sleeping with his manager. That certain rider's PR team have a lot to answer for.

Lorenzo's value is going to go sky high with the announcement. Pedrosa just isn't as consistent as Stoner or Lorenzo and nobody else in the current field is up there with them. As far as replacements go; Marquez is not eligible to be in a factory team as he will be a class rookie. Pedrosa will breathe a sigh of relief with Stoner going as he's the only option near to challenging Lorenzo, so if HRC no longer want him, Yamaha will. Honda will probably give a one year deal to someone like Bautista or Bradl with an option to extend clause as they're both on satellite Honda's. Crutchlow may well have a chance of taking Spies ride in the factory Yamaha team, but it will depend on what money he can bring with him. Spies has the upper hand there and the backing of Yamaha North America. My money is on Johnny Rea being given a chance finally on a semi works Honda while Bradl jumps to the factory bike alongside either of Lorenzo or Pedrosa.

veronese68

Whilst he is undoubtedly a talented rider he is a moaner. If a race all goes his own way he's always keen to say how hard it was. If somebody gets too close he moans about it, never seems to enjoy a bit of close racing. Remember Rossi and Capirossi swapping the lead and leaning on each other lap after lap at Mugello a few years ago? They finished the race and were both grinning like lunatics and said what a great race they'd had. Can't see Stoner doing that.
I think Simoncelli was a greater loss to the sport as he was a talented rider that enjoyed close (sometimes too close) racing. He was only going to improve and would have brought so much more to the sport.

prawny

Veronese68 wrote:

I think Simoncelli was a greater loss to the sport

+1 very sad anyway but he was a terrible loss for the sport too. Not many characters in grand prix racing any more.

StillGoing

I wasn't a fan of Simmoncelli; far too erratic for my liking. He was the best of the also rans and safe at that pace, but when he tried to run with the aliens he made mistakes and became dangerous. A sad loss never the less.

Having seen the interview with Rossi post Stoner retirement announcement, he seemed to look rather smug. Maybe HRC have been courting him for a return to Honda and with Stoner gone, Rossi's chances of getting back on a factory bike with Honda or Yamaha have probably improved.

Bozman

philthy3 wrote:

Maybe HRC have been courting him for a return to Honda and with Stoner gone, Rossi's chances of getting back on a factory bike with Honda or Yamaha have probably improved

The head of Repsol Honda was asked about the return of Rossi and he replied "everything is possible."

Repsol Honda won't have two spanish riders in the team so that alters everything for 2014 with Marquez and Pedrosa, so everything is wide open at the end of the season.

Woody80

It'll definitely be a shame to lose one of the 'aliens', if it'd been an announcement by Rossi I'd have thought it was just playing mind games to screw with the others. Not Stoner though.

Can't see Rossi moving back to Honda until he's made Ducati make a competitive bike and regained his form. There is no way he's washed up, he is getting the most out of an under performing bike.

pauldavid

Woody80 wrote:

It'll definitely be a shame to lose one of the 'aliens', if it'd been an announcement by Rossi I'd have thought it was just playing mind games to screw with the others. Not Stoner though.

Can't see Rossi moving back to Honda until he's made Ducati make a competitive bike and regained his form. There is no way he's washed up, he is getting the most out of an under performing bike.

It's Rossi that is under performing not the Ducati.

The Ducati has been a perennial mid pack bike from the beginning of it's time, other than when it was ridden by that guy who was prepared to put it all on the line because he just wanted to win. Now what was his name???

Woody80

pauldavid wrote:

Woody80 wrote:

It'll definitely be a shame to lose one of the 'aliens', if it'd been an announcement by Rossi I'd have thought it was just playing mind games to screw with the others. Not Stoner though.

Can't see Rossi moving back to Honda until he's made Ducati make a competitive bike and regained his form. There is no way he's washed up, he is getting the most out of an under performing bike.

It's Rossi that is under performing not the Ducati.

The Ducati has been a perennial mid pack bike from the beginning of it's time, other than when it was ridden by that guy who was prepared to put it all on the line because he just wanted to win. Now what was his name???

Melandri? Oh no, maybe not....

pauldavid

Woody80 wrote:

pauldavid wrote:

Woody80 wrote:

It'll definitely be a shame to lose one of the 'aliens', if it'd been an announcement by Rossi I'd have thought it was just playing mind games to screw with the others. Not Stoner though.

Can't see Rossi moving back to Honda until he's made Ducati make a competitive bike and regained his form. There is no way he's washed up, he is getting the most out of an under performing bike.

It's Rossi that is under performing not the Ducati.

The Ducati has been a perennial mid pack bike from the beginning of it's time, other than when it was ridden by that guy who was prepared to put it all on the line because he just wanted to win. Now what was his name???

Melandri? Oh no, maybe not....

Meandering now prepares to be referred to by his new paddock nickname, LUNGE

Bozman

pauldavid wrote:

The Ducati has been a perennial mid pack bike from the beginning of it's time, other than when it was ridden by that guy who was prepared to put it all on the line because he just wanted to win. Now what was his name???

The Ducati has been a nail since the GP10, Mr Stoner only managed one result on that bike and that was at his favourite track Qatar, that also happened to be the year he jumped from the sinking ship.

Woody80

Pretty sure that Ducati openly admit its not truly competitive. Good for 5th or 6th but its no winning bike.

StillGoing

Bozman wrote:

philthy3 wrote:

Maybe HRC have been courting him for a return to Honda and with Stoner gone, Rossi's chances of getting back on a factory bike with Honda or Yamaha have probably improved

The head of Repsol Honda was asked about the return of Rossi and he replied "everything is possible."

Repsol Honda won't have two spanish riders in the team so that alters everything for 2014 with Marquez and Pedrosa, so everything is wide open at the end of the season.

You can't have Marquez in the Factory Repsol team as he will be a rookie in the class. I believe Pedrosa was out of the factory Repsol team for 2013 with the probability of the Repsol money going to a privateer Honda and Marquez ready to be a separate factory team in 2014 depending on results. There are rumours of Moviestar going back to MGP and probably wherever Lorenzo is. I could see HRC chasing Lorenzo into their camp alongside Stoner and world domination. Now Stoner has announced his retirement it opens the door for someone not quite up their with the aliens and possibly Rossi for a one year deal. HRC would probably take him to get one over Yamaha who he was ready to become a figurehead for after retirement much like Doohan and Honda.

Yamaha have no money. They broke the bank keeping Lorenzo and withdrew as an official factory team from WSB to save money. Who rides for them from 2013 will probably depend on how much personal sponsorship they can bring with them.

StillGoing

Woody80 wrote:

It'll definitely be a shame to lose one of the 'aliens', if it'd been an announcement by Rossi I'd have thought it was just playing mind games to screw with the others. Not Stoner though.

Can't see Rossi moving back to Honda until he's made Ducati make a competitive bike and regained his form. There is no way he's washed up, he is getting the most out of an under performing bike.

Trouble is Rossi now has big dollops of egg on his face. He and Burgess claimed Stoner wasn't trying hard enough during his last season and blamed the crashes on Stoner's lack of testing time during qualifying. This despite Stoner winning the odd race and gaining podiums on it. Once Rossi got his leg over the bike and promises of making Ducati a winner again, they realised what an effort Stoner had been making, but that Rossi wasn't prepared to take the same risks. They've had two years worth of input into the bike and it is nowhere near the front. The Ducati chassis is flawed as a GP bike but the Italians won't change. The budget for this year has already been exceeded by all accounts with no hope in sight.