Bombshell!! Casey Stoner signs with Honda!

povol said:

Rossi only needs to peak over the partition in the Yamaha garage to see the threat to his title. Stoner is not out of it yet, but even this early in the season,he has to run off 3-4 races where he scores ahead of Rossi and Lorenzo. I still have this terrible feeling that the engine rule is going to play a huge part in this years championship. Can you imagine if Stoner fought his way back to within 5 points of the championship and in the last race of the season had to start from the rear of the field because of an engine swap. As a fan, that scenario would tempt me to wash my hands of the sport.

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I think this is more likely than not seeing they only have a third of engines they used to. I think this could start to happen to some about midway through the season.

This suits Hayden though. In his 06 championship he only won 2 races and 'cruised' to the title. I expect the other to burn their engines out racing for the win while Hayboy cruises to the end. Tortoise and the Hare.

Arrabbiata1 said:

F1?

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I refuse to believe it, but then i refused to believe Fiat would sponsor Yamaha with their Toyota links, so...

I can't see any rider in their right mind signing a new contract this early into the season, surely he'd want to hold out for a better deal? Mind you I still don't think Stoner will last until the end of the season, his stress levels won't hold out that long!

bonnielass said:

I can't see any rider in their right mind signing a new contract this early into the season, surely he'd want to hold out for a better deal? Mind you I still don't think Stoner will last until the end of the season, his stress levels won't hold out that long!

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Ahh the key to it all. Is the rider in question in his right mind? I think not.

Noyes take on things



http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/article/motogp-noyes-notebook-if-stoner-really-goes-to-honda/P1



Some great stuff in here not specifically related to the Stoner HRC move. I like the inside info on Pedrosa's faulty sensor at the last race. The tidbit at the end about Noyes being fairly certain that all the factories will build 1000s in 2012 is very interesting too.

Whatever happens, the factories will continue to overlook one of the grids best riders in Hayden if only given the #1 status. Any other "alien" other than Stoner as Nicky's teammate would spell disaster for his career... again.

Jumkie said:

Whatever happens, the factories will continue to overlook one of the grids best riders in Hayden if only given the #1 status. Any other "alien" other than Stoner as Nicky's teammate would spell disaster for his career... again.

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Not going to happen....Nick's going to win the 2010 MotoGP championship, flip all the mther fckers off on the podium and say "Bring it On ......."



....sorry......back to reality, yea your right Jumkie, Stoner leaving will most likely screw Hayden.

Long article - lots of interesting facts and smart speculation. Almost didn't bother to finish it.

But the last sentence.... put lots of on my face.



"And, remember, the big 1000cc bikes that Nicky rides so well will be back in 2012 and, in spite of some intentionally misleading talk by Honda and Yamaha, I believe everyone will build 1000cc bikes even with the 21 liter fuel limit, but that is another story for another day."

Does this mean (if true) that cs doesn't believe he can win with the ducks new big bang and his fresh front issues?



Ducati should bring Bayliss out of retirement!! There's an Aussie we can support.....

Talpa said:

Does this mean (if true) that cs doesn't believe he can win with the ducks new big bang and his fresh front issues?



Ducati should bring Bayliss out of retirement!! There's an Aussie we can support.....

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Troy Bayliss is a true Aussie and it would be great to see him back in action but thats probably not going to happen. Stoner Signing with Honda Makes sense since Suppo is running the show for Honda now, But We have already seen Casey on a Honda already and he wasn't too good on it as im sure he wont be that good on a factory one either. Stoner is one of the Most over rated riders on the grid His only good year was 07 just like Nicky's 06. He is a good rider but he lacks the mentality of a champion.



I doubt Rossi will jump ship over to Ducati, Its too much work for him to do this late in his career, When he jumped from Honda to Yamaha He was still young and hungry and thats what made it work



How much would it suck for Nicky if Pedrosa ended up as his teammate again, Nicky's been putting foot to ... for Ducati and is looking like he will finish strong this season, But that wont stop Ducati from going after pedrosa since he is really fast. Id like to see Toni Elias back in Moto gp and even better as Nicky's teammate



My Ideal situation would be

Fiat Yamaha Ben Spies and Jorge Lorenzo

Repsol Honda Casey Stoner and Randy De Puniet

Marlboro Ducati Nicky Hayden and Toni Elias

Rizla Suzuki Loris caparossi and Dovi



And Rossi toF1 where i would be a Rossi bopper

Honda dont have sick leave

The California Kid said:

Stoner is one of the Most over rated riders on the grid

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I'd say the opposite is true bro.



Yeah, it would be cool if Ducati said .... you to all the prima donnas and hired Elias. But you know that would never happen. Ducati want a big name. I fully expect Rossi to squeeze out his pesky talented teammate. He wants somebody he can place under his thumb. I can already hear Rossi tell Yamaha, 'well if you don't get rid of Lorenzo, I'm gonna go to Ducati so I can control that American with zero clout.'

First up I will say why all the hate towads Stoner (yes I am a fan)? Yeah the guy did crash on Hondas but he was still quick (I do believe he got on the podium) and the bike and tyres are different beasts since then. Yet as soon as he got on a Duck he was blazingly quick. He made Capirossi look like a fool over and over again, not to mention Melandri both of these guys where multiple 250 world champions.



Also there are many riders that are suited towards one package than another so why would it seem odd that he did take to the Ducati?



People bring up the argument about the electronics package used on the Duck, I believe that if they look closely the Yamaha has one of the most sophisticated packages out there. If fact didn't Rossi at one stage make a commet "it is so easy it almost feels like cheating"?



To say Stoner has no talent is bordering on ludicrous, I am not a particlar fan of Lorenzo (in fact I dislike the egotisical SOB more than the no personality Pedbot) but those guys have some serious talent. People also say the Duck was designed around Casey couldn't the same be said about Pedbot and his 250?



Also I believe Nicky Hayden has been pretty open about the help that Casey has given him in respect with coming to grips with the Ducati. No one has really given him credit for this also. How much of Nickys improved perfomance can also be attributed to Caseys help? And yes I do believe that he probably will stop helping him to the same degree now that Nicky is closer (couldn't the same be said for Rossi and Lorenzo?). I really do not think however that Nicky will be consistently close to Casey for the rest of the year. There will be times when he is close or maybe will go past him but the only reason Hayden got close in spain is because Casey chose a result over a crash (and did anyone actually notice how close he was behid Nicky at the finish line also?)



Just for the record I am a Hayden fan



There is absolutley no reason why Casey wouldn't win on a Honda (if the rumor is infact true). He still is one of the fastest riders on the Motogp grid to date. Even with his front end problems he still managed to qualify 3rd in Spain. He made the right decision on slowing down and taking the points.



I guess in the end I believe that whatever decision Casey does make I believe he will be successful, I'm sure that Livio Suppo will make sure that Casey gets what he needs if he does go to Honda and if he stays at Ducati they will look after him there also, after all he has given them their only MotoGp World Championship and a bunch of race wins to boot!



Any talk just makes it all the more interesting about what in fact is going to happen.



Cheers



The Gecko Hunter.

Gecko Hunter said:

The Gecko Hunter.

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First of all, welcome to the forum. I think if you stick around, you can offer sanity to an otherwise insane forum.



I'm note sure why you quoted me, as I'm unclear if you were wanting to agree or disagree with my take. Either way I agree with all your points. To be clear, I was saying Stoner is "underrated" as in he's better than people give him credit for or his results show on the surface. BTW, most of your points have been debated here to the hilt. You correctly state that anybody questioning Stoner's talet is in fantasy land, we actually have a name for that type of poster, they are called "Rossi-boppers". Anywho, yeah, dude would be successful on a Honda. And its not like we don't have any precedent in a indirect sort of way, people forget that despite the several crashes Stoner had on the LCR, he was indeed fast. He secured pole and was seen on the podium against a tough crowed. And I don't count him as one of the primo donnas, that privilege is the realm of Ross/Lorenzo/Pedro.



I for one hope Casey stays at Ducati. He's a good teammate to Nicky.

Sorry about the quote. It was a "typo" lol!

I actually went back and edited the quote out......or so I thought.



Again sorry about the misquote.



The Gecko Hunter

The California Kid said:

Stoner is one of the Most over rated riders on the grid

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Most folk on here downput Stoner and rate him way lower than his results show, How many MGP wins does he have to date now?



Who else has gone as good on the LCR? ( and it was their frst year in MGP )



No I think you may be overatting your own reasoning there

The California Kid said:

His only good year was 07 just like Nicky's 06.

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Yes with the exception that Stoner has had just a couple of wins throughout the last few years Matter of fact I think there's only one rider near his number of wins.





I think your post just seems another sook at Stoner.







Gecko .... welcome, and don't worry, if you stay here a little longer you will see many an odd statement about Stoner. For a laugh have a check backto late 07, and 08 posts.

Suppo May, 12th… "Hay cuatro pilotos fuertes que acaban contrato -ha dicho Suppo-, y está claro que se puede tener interés por uno de ellos. En estos momentos todos hablamos con todos, pero ninguno ha firmado nada".



"There are 4 strong riders who finish their Contracts, and it is clear to have an interest in one of them. As of now we all talk, but none has signed anything".



http://www.elmundode...con-stoner.html

Its all good,



To behonest I normally just don't respond on forums that Stoner bash (or bash any rider undeservedly in general), this is actually the first time lol.



I actually finally got tired of it. I don't take any of it to heart just mystifys me the conclusions people come to and how they actually came to them.

One of my old favorites was when the Michelin riders started bitching about the unfair advantage Bridgstone riders had (Pedbot on e of the biggest lol).

They seem to forget the day when Michelin ruled the roost.



This is one of the better forums I have found though which is one of the other reasons I decided to chip in.





Take it easy



The Gecko Hunter

VHMP01 said:

Suppo May, 12th… "Hay cuatro pilotos fuertes que acaban contrato -ha dicho Suppo-, y está claro que se puede tener interés por uno de ellos. En estos momentos todos hablamos con todos, pero ninguno ha firmado nada".



"There are 4 strong riders who finish their Contracts, and it is clear to have an interest in one of them. As of now we all talk, but none has signed anything".



http://www.elmundode...con-stoner.html

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If the SMH is right looks like Honda want Stoner first ...... to get the bike working again.



http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/honda-boss-gives-stoner-big-praise-20100507-uje2.html



and Pedrosa is on the out.





So you can kinda see why the Itallian press is seeing that Suppo/honda are keen.



But I still think they have jumped the gun.

Jumkie said:

I'd say the opposite is true bro.



Yeah, it would be cool if Ducati said .... you to all the prima donnas and hired Elias. But you know that would never happen. Ducati want a big name. I fully expect Rossi to squeeze out his pesky talented teammate. He wants somebody he can place under his thumb. I can already hear Rossi tell Yamaha, 'well if you don't get rid of Lorenzo, I'm gonna go to Ducati so I can control that American with zero clout.'

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I agree with kid. He is over rated. .... the "stoners the next Doohan" crys of 07 show how he was ans is overrated. He simply has not delivered a Doohan performance has he ??