Stoner Retiring!

Keshav · May 17, 2012

SuperShinya56 said:
Stoner's always been a mentally weak guy. I'm pretty sure the pressure was just too much for him to handle....... so he rather quit while he's on top.

How the .... did this low-grade virus circumvent my ignore button?

Jumkie · May 17, 2012

Pigeon said:
Casey Stoner believes MotoGP is 'going backwards' in moving away from being a prototype-only championship, after saying the series no longer holds his interest.

After announcing his plans for retirement at the end of this season, Stoner explained that there were a number of factors that had dimmed his passion for the category - one of which included the future direction of the sport.

"It is not starting again from the beginning, it is going backwards," said Stoner, referring to the arrival of the production-based CRTs and consideration given to a more production-based future.

"For me it is not the championship I fell in love in. It is not the championship I always wanted to race in and, except for my competitors around me, they are the only ones who give respect for each other.

"Nobody else has enough respect for the people that do their jobs, working at the teams, working in the trucks, and putting this show on every week. It is not easy.

"There are many, many different reasons but it is basically me losing my patience with the racing and my enjoyment of this sport. For sure I am going to enjoy this year but if I continue [beyond that] it will be a mistake on my half. It would not be correct to Honda and everyone at the team if I did not give 110 per cent."

Stoner also hit out of the way the media had been so critical of the racing recently and reckons that such a stance will only serve to hurt its chances of recovering.

"My passion has slowly ebbed away from this championship," said the Australian, who also expressed frustration at the cynicism that greeted his lactose intolerance problems that kept him away from some races in 2009.

"You yourselves, the media, have not exactly been friendly to this championship and criticised me many times, especially recently.

"[But] people don't realise that everybody is bringing it down themselves, they are saying the racing is boring, that is boring but if you go back some years you will find the same number of races that were close or not.

"I think people just need to appreciate what they have in front of them, and I think everybody in this room needs to realise what sort of championship they have, before it is gone.

"I think it will be really nice to see some fantastic racing again at the front. But, with only a few factory bikes out there, it is not going to happen soon.

"There needs to be more high quality bikes out there so people like Randy [de Puniet] can run where he deserves to be and not so far behind 12th position. There is no way for them to get anywhere near the factory bikes."

Speaking about his lactose intolerance situation, Stoner said: "Everyone still to this day says it was a mystery illness the fact that no one understands that I have a lactose intolerance, that is really critical to me."

GIVE IT EM Casey the powers that be the press the lot

GET IN

There are several quotes above that I think he has balls to say. He makes some good points and some I'm not sure I agree with. I never really question his illness, and he is right to say a big FU to the media for being chicken .... about it. So props to him on this.

povol · May 17, 2012

Pigeon said:
Casey Stoner believes MotoGP is 'going backwards' in moving away from being a prototype-only championship, after saying the series no longer holds his interest.

After announcing his plans for retirement at the end of this season, Stoner explained that there were a number of factors that had dimmed his passion for the category - one of which included the future direction of the sport.

"It is not starting again from the beginning, it is going backwards," said Stoner, referring to the arrival of the production-based CRTs and consideration given to a more production-based future.

"For me it is not the championship I fell in love in. It is not the championship I always wanted to race in and, except for my competitors around me, they are the only ones who give respect for each other.

"Nobody else has enough respect for the people that do their jobs, working at the teams, working in the trucks, and putting this show on every week. It is not easy.

"There are many, many different reasons but it is basically me losing my patience with the racing and my enjoyment of this sport. For sure I am going to enjoy this year but if I continue [beyond that] it will be a mistake on my half. It would not be correct to Honda and everyone at the team if I did not give 110 per cent."

Stoner also hit out of the way the media had been so critical of the racing recently and reckons that such a stance will only serve to hurt its chances of recovering.

"My passion has slowly ebbed away from this championship," said the Australian, who also expressed frustration at the cynicism that greeted his lactose intolerance problems that kept him away from some races in 2009.

"You yourselves, the media, have not exactly been friendly to this championship and criticised me many times, especially recently.

"[But] people don't realise that everybody is bringing it down themselves, they are saying the racing is boring, that is boring but if you go back some years you will find the same number of races that were close or not.

"I think people just need to appreciate what they have in front of them, and I think everybody in this room needs to realise what sort of championship they have, before it is gone.

"I think it will be really nice to see some fantastic racing again at the front. But, with only a few factory bikes out there, it is not going to happen soon.

"There needs to be more high quality bikes out there so people like Randy [de Puniet] can run where he deserves to be and not so far behind 12th position. There is no way for them to get anywhere near the factory bikes."

Speaking about his lactose intolerance situation, Stoner said: "Everyone still to this day says it was a mystery illness the fact that no one understands that I have a lactose intolerance, that is really critical to me."

GIVE IT EM Casey the powers that be the press the lot

GET IN

To all you bored fans, go .... yourselves

I feel vindicated that the best rider in the world has echoed my sentiments concerning Moto GP. Its not boring, it is going backwards, and if you dont get your head out of Ross's ..., its going away. That is all

chopperman · May 17, 2012

povol said:
To all you bored fans, go .... yourselves

I feel vindicated that the best rider in the world has echoed my sentiments concerning Moto GP. Its not boring, it is going backwards, and if you dont get your head out of Ross's ..., its going away. That is all

Your infatuated. WTF has stoner retiring, crt's or the sport going backwards (your opinion) got to do with rossi or his fans having their head up his ...?

spooky · May 17, 2012

povol said:
To all you bored fans, go .... yourselves

I feel vindicated that the best rider in the world has echoed my sentiments concerning Moto GP. Its not boring, it is going backwards, and if you dont get your head out of Ross's ..., its going away. That is all

Head up Rossi's ...? Your head is so far up Caseys ... its unreal - i bet you got a hard on reading that "we're so alike, yay!"

For the record i agree to an extent with what he's saying, but you blaming Rossi for it is a pile of ....., its ....... DORNA!! If they hadn't changed the rules so much the sport wouldn't be in the state its in.

chopperman · May 17, 2012

spooky said:
Head up Rossi's ...? Your head is so far up Caseys ... its unreal - i bet you got a hard on reading that "we're so alike, yay!"

For the record i agree to an extent with what he's saying, but you blaming Rossi for it is a pile of ....., its ....... DORNA!! If they hadn't changed the rules so much the sport wouldn't be in the state its in.

It's not Dona's fault. Formulas change all the time. That's just part and parcel of the sport. I reckon casey has looked at the bunch of muppets he has for fans and thought ".... this, im outa here".

MT1992 · May 17, 2012

Im supposed to appreciate an where the bikes are so inundated with electronics that if there is any sort of interference they cant even ride around the track.

What a childish and immature statement he makes You guys should like what your seeing because I said so.

I cant wait for this entitled weak minded little .... to exit stage left.

Mental Anarchist · May 17, 2012

povol said:
To all you bored fans, go .... yourselves

" class="bbc_emoticon" src="http://www.powerslide.net/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif" /> I feel vindicated that the best rider in the world has echoed my sentiments concerning Moto GP. Its not boring, it is going backwards, and if you dont get your head out of Ross's ..., its going away. That is all

Yep. Stoner just gave the biggest .... YOU to Dorna and to the Media. I also feel vindicated as it is what I have been stating.

The only thing boring about MotoGP has been the fans and never has it been more evident than this forum over the last week or so. Log on 3 times and .... me it is depressing.

Gaz · May 17, 2012

Ah, so now the fun begins.

We have those looking forward to the demise of the 'NeoBopper' yet not realising that they exist on all sides of the fence with some making a reapparence in this thread ................ and welcome back to them.

So to the subject at hand.

Not overly surprising really as there has been loud talk about his enjoyment (or lack thereof) for the sport for a while ............................. plus of course the many indication he has given himself that he will not continue into a 'dumbed down' formula as it does not interest him.

IMO, I congratulate him for standing up for what he believes in and following through and in saying that I do hope that he does not change his mind but instead waves goodbye to the scene later in the year to then go forth into the challenge of fatherhood,

I find it interesting that we have criticism of the decision when (IMO) whe should finally be thanking ourselves that we have a person who is making the decision for themselves, not for medical reasons, or lack of ride opportunities or simply because they have overstayed a welcome. No, he has chosen when to leave and whether he walks out as champion or runner up or some other placing, he has chosen when to leave and not have that decision made for him which does seem ot go against our sport somewhat.

He will leave the sport no better or worse than when he came and despite the myriad of criticism offered he can at least leave with his head held high knowing that he has given his all for teh sport he once loved.

Personally, I agree with Migs as to make a decision to retire whilst still exceptionally competitive takes immense fortitude, guts and balls to follow through, which as we all know (depsite many saying the opposite) Stoner and all of these guys have in spades.

There will be criticism that he was not good for the sport and that he 'whined' to much and whilst some of that may well seem true, in years ahead I feel people will look back and re-evaluate their criticisms.

But now the decision has been made and inevitably talk centres on who will go to HRC and all talk centres on Lorenzo and Rossi, but I found it interesting that Stoner mentions DePuniet as a marker as to me that indicates that Stoner has total respect for Randy (to be fair, it is said that all fopur get on very well). No, I hope a rider like Crutchlow gets consideration and would say that right now Dovisiose may be questioning his decision for 2012 as well.

Let the silliness continue and the silly season commence

frizzle · May 17, 2012

Dissapointed he is retiring, but really only expected him to ride next year & that's it anyway. Enjoyed watching him ride anyway.

Packing your bags & leaving your wife who has travelled with you for years behind & a new baby would have played a big part.

Re crt v prototype. Sometimes I think we argue on here for the sake of arguing.

A full grid of CRT bikes is fine & it will close up the racing. This is what's wanted by many race fans.

I understand this & also that it will bring costs down & the sport definitely needs that.

Surely the prototype fans can understand that?

On the other side of the coin. Some fans like the fact that these bikes are the elite of motorcycles just like the riders aboard them.

They don't want to see them dumbed down because we already have production series that can be watched in most countries in the world. Why have another one?

It's what makes them special.

What I don't understand is why on this forum is there no respect for the other sides perspective? Regardless of which side of the fence you sit.

Because both sides have very valid arguments, it's just that everybody has there own reason for watching. There seems to be a problem here with respecting & accepting alternate views to your own.

michaelm · May 17, 2012

Jumkie said:
Yes, I already had this conversation about justification, he can give whatever reason, its his life, that's what I said. But not all reasons given will be judged the same, and frankly, that's what will be debated (rightly or wrongly). Just like the legacy threads. Nobody likes a quitter, as I've said before. Its a fine line between quitting and retiring, the reasons for doing so go a long way in making that distinction (rightly or wrongly). I fully suspect most of the debate to be along tribal lines. Its a fair discussion, and I'm not going to pretend its off limits simply because I think Stoner is a great talented rider. After all, its what we do around here, debate meaningless .....

My position on retiring is different than yours as we have discussed. I actually think it is great to retire at the top of your game rather than continuing for the money, fame or whatever when you no longer have the motivation to continue, particularly in a dangerous sport when you are a family man. Announcing his retirement now may actually detract from his chances of retiring as world champion, although I guess he is at least being honest.

Having said that, I think it would have been classier not to air his resentments, petty or otherwise, justified or not at the time of his retirement announcement, he could have done that after he stopped racing, although perhaps he doesn't plan on talking to the press after his retirement given that the necessity to do so would seem to be a leading reason for him wanting to get out of the circus.

beefsupreme · May 17, 2012

Jumkie said:
I'm not quite sure what you mean, please explain.

I meant that Moto2 is fantastic racing and it's cheaper than 250cc. So for anyone, including Stoner, to say that a production motor in a prototype chassis leads to lesser racing is ... stupid. But Stoner isn't paid to run a series, he's paid to ride a bike fast, so I'm not too concerned that my opinion is different than his.

beefsupreme · May 17, 2012

michaelm said:
Having said that, I think it would have been classier not to air his resentments, petty or otherwise, justified or not at the time of his retirement announcement, he could have done that after he stopped racing, although perhaps he doesn't plan on talking to the press after his retirement given that the necessity to do so would seem to be a leading reason for him wanting to get out of the circus.

Agree with that. He didn't go out saying "I've achieved all the goals I set out to achieve, and I want to get out while I'm still healthy and enjoy my family." Instead, he indulged in a litany of vague complaints and explicitly denied it has anything to do with being a new father, which makes it look as though, yes, he's a little weak mentally. Great rider, no question.

Stevo · May 17, 2012

Whatever his reasons for this, I'm gonna miss him. Can't say I'm a big fan of him, but I always loved his style since his 125 days. Also loads of sports have these "pantomime villain" characters, and he played it to perfection. He's created so much controversy and debate I can't imagine how the last 5 or 6 years would have been without him.

Gaz · May 17, 2012

Interesting tidbit from Krop on another site as well that kind of dispells some thoughts.

Honda offerred twice his current salary .................... he still chose to walk.

L8Braker · May 17, 2012

Sometimes for love or money, when your gut tells you to walk, you walk. The demon that straddles the fire breathing beast sometimes talks to you and it tells you to walk away, it's always telling you....get out, get out now! Its very persistent to the point where you believe the demon and the image of death seems glorious. It's a fine line between demon and death, pushing past 100% because thats what it takes to be the best, it makes you the elite! Few walk away, most perish.

birdman · May 17, 2012

Just choked on my vegemite. .....

He also said in an interview in December his primary motivation in Motogp was beating Rossi. I wonder now that Ducati is struggling so much and Rossi is no longer battling at the front, Stoner just thought bugger it.

Ducati could also quit for the same reason, that they keep changing the rules.

Every rider, commentator, fan has said they want less electronics and more fuel, who's listening? Next year best they can come up with is a one bike rule.

michaelm · May 17, 2012

Beef Supreme said:
Agree with that. He didn't go out saying "I've achieved all the goals I set out to achieve, and I want to get out while I'm still healthy and enjoy my family." Instead, he indulged in a litany of vague complaints and explicitly denied it has anything to do with being a new father, which makes it look as though, yes, he's a little weak mentally. Great rider, no question.

No doubt he has a chip on his shoulder, but just because you are paranoid does not mean everyone isn't after you as jumkie and I have previously discussed, and I can see why he might think he has not always been treated fairly.

Mental weakness for having the balls to retire even when offered cubic dollars to continue, against all common expectations, and after you have just had one of the most dominant seasons in history and look set for a repeat? Not imo. Complaining when you are losing and eventually leaving gp bike racing in a non-voluntary fashion like max biaggi is what I would regard as mentally weak.

beefsupreme · May 17, 2012

L8Braker said:
Few walk away, most perish.

Someone's been into Dr. Costa's medicine bag.

BarryMachine · May 17, 2012

No surprises there.

Beats me how he is racing even this year since the baby arrived.

He has been preparing for this for some time. Some of the preps are hard to see, but it was all laid out there for all to see.

Hence why i had to declare him the GOAT befoe he just accumulated wc's

Stoner Retiring!

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