Reigning double world champion Casey Stoner has made the shock announcement that he will retire from MotoGP at the end of the 2012 season.
The 26-year-old, who vehemently denied retirement rumours at the previous Estoril round, made the announcement during the pre-event press conference for this weekend's French Grand Prix at Le Mans (pictured).
The Australian has been a full time grand prix rider since 2002, winning races twice in 125cc, five times in 250cc and 35 times since moving to MotoGP in 2006.
Stoner won Ducati's only MotoGP title at his first attempt in 2007, then claimed a second world crown after switching to Repsol Honda for 2011.
Stoner, who currently leads the 2012 standings by one point over Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo, became a father for the first time just before the start of this season.
"Afternoon everyone," began Stoner. "Basically this has come after a lot of time thinking, a lot of time talking to my family and my wife, and this has been coming for a couple of years now.
"But at the end of this 2012 season I will be not racing in the 2013 Championship. I will be finishing my career at the end of this season in MotoGP, and go forward in different things in my life.
"After so many years of doing the sport which I love, and which myself and my family made so many sacrifices for, after so many years of trying to get to where we have gotten to at this point, this sport has changed a lot and it has changed to the point where I am not enjoying it.
"I don't have the passion for it and so at this time it's better if I retire now.
"There are a lot of things that have disappointed me, and also a lot of things I have loved about this sport, but unfortunately the balance has gone in the wrong direction.
"And so, basically, we won't be continuing any more. It would be nice if I could say I would stay just one more year, but then when does it stop? So we decided to finish everything as we are now."
"It's not going to change anything for this season," Stoner later added. "I'm still going to put in every bit of effort that we can. We still want to win races and have some great races with these riders alongside me [at the conference]."
Seven time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi used the same press conference to again insist that he will race on for at least another two years, despite a report in the UK's Daily Telegraph claiming he would retire at the end of 2012.
Rossi and fellow world champion Lorenzo both said they were surprised by the news and that Stoner's departure will be a big loss for MotoGP.
All of the top riders are out of contract at the end of this season and Honda - without a title for four years prior to Stoner's arrival - must now try and find a replacement.
Stoner's team-mate Dani Pedrosa is third in the championship, and almost certain to be retained given Stoner's announcement.
Repsol Moto2 star Marc Marquez is expected to move to MotoGP next year, but - like all rookies - will not be able to ride for a factory team.
Will Honda now mount a determined pursuit of Lorenzo, or even Rossi, to fill the void?
Stoner (35 wins), Rossi (21), Lorenzo (18) and Dani Pedrosa (13) are the only riders to have claimed more than one race victory since the start of the 800cc era in 2007. MotoGP switched to 1000cc bikes for this year.
Beyond bikes, Stoner has previously expressed an interest in Australia's V8 Supercar Championship and drove Craig Lowndes' TeamVodafone machine during a private test last December.
Loris Capirossi, who retired last year, is the only rider other than Stoner to have taken a MotoGP victory for Ducati since 2007 - the Italian scoring a wet/dry win at Motegi that year.
Ducati have taken just two podiums since Stoner's departure, Rossi's ongoing struggles with the Desmosedici exposing the true level of Stoner's incredible talent.
Earlier this month, Stoner rejected the initial retirement report in the Spanish media, saying it was "just another rumour".
He added: "I've said in the past that I'm not going to keep riding until my mid 30s. But I haven't decided what I'm doing, so certainly no-one else is going to know.
"Until you hear it out of my mouth then don't believe anything you read."
Few expected to hear the retirement words from Stoner just two weeks' later. Stoner gave further details of the reasons for his decision at the end of the press conference.
WHY / THE REASONS:
After reading a statement announcing the shock news that he will retire from MotoGP at the end of this season, reigning double world champion Casey Stoner later gave more details as to why he wants to quit grand prix racing at the age of just 26.
The Australian star has won more MotoGP races (35) than any other rider since 2006, and been crowned world champion for both Ducati (2007) and Honda (2011).
But Stoner explained that the criticism he has received over the years and the direction MotoGP is taking in regards to cut-price CRT-style technical rules means his passion has 'slowly ebbed away from this championship'.
“I've been watching this championship for a long time and it's very easy to see what works and what doesn't,” began Stoner, speaking during the Q&A part of the Le Mans pre-event press conference.
“This championship and everything that I've worked towards to get here. It's been a huge dream of mine. Then you get here and race for a few years and realise a lot of things.
“Whether it's people having no faith in you, people not believing in your talent or changes that have happened to the championship.
“2009 [when Stoner was sidelined with fatigue problems] to be honest was a big eye opener to me. People still to this day say it's a mystery illness. The fact that no-one understands that I have a Lactose Intolerance. That it's really critical to me if I do have any.
“It's not of the type that everyone thinks it is. It just basically takes my energy, it stops me absorbing nutrients. The fact nobody has listened to me with that.
“There are many, many things that just over time have taken its toll. The way I see the championship heading. The direction I see it heading and the fact that in 2009 I really realised what is important. It's family. Happiness. Money isn't everything.
“I think I'm one of the few riders that can actually say they retired when they stopped enjoying it. My passion has slowly ebbed away from this championship.
“You yourselves, the media, have not exactly been friendly to this championship. Criticising it many times. Especially recently. People don't realise that everyone is bringing it down themselves.
“They are saying that the racing is boring. This is boring, that is boring. If you go back some years ago you'll find the same amount of races that are close or not. I think people just need to appreciate what they have in front of them at this time.
“I think everyone in this room really needs to realise what championship they have before it's gone. I think it'd be really nice to see some fantastic racing again at the front, but with only a few factory bikes out there it's not going to happen soon.
“There needs to be more high quality bikes out there so people like Randy [de Puniet, also at the press conference] can be running where he deserves to be and not so far behind twelfth position. There is just no way for them to get anywhere near the factory bikes.
“This championship this year is separated. The first of the CRTs comes into parc ferme after, I think, the race and qualifying. It's clearly separating them. This isn't a two standard series. This is a MotoGP championship. This is a prototype championship.
“People can say all they want about the past, that it started out as standard machines and progressed to prototype machines. Now we're just taking the opposite step and going backwards. It's not starting again from the beginning, it's going backwards.
“For me it's not the championship I fell in love with. It's not the championship I've always wanted to race in. And except from my competitors around me, they are the only ones that give respect to each other.
“Nobody else has enough respect out there for the people that do their jobs, work in the teams, work in the trucks and put this show on every week. It's not easy.
“There are many, many different reasons, but it's basically me losing my passion for the racing and my enjoyment of this sport. Sure I'm going to enjoy this year, but I think if I continue it would only be a mistake on my behalf. It wouldn't b correct to Honda, my team and everybody if I didn't give 110%.”
Stoner later added that the recent birth of his daughter was not a major factor in his decision to retire.
“The birth of my little girl has nothing to do with this. It has a small part of making the decision easier, but by no means is it the reason why I made this decision,” he said.
Likewise, last December's V8 Supercar test didn't influence his decision, although Stoner confirmed he is interested in competing in the Australian series.
“I have tested the V8 car, but that was something I'd been trying to find some time to do for the last 3-4 years to be honest. Finally it happened,” he said. “It's something I'll definitely be interested to do in the future.
“Whether I'll be fast enough or not is another thing. That will not be in the very immediate future. There are many things I'd like to do with my life and to be honest I don't want to finish racing and not want to ride a bike for the next 5-10 years.
“I love bikes. This has been my whole life. And if I keep doing it I'm afraid I'll completely lose my passion for it and not want to go near a bike for ten years. That would scare me.”
Speaking in a clear voice throughout, Stoner kept his emotions under control, but was clearly moved when asked if he felt retiring so young was a waste of his enormous talent.
“This is maybe not a waste of talent, but a waste of a life for me if I continue doing it,” he replied. “I know can go out there, even if I'm not enjoying it, and I'll still do the same results and give everything I can. Because my competitive nature will then take over what the passion cannot hold.
“But no to be honest... how can I explain. Maybe I am the only young one with a good career ahead of them to retire so early, but at the same time you know I've spoken the truth always. In all my media commitments.
“Even in Portugal [when Stoner denied retirement rumours]. I didn't lie to anybody. Just the information got out, and I'm not sure how or by who, but I hadn't even decided by then. So it was wrong information. I've only decided 100 per cent this last week what my decision is.
“Every rider here says always the same thing. 'When I stop feeling the passion for this sport I will retire.' But I think there are many riders out there that cannot say that is the truth. There is always something holding them here, whether it is money, fame or whatever. I've seen riders in the past lose their passion for the sport, their fun, but still continue to race.”
Stoner made his MotoGP debut for LCR Honda in 2006, claiming a pole and a podium, then switched to the factory Ducati team for 2007. He then won on his Desmosedici debut and romped to the factory's only MotoGP title to date, but only began to receive the credit he deserved when a series of team-mates struggled with the same machine.
Even then, Stoner was criticised for suffering numerous front-end falls as he pushed to keep the Desmosedici competitive from 2008-2010, when he won 13 races - despite being sidelined during 2009 while his Lactose Intolerance was diagnosed.
Stoner's switch to Repsol Honda for 2011 brought instant title success and he currently leads the 2012 standings by one point from Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo. Stoner's Ducati replacement - seven time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi - has taken just one podium since the start of last year.
“It's not up to me to say what I'm going to leave to the sport,” said Stoner, in reply to a further question. “Maybe I'll still have some involvement, if I can find the energy, to maybe help some young riders. I'm not really sure what I leave.
“We've had a great career. We've had some fantastic races and I feel even after my first championship in 2007 already I had reached my goal.
“This was my dream to become world champion. When you are younger you dream of becoming world champion more times, but when you get closer to grand prix and arrive in grand prix the reality is a little more realistic.
“But I never stopped trying. No matter how much criticism I got for riding the Ducati. No matter how much criticism I got for crashing and different things like this in the past. This has all helped, to be honest, to arrive at the point where I am today and make my decision a little easier.
“I don't believe I'll be leaving anything behind. I'm very happy with the career that I've had in such a short space. To have had the race wins that I've had, the battles, success and problems It's been a difficult up-and-down road, but a fantastic one. So I won't have regrets.”
Stoner started racing in dirt track competition when he was four-years-old. A multiple state and local champion, his family moved to Britain when he was 14 so he could start racing on tarmac.
He won a British roadrace title at his first attempt - in 2000 - and made his Grand Prix debut in the 250cc class in 2002, when he was 16 years old. He won five 250GP victories and two 125GP victories before graduating to MotoGP, where the overpowered machines suited his style perfectly.
Stoner will be back on track during Friday's free practice sessions for the French MotoGP at Le Mans, round four of 18.
Sourced from:
http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/179806/1/casey_stoner_to_retire_from_motogp.html
and
http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/179814/1/casey_stoner_why_im_leaving_motogp.html
The 26-year-old, who vehemently denied retirement rumours at the previous Estoril round, made the announcement during the pre-event press conference for this weekend's French Grand Prix at Le Mans (pictured).
The Australian has been a full time grand prix rider since 2002, winning races twice in 125cc, five times in 250cc and 35 times since moving to MotoGP in 2006.
Stoner won Ducati's only MotoGP title at his first attempt in 2007, then claimed a second world crown after switching to Repsol Honda for 2011.
Stoner, who currently leads the 2012 standings by one point over Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo, became a father for the first time just before the start of this season.
"Afternoon everyone," began Stoner. "Basically this has come after a lot of time thinking, a lot of time talking to my family and my wife, and this has been coming for a couple of years now.
"But at the end of this 2012 season I will be not racing in the 2013 Championship. I will be finishing my career at the end of this season in MotoGP, and go forward in different things in my life.
"After so many years of doing the sport which I love, and which myself and my family made so many sacrifices for, after so many years of trying to get to where we have gotten to at this point, this sport has changed a lot and it has changed to the point where I am not enjoying it.
"I don't have the passion for it and so at this time it's better if I retire now.
"There are a lot of things that have disappointed me, and also a lot of things I have loved about this sport, but unfortunately the balance has gone in the wrong direction.
"And so, basically, we won't be continuing any more. It would be nice if I could say I would stay just one more year, but then when does it stop? So we decided to finish everything as we are now."
"It's not going to change anything for this season," Stoner later added. "I'm still going to put in every bit of effort that we can. We still want to win races and have some great races with these riders alongside me [at the conference]."
Seven time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi used the same press conference to again insist that he will race on for at least another two years, despite a report in the UK's Daily Telegraph claiming he would retire at the end of 2012.
Rossi and fellow world champion Lorenzo both said they were surprised by the news and that Stoner's departure will be a big loss for MotoGP.
All of the top riders are out of contract at the end of this season and Honda - without a title for four years prior to Stoner's arrival - must now try and find a replacement.
Stoner's team-mate Dani Pedrosa is third in the championship, and almost certain to be retained given Stoner's announcement.
Repsol Moto2 star Marc Marquez is expected to move to MotoGP next year, but - like all rookies - will not be able to ride for a factory team.
Will Honda now mount a determined pursuit of Lorenzo, or even Rossi, to fill the void?
Stoner (35 wins), Rossi (21), Lorenzo (18) and Dani Pedrosa (13) are the only riders to have claimed more than one race victory since the start of the 800cc era in 2007. MotoGP switched to 1000cc bikes for this year.
Beyond bikes, Stoner has previously expressed an interest in Australia's V8 Supercar Championship and drove Craig Lowndes' TeamVodafone machine during a private test last December.
Loris Capirossi, who retired last year, is the only rider other than Stoner to have taken a MotoGP victory for Ducati since 2007 - the Italian scoring a wet/dry win at Motegi that year.
Ducati have taken just two podiums since Stoner's departure, Rossi's ongoing struggles with the Desmosedici exposing the true level of Stoner's incredible talent.
Earlier this month, Stoner rejected the initial retirement report in the Spanish media, saying it was "just another rumour".
He added: "I've said in the past that I'm not going to keep riding until my mid 30s. But I haven't decided what I'm doing, so certainly no-one else is going to know.
"Until you hear it out of my mouth then don't believe anything you read."
Few expected to hear the retirement words from Stoner just two weeks' later. Stoner gave further details of the reasons for his decision at the end of the press conference.
WHY / THE REASONS:
After reading a statement announcing the shock news that he will retire from MotoGP at the end of this season, reigning double world champion Casey Stoner later gave more details as to why he wants to quit grand prix racing at the age of just 26.
The Australian star has won more MotoGP races (35) than any other rider since 2006, and been crowned world champion for both Ducati (2007) and Honda (2011).
But Stoner explained that the criticism he has received over the years and the direction MotoGP is taking in regards to cut-price CRT-style technical rules means his passion has 'slowly ebbed away from this championship'.
“I've been watching this championship for a long time and it's very easy to see what works and what doesn't,” began Stoner, speaking during the Q&A part of the Le Mans pre-event press conference.
“This championship and everything that I've worked towards to get here. It's been a huge dream of mine. Then you get here and race for a few years and realise a lot of things.
“Whether it's people having no faith in you, people not believing in your talent or changes that have happened to the championship.
“2009 [when Stoner was sidelined with fatigue problems] to be honest was a big eye opener to me. People still to this day say it's a mystery illness. The fact that no-one understands that I have a Lactose Intolerance. That it's really critical to me if I do have any.
“It's not of the type that everyone thinks it is. It just basically takes my energy, it stops me absorbing nutrients. The fact nobody has listened to me with that.
“There are many, many things that just over time have taken its toll. The way I see the championship heading. The direction I see it heading and the fact that in 2009 I really realised what is important. It's family. Happiness. Money isn't everything.
“I think I'm one of the few riders that can actually say they retired when they stopped enjoying it. My passion has slowly ebbed away from this championship.
“You yourselves, the media, have not exactly been friendly to this championship. Criticising it many times. Especially recently. People don't realise that everyone is bringing it down themselves.
“They are saying that the racing is boring. This is boring, that is boring. If you go back some years ago you'll find the same amount of races that are close or not. I think people just need to appreciate what they have in front of them at this time.
“I think everyone in this room really needs to realise what championship they have before it's gone. I think it'd be really nice to see some fantastic racing again at the front, but with only a few factory bikes out there it's not going to happen soon.
“There needs to be more high quality bikes out there so people like Randy [de Puniet, also at the press conference] can be running where he deserves to be and not so far behind twelfth position. There is just no way for them to get anywhere near the factory bikes.
“This championship this year is separated. The first of the CRTs comes into parc ferme after, I think, the race and qualifying. It's clearly separating them. This isn't a two standard series. This is a MotoGP championship. This is a prototype championship.
“People can say all they want about the past, that it started out as standard machines and progressed to prototype machines. Now we're just taking the opposite step and going backwards. It's not starting again from the beginning, it's going backwards.
“For me it's not the championship I fell in love with. It's not the championship I've always wanted to race in. And except from my competitors around me, they are the only ones that give respect to each other.
“Nobody else has enough respect out there for the people that do their jobs, work in the teams, work in the trucks and put this show on every week. It's not easy.
“There are many, many different reasons, but it's basically me losing my passion for the racing and my enjoyment of this sport. Sure I'm going to enjoy this year, but I think if I continue it would only be a mistake on my behalf. It wouldn't b correct to Honda, my team and everybody if I didn't give 110%.”
Stoner later added that the recent birth of his daughter was not a major factor in his decision to retire.
“The birth of my little girl has nothing to do with this. It has a small part of making the decision easier, but by no means is it the reason why I made this decision,” he said.
Likewise, last December's V8 Supercar test didn't influence his decision, although Stoner confirmed he is interested in competing in the Australian series.
“I have tested the V8 car, but that was something I'd been trying to find some time to do for the last 3-4 years to be honest. Finally it happened,” he said. “It's something I'll definitely be interested to do in the future.
“Whether I'll be fast enough or not is another thing. That will not be in the very immediate future. There are many things I'd like to do with my life and to be honest I don't want to finish racing and not want to ride a bike for the next 5-10 years.
“I love bikes. This has been my whole life. And if I keep doing it I'm afraid I'll completely lose my passion for it and not want to go near a bike for ten years. That would scare me.”
Speaking in a clear voice throughout, Stoner kept his emotions under control, but was clearly moved when asked if he felt retiring so young was a waste of his enormous talent.
“This is maybe not a waste of talent, but a waste of a life for me if I continue doing it,” he replied. “I know can go out there, even if I'm not enjoying it, and I'll still do the same results and give everything I can. Because my competitive nature will then take over what the passion cannot hold.
“But no to be honest... how can I explain. Maybe I am the only young one with a good career ahead of them to retire so early, but at the same time you know I've spoken the truth always. In all my media commitments.
“Even in Portugal [when Stoner denied retirement rumours]. I didn't lie to anybody. Just the information got out, and I'm not sure how or by who, but I hadn't even decided by then. So it was wrong information. I've only decided 100 per cent this last week what my decision is.
“Every rider here says always the same thing. 'When I stop feeling the passion for this sport I will retire.' But I think there are many riders out there that cannot say that is the truth. There is always something holding them here, whether it is money, fame or whatever. I've seen riders in the past lose their passion for the sport, their fun, but still continue to race.”
Stoner made his MotoGP debut for LCR Honda in 2006, claiming a pole and a podium, then switched to the factory Ducati team for 2007. He then won on his Desmosedici debut and romped to the factory's only MotoGP title to date, but only began to receive the credit he deserved when a series of team-mates struggled with the same machine.
Even then, Stoner was criticised for suffering numerous front-end falls as he pushed to keep the Desmosedici competitive from 2008-2010, when he won 13 races - despite being sidelined during 2009 while his Lactose Intolerance was diagnosed.
Stoner's switch to Repsol Honda for 2011 brought instant title success and he currently leads the 2012 standings by one point from Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo. Stoner's Ducati replacement - seven time MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi - has taken just one podium since the start of last year.
“It's not up to me to say what I'm going to leave to the sport,” said Stoner, in reply to a further question. “Maybe I'll still have some involvement, if I can find the energy, to maybe help some young riders. I'm not really sure what I leave.
“We've had a great career. We've had some fantastic races and I feel even after my first championship in 2007 already I had reached my goal.
“This was my dream to become world champion. When you are younger you dream of becoming world champion more times, but when you get closer to grand prix and arrive in grand prix the reality is a little more realistic.
“But I never stopped trying. No matter how much criticism I got for riding the Ducati. No matter how much criticism I got for crashing and different things like this in the past. This has all helped, to be honest, to arrive at the point where I am today and make my decision a little easier.
“I don't believe I'll be leaving anything behind. I'm very happy with the career that I've had in such a short space. To have had the race wins that I've had, the battles, success and problems It's been a difficult up-and-down road, but a fantastic one. So I won't have regrets.”
Stoner started racing in dirt track competition when he was four-years-old. A multiple state and local champion, his family moved to Britain when he was 14 so he could start racing on tarmac.
He won a British roadrace title at his first attempt - in 2000 - and made his Grand Prix debut in the 250cc class in 2002, when he was 16 years old. He won five 250GP victories and two 125GP victories before graduating to MotoGP, where the overpowered machines suited his style perfectly.
Stoner will be back on track during Friday's free practice sessions for the French MotoGP at Le Mans, round four of 18.
Sourced from:
http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/179806/1/casey_stoner_to_retire_from_motogp.html
and
http://www.crash.net/motogp/news/179814/1/casey_stoner_why_im_leaving_motogp.html
