Why I tihnk Casey Stoner Quit

[fallenarch]

I think the reason Casey Stone decided to quit is because of the speed of the 1000 cc bikes in combination with the slow CRT bikes on the track. Now as you all know, I'm no Stoner fan but I think he has a point. There is a lot of congestion out there because of the slower bikes and I hear that it's only a matter of time before something really unfortunate happens during qualifying especially. I am all for more bikes on the grid but if we are going to have superbikes racing out there with prototypes what's the point?

There is a rumor that BMW and Suzuki will be back to MotoGP in 2014 and even Kawasaki might come back. Maybe they need to just wait it out and not try to run an endurance style race with machines of all different levels trying to share a track. That's super dangerous with motorcycles.

 

[skydivr]

Casey now has someone else he's responsible for - his wife and little girl. If that doesn't cause you to pause, I don't know what will...

 

[Busa1166]

 

[fallenarch]

Casey now has someone else he's responsible for - his wife and little girl. If that doesn't cause you to pause, I don't know what will...

I keep hearing that but it doesn't make sense. The truth is motorcycle racing is dangerous but it's not statistically that high on the dangerous jobs list. The fact is that I'm at a higher risk of getting seriously hurt or killed than Stoner running up and down the highway with a bunch of texting drivers. His wife fell in love with a motorcycle racer, she knew the deal. If she is changing her tune now that they are married then maybe she wasn't such a good catch after all?

You don't give up that kind of money and opportunity for both you and your family for a change of heart. I think Stoney feels there is something more dangerous than necessary about racing now, and i think that is the speed of the new bikes with the slower traffic on the track.

But OK though, I won't beat this dead horse.

 

[cheferman65]

Being on track in the same race when Marco Simoncelli was killed really hit home and opened quite a few eyes.
Not being "high" on some statistical list is BS. These guys risk life and limb EVERY TIME they are out on the track. For some, that risk is no longer worth the gain.
I believe he has plenty of "means" to walk away and live quite well. I also believe he feels that not only Honda, but the entire WP has not celebrated him as the world champion he feels he should have been(boo hoo poor me). As far as slower bikes on track... really How many of these cats become back markers in a race? Not many.
It's racing, traffic is part of race management, deal with it, not that I think that is his issue.

We all have an opinion and or a conspiracy theory on Mr. Stoners departure, it's his time to go and I for one respect that. Loss for GP as he is a strong competitor.

 

[HillbillyTom]

Being on track in the same race when Marco Simoncelli was killed really hit home and opened quite a few eyes.

I'm wondering how much this has had to do with Valentino's bad year. Being part of the incident, and being as close to Sic as he was.. The Duck is a troublesome beast, and compound that with some possible mental things going on.
Someone in the business once stated (in reference to Sete Gibernau), "confidence is a fleeting thing". A crash, or a wife and baby (someone else stated one time that "a child will cost you a full second off your lap time"), can crack that confidence shell just enough to put you back in the pack, or into retirement.
I had a "blind hill crest" crash at the track year before last, and I still flinch on blind hill crests.. It amazes me that they can shake off the amount of stuff they go through and continue on like they do.

 

[fallenarch]

I think there is a talent threshold thats a little higher for some than others. But to win at this level you have to be able to ride above yourself when necessary. That means going into a corner and just hoping the bike will be able to hold it's wheels down. That sort of thing is where the confidence comes in - spending more or less time out there where every lap is 50/50 make it or crash. I really think Marco made a lot of people think twice about going out to the threshold. Marco pushed more limits than any rider I know of, but that wasn't even good enough to keep up with a Stoner lapping at an "easy" pace. I just don't think Stoner rides out there that much. His talent puts his threshold way above others so I don't think he feels the same fear of killing himself others might have. I do think Rossi is not willing to risk killing himself on a Duati that probably can't win anyway - no matter how far over the edge he rides it.

When Stoner is gone he will spill his guts. I bet a beer at the next spring bash that he will say the fast bikes and slow traffic was a big part of why he quit. This raises the risk of a disasterous crash. He even sort of said this a couple races ago when he said he just gave up on a hot qualifying lap and let pole go because of people on the track.