Casey Stoner - A Racing Fans Perspective

This is a subject that appears so often in my timeline and gives me most fun reading - the massively divided opinion from fans around the world regarding Casey Stoner the 2011 MotoGP World Champion.


Whilst I own up to not being his biggest fan during his LCR Honda outing on a 990 where he looked more likely to retire hurt than finish, or Ducati days where the 800 was simply made to measure and the Bridgestone tyres were trick as you like. This year has seen Casey emerge as one of the greats in MotoGP.


I had always been quite dismissive of him when in conversation with friends about the weekends racing, I was happily caught up in the Valentino Rossi show and still smile at the thought of Laguna '08, admittedly Valentino still is MotoGP to a lot of people and we have him to thank for raising the profile of our sport to new heights and bringing in fans who previously may not have bothered. I love Vale, but I loved racing before he 'arrive very very fast' and will love racing after he retires to Ibiza with his little mate. Which leaves us with the New World Order...


Casey may not be the character Valentino is with his cheeky waves, post race celebrations and animated press conferences, he is there to race and to win - nothing more - like Mick Doohan and Wayne Gardner the 2 other Aussies to lift the title before him before him, he is totally focused on the job in hand and will use all his controlled aggression, grit and determination to get pole and the top step of the podium. Anything less is failure. This is the side of Casey that people see most and, after the light-heartedness of Valentino, this outlook has somewhat soured peoples impression of him.


I had a thought about this the other day. I make a living as a Flexographic Printer, its a good job with prospects and and one I enjoy but its not without its problems. The nature of the Printing Press means things can, and do, go wrong. If you were to ask me after a bad shift about my day, you would see a different side to me than my usual chirpy self and think 'what a miserable git, moan moan moan'! Why is Casey any different in his line of work - I suspect most of us are actually the same...reading on Twitter, it seems we are.


There are many similarities arising between Casey and Mick Doohan. Casey on the RC212V this season has been an absolute joy to watch, he's made shapes and pretty black lines with that Honda that Dani and Dovi could only dream of and the pure speed and controlled aggression he showed harked back, for some, to the good old days of the 500's and 990's. Mick was the same, drawing pretty black lines everywhere looking like he was velcroed to the the beast of a bike. Mick wasn't everyone's cup of tea in his era, but he had 5 world titles to back him up where Casey has 2..the same as Valentino in the 800 class.


Mick wouldn't rest in practice or qualifying until he had ground down the opposition not only on the time sheets but mentally too. Come Sunday he would continue to dominate, some days by a little, some days by a lot and he is still held in high regard with race fans across the globe...why? Whats so different? Because he wasn't competing along side Valentino...? Maybe...Mick is still ahead of Casey in the all time wins table but for how long?


This isn't a blog about how wonderful Casey is or how I'm his biggest fan, I'm not no he has his flaws, I am a fan of motorcycle racing - you know that because I told you in my first blog, it's more about appreciating what Casey has achieved this season and the 800 period and really accepting that in 2011 he came of age. MotoGP isn't all about Valentino. Yes he is an integral part, so too are Dani, Jorge, and Dovi for example - I'm not a huge fan of their's but appreciate their riding ability even if its more neat and tidy over fast and loose!


To read about people wishing Casey had fallen off or the fact that he doesn't deserve to be on the cover of the Season Review is madness, and somewhat myopic. The stats speask for themselves and if some of the stunning photo's of Casey sideways this year haven't made you go 'wow' then I truly believe you are missing the point - even a sideways Toni Elias can make me go 'wow'! Tough question but are you a race fan or a Valentino Rossi fan? You can be both...


 I know we are all different, I know we have our favourites - as i sit here I'm looking at a VR print on one wall, Chris Walker on another and Marco Simoncelli as my laptop wallpaper - but to dismiss Casey's achievements, record and style because he isn't Valentino Rossi is a little disrespectful to racing. His personality has clouded peoples judgement not his racing or phenomenal ability...have a look, you might be pleasantly surprised.


I've said this all season, with his visor shut and his mouth shut Casey Stoner is up there amongst the greats of our sport and in my reflective opinion, pound for pound probably the best racer over the 800cc period of MotoGP...


89 races, 32 Pole Positions, 33 wins and 5th in all time standings now ahead of Eddie Lawson. Impressive by anyone's standard.


Thanks for reading.