Stoner: 'Rossi quotes out of context'

"I still stand by what I said, but it's been over the last year and a half that it was put together."

Posted: 17 August 2012
by Visordown News

CASEY Stoner has always had a frosty relationship with the MotoGP press and believes that his latest attack on Valentino Rossi leaving Ducati was taken out of context.

Earlier this week Stoner criticised Rossi for not putting the effort in at Ducati and failing to back up his and Jeremy Burgess' claim that they could transform the Ducati Desmosedici into a competitive bike for all riders.

Speaking at the pre-race press conference at Indianapolis, the reigning MotoGP champion said: "I want to clarify that. "That was a lot of context taken out. It was the whole last year and a half. I never did the interview and never said anything like that last week. I still stand by what I said, but it's been over the last year and a half that it was put together."

The Australian admitted, however, that he was not surprised that Rossi would be returning to Yamaha in 2013. He added: "No. I think, you know, after two years like this it must be difficult, must be a little bit embarrassing. He needs to understand if he's competitive again. So going with a bike that he knows he was last fast with and maybe the only opportunity for a different manufacturer on a factory bike.

"So I think, you know, it's going to be interesting to see what happens next year. But, no, not - it's not a strange decision after two seasons like this; it's got to be difficult. So it's better to try and be competitive again on something which you know he's competitive."

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casey stoner, valentino rossi, motogp, yamaha, ducati

Discuss this story

pyndman

exactly. Is that terrible, he's whining again is he? He's totally correct, excellent statement, period

Posted: 17/08/2012 at 09:42

evil ken evil

who mentioned anything about manchester united?

or the painters ?

Posted: 17/08/2012 at 09:46

Ton Up Jax

It's barely English, so it's hard to tell whether he's whining or not. But generally, if Stacey's lips are moving- he's moaning.

Posted: 17/08/2012 at 19:28

James Embry

Here we go race fans- Rossi developed the Honda 4 stroke GP bike, then the Yamaha 4 stroke GP bike. Stoner and Jorge have both won on it. Stoners first year with Ducati he won the title, Capirossi developed that bike, the next three seasons Stoner was 2nd, 4th and 4th in the championship. He did not "develop" the bike, he left for something better too. He did win on the Ducati I will say but he moans about the Honda, come on. Him and Spies both need to go, they can compare tampon notes, whine like little girls.

Posted: 17/08/2012 at 20:50

thoppa

I don't understand why he thinks next year will be interesting. He'll be at home looking after the nippers and arguing with the missus about curtains. That's not gonna seem interesting after MotoGP.

Posted: 17/08/2012 at 21:28

Jimmy Jimonson

@ James Embry

I don't get what your point. You are claiming Rossi developed the RCV and M1, turning them into winners. If this is the case why did his development genius fail at Ducati? If ever I saw a team bend over backwards to give a rider what they want it has been Ducati trying to stem Rossi's bleating about the Desmo. All I've seen him do is turn a bike challenging at the front into one that cannot break the top 5.

Everything he says is complete sense. He stated the Duke had an iffy front end, yet pushed it to and beyond it's limit - what has the clown done?

Next season will be a classic - Lorenzo is going to be completely unchallenged. Here's hoping Marquez is up to it.

Posted: 17/08/2012 at 23:56

Fred Maxwell 6

@Jimmy Jimonson

Apparently, you don't know the difference between a development rider and an engineer.

Rossi has proven, both at Yamaha and Honda, that he is an incredibly talented development rider. He provided the engineers with insightful feedback about all aspects of the bikes handling, braking, and power delivery. And they were able to use that information to make their bikes the most competitive in the field.

But Rossi is not an engineer. He can't do finite element analysis, reprogram traction control systems, and create new CNC-milled parts. That's up to the engineers -- and finance people. That Rossi is still on the same chassis he had at Qatar makes it pretty clear that Ducati either lacks the engineering resources or is unwilling to make the financial commitment needed to be competitive.

How dare you refer to Rossi as a "clown"? He's the most talented rider of our generation and you are just some buffoon with no talent, insights, or knowledge. Sure, traction-control-Stoner was willing to lean the bike over and open the throttle, trusting the electronics to control the bike. Rossi, with years of experience riding bikes that he had to control without the help of electronic aids, can't bring himself to just lean it and gas it. Put Stoner on one of the 2-stroke GP500 bikes that Rossi was dominant on, and he'd be flicked off in the wink of an eye.

Posted: 18/08/2012 at 08:23

steve brown 2

Dam right stoners a gimp...he's going to race v8 holdens anyway, it shouldn't matter...

Posted: 18/08/2012 at 14:40

Hy Rt

What ever. Rossi was useless at Ducati. End of story.

Posted: 19/08/2012 at 13:23

SlowInFastOut

"must be a little bit embarrassing".

Yep, for the "GOAT" it sure is.

Posted: 19/08/2012 at 14:04