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Is Stoner one of the greatest riders ever?

Is Casey Stoner one of the greatest GP riders ever?

29K views 274 replies 53 participants last post by  Max Deutch 
#1 ·
I took most of the info from the great article below...

CLICK HERE FOR ARTICLE

So let's talk facts...

--At age 25, he's already a premier class MotoGP champion
--he already has more premier class victories than legends Kenny Roberts, Barry Sheene, Freddie Spencer, Wayne Gardner, Wayne Rainey, and Kevin Schwantz
--he's only 4 victories shy of being even with 4 time GP champion Eddie Lawson
--the only other riders with more premier class victories are Lawson, Hailwood, Doohan, Agostini, and Rossi
--he has 27 premier class victories - Pedrosa and Lorenzo have 28 COMBINED
--he's s scored more victories during his time in MotoGP than Rossi has over that same span (27 to 26), while also notching up seven more pole positions than his nemesis (26 to 19)
--when he wins, it's typically by an extremely large margin

So, regardless of the abrasive persona, the public fights with Rossi, the constant claims of whining, the "it's the bike, not the rider" fodder, and other rumblings, you can't deny his numbers...The boy can ride, and is headed towards being one of the greatest riders the sport has ever seen...
 
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#41 ·
I'm not sure, but I think it was Kenny Roberts that said: A racer without an ego is shit.

Stoner has a pretty big ego but comes off all too often as a whiner just by way of how he presents himself.

The boy sure can ride though...
 
#42 ·
I think Jorge Lorenzo is a better racer in the thick of things than Stoner. Look at the sparring last season between JL and Rossi. Then when Rossi was injured it opened the gate for JL to run away with it. I would have preferred to have had a tighter race season. The year prior Rossi locked up the championship, and it made for a somewhat boring end to the season.

I do think Casey has done himself a disservice with the pre and post race whining. Not going to gain fans that way.

If Stoner gets another championship this season you HAVE to acknowledge the new Hondas as one of the reasons. Look at the FIAT Yamaha dominance for the last several years, now Jorge gets passed by Dovi? Tell me how often that would have happened prior to this season's Hondas. You can tell the Yamaha is down on power to the Honda this season.

I credit the Honda improvements for this season's results from Stoner, Pedro, Dovi and SuperSic. Prior to this season only Pedro could get it done on a Honda, and that is because he is an oompa loompa.
 
#46 ·
The fact that he only has one championship (in any class) precludes him from such a label. Also, as noted above, the seasons have more races now, so a comparison of wins per number of races may ne a better indicator. His story, however, is far from over. Time will tell where he ranks.
 
#56 · (Edited)
Ducati have 15 million reasons to listen to Rossi.
They have also heavily reduced their WSB efforts to funnel the money into MotoGP.

Casey Stoner is not an engineer, you can only work with what the engineers give you.

The Assen practises have already started.
Rossi was 2nd fastest in the wet FP1 and the FP2 has been cancelled due to oil and petrol on a wet track.
 
#62 ·
A rider has more jobs than just winning races. A great rider also has to develop the bike and sell more motorcycles, or whatever product the sponsors are hawking. That is the reality of racing. Ducati's sales improved after signing Rossi. They have already made steps forward with the bike. It has been something with the frame holding them back. They may be moving past that (hopefully).

If you listen to what Ducati says, it is very informative. They are always amazed at the feedback he gives them. Clearly they are not used to that.

Found the article. Either they listened to him or they didn't. He can't have it both ways.

Pit Pass: Ducati Desmosedici GP10 | Sport Rider Magazine Article at Automotive.com
 
#64 ·
The main reason they signed Rossi was to get sales, simple as that.
Rossi is the highest profile motorcyclist in modern times and that equates to more interest in your brand.

Like I said before when you spend a fortune and the supposed World's greatest rider cannot ride your bike then I'd say they have to listen to him.

Stoner in a recent interview says that in 2009-2010 they have basically had the same bike all year with very minimal changes and updates to it.
It's the reason he left Ducati in the first place, they wouldn't listen to their riders and updates were not forth coming.

All of a sudden the greatest rider on earth, who according to many of his fans, can ride a scooter to victory, can't ride it and they look like dickheads and fast track a new re-designed bike.

At the end of the day who cares if Stoner is or isn't a good development rider?
He sets the bike up to suit himself and not anyone else. He is a racer after all.
 
#66 ·
The main reason they signed Rossi was to get sales, simple as that.
no that is what they signed hayden for, they are trying to get the american market, hence the Ducati 848 Hayden Replica, much like motogp is also trying to get the american market.
 
#65 ·
Development rider hey? Valentino Rossi has only been good at whinging about how bad the GP011 is (for him).

If you think he had anything to do with it's design you are delusional.


From MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks | ... that the stakes just got higher in Bologna

"That test had planted the seeds of an idea in Ducati technical guru Filippo Preziosi's head. With Rossi so enthusiastic about the 2012 bike - a machine which had started life on Preziosi's drawing board in 2010 - if it could be adapted to comply with the 2011 rules, then that would be one possible way of helping make Rossi competitive again. After the test, Preziosi altered the crankshaft and connecting rods, and put the new, shorter-stroke engine on the dyno to test reliability. It was then put into the hands of Franco Battaini at Mugello, to ensure that it all worked, while Rossi continued to test its big brother, the GP12."

Full report can be found here:

Ducati GP11.1: Two Parts Different To The GP12 | MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks
 
#67 ·
Ballmead, you're pathetic.

Do you also think that Mel Gibson is the greatest actor in history just because he's also Australian? :eek:nfloor

PhilB
 
#80 ·
pedrosa was on that similar path until he encountered sic.
 
#81 ·
are we still arguing this? he has one championship. ONE. call me when he has 5 consecutive championships like Doohan or at least three consecutive championships like Rainey and Roberts. Call me when he wins two championships in one season like Agostini, Read and Spencer. call me when he has back to back championships on different makes like Lawson. call me when he has a Suzuka 8 Hour win, championships in all classes and 7 premier class championships like Rossi.

greatest ever...lol.
 
#90 · (Edited)
To compare a couple of riders...

Stoner
MotoGP
Starts: 93
Wins: 28
Percentage: 30%
Championships: 1


250CC
Starts: 31
Wins: 5
Percentage: 16%
Championships: 0


125cc
Starts: 30
Wins: 2
Percentage: 7%
Championships: 0


Total
Starts: 154
Wins: 35
Percentage: 23%
Championships: 1

Rossi
MotoGP
Starts: 159
Wins: 66
Percentage: 41%
Championships: 6

500cc
Starts: 32
Wins: 13
Percentage: 40%
Championships: 1

250cc
Starts: 30
Wins: 14
Percentage: 47%
Championships: 1

125cc
Starts: 30
Wins: 12
Percentage: 40%
Championships: 1

Total
Starts: 251
Wins: 105
Percentage: 42%
Championships: 9
 
#96 ·
Lol greatest ever is much more than winning GP's. Numbers alone is not the be-all-end-all. I have yet to see Stoner move up the field like Rossi has done many times after a bad grid position. He doesn't scrap as hard as Rossi, in fact Pedrosa scraps harder than him and so does Lorenzo. It's not just wins what makes a rider great. It's the things they do when they don't win or have a legendary fight that leads to a win. Or doing what some would consider insane, like seeing Doohan and Rossi walking with a cane as they approach their bikes to race.
 
#98 ·
You guys slay me...It is just so useless to compare ANYONE to Rossi...But since everyone keeps doing it, and numbers seem to be the end all of be all, re-read the very 1st post of this thread...When you do, you'll find that if you match Stoner against ANY rider while he has been in GP, including Rossi, you'll come to this conclusion...

Stoner > everyone
 
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