Is Casey Stoner one of the greatest GP riders ever?

[L8 Braker]

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...

[TCormier]

I mean, those stats don't lie.

[04zx6r]

Absolutely he is.

I'm not personally a big fan of his, but you can't deny the way he races. Any time a guy is consistently lapping almost a full second faster than the rest of the field at several different tracks, obviously he is something special.

[acalliste]

I don't think his personality is that bad. He's a competitive guy, they are all assholes to one extent or another. He's only abrasive compared to really laid back riders like Rossi. Compared to Lorenzo, he's a pussy cat.

[rayzzr]

Again, stats tell the tale, but I am not a fan. I could pull for him over Pedro though. I cannot bring myself to like him, but hope he heals up because I like to see tight races, not one guy running away at the front every time.

I will openly admint I thought Stoner was done for. With all the crashes and physical issues I figured he wouldn't do great this season. Totally surprised by his performance. Dovi is formidable on that Honda too...

Lots of that with JL last season, but that Catalunya race...ahhh, the memories. I don't think I have ever gotten so worked up over a sporting event.

[jk750]

Originally Posted by L8 Braker

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...

That is amazing.

Clearly, like it or not, he is in the top echelon of all time. Shocking, but true.
Other's have been more dominant. But he belongs mentioned among the greats. But NOT the greatest of all time.

[Nero Diablo]

Originally Posted by jk750

But NOT the greatest of all time.

I think that can only really ever be said one way or the other in retrospect after he has stopped racing.

[aLive]

I feel physical pain agreeing with the undeniable but god damn am I completely and utterly unable to stand the little primadona

[jk750]

List of MotoGP/500GP class victories/(titles). Not including other class wins. The modern era has longer seasons with more races.

Valentino ROSSI (7 titles) 79
Giacomo AGOSTINI (8 titles) 68
Mick DOOHAN (5 titles) 54
Mike HAILWOOD (4 titles) 37
Eddie LAWSON (4 titles) 31
Casey STONER (1 title) 27 and counting...
Kevin SCHWANTZ (1 title) 25
Wayne RAINEY (3 titles) 24
Geoff DUKE (4 titles) 22
John SURTEES (4 titles) 22
Kenny ROBERTS (3 titles) 22
Freddie SPENCER (2 titles) 20
Barry SHEENE (2 titles) 19
Wayne GARDNER (1 title) 18
Alex CRIVILLE (1 title) 15
Jorge LORENZO (1 title) 15
Randy MAMOLA 13
Max BIAGGI 13
Dani PEDROSA 13
Phil READ (2 titles) 11
Sete GIBERNAU 9
Loris CAPIROSSI 9
Gary HOCKING (1 title) 8
Luca CADALORA 8
Kenny ROBERTS Jr. (1 title) 8
Alex BARROS 7
Umberto MASETTI (2 titles) 6
Marco LUCCHINELLI (1 title) 6
Leslie GRAHAM (1 title) 5
Wil HARTOG 5
Franco UNCINI (1 title) 5
Marco MELANDRI 5
Reg ARMSTRONG 4
Libero LIBERATI (1 title) 4
John KOCINSKI 4
Tadayuki OKADA 4
Alfredo MILANI 3
John HARTLE 3
Alberto PAGANI 3
Jack FINDLAY 3
Pat HENNEN 3
Johnny CECOTTO 3
Daryl BEATTIE 3
Norick ABE 3
Garry McCOY 3
Nicky HAYDEN (1 title) 3


I think this is pretty accurate.

Active MotoGP riders highlighted.

[kevinwilly]

Just the fact that he gets all pissy when people follow him OR hold him up during practice is enough to make me hate this little maggot.

People have their own shit going on, trying to develop THEIR bikes- they don't have time to watch out for Stoner every fucking second of the day. I LOVED when Hayden just ignored him last weekend.

Anyways, I argue that the 800cc bikes are MUCH easier to ride than the 500cc 2-strokes. If you've never been champion on one of those, it don't matter WHAT you do- you're not the greatest of all time. Period.


EDIT- nice list, JK.... looks pretty accurate from my memory. Not to say that it IS, I just didn't see any glaring inaccuracies.

[Akumu]

Originally Posted by alive

i feel physical pain agreeing with the undeniable but god damn am i completely and utterly unable to stand the little primadona

+ fucking 1

[Razzy]

Amazing rider, YES. An even bigger prick, FUCK YES!

[Ballmead]

Awesome stats, I told ya's he was good.
I reckon he'll win a few titles with Honda too.

[Evanw]

Originally Posted by Ballmead

Awesome stats, I told ya's he was good.
I reckon he'll win a few titles with Honda too.

All of those stats are from the 800cc era. I think he's great, but he did it in the era of what are unanimously agreed to be the easiest bikes to ride basically ever in MotoGP. It's probably not like the 1000's next year will be any harder, with all the electronics. But, idk, I feel like it has something to do with it.

[Ballmead]

Dude, just watch some races and you'll see him slide the f#@k out of the bike.
Stoner rides with the traction control down low.
It's impossible to compare era's as everything is different.