Just read that casey stoner at 26 years old has announced his retirement citing that he is not enjoying the sport.

While i dont think anyone can argue that he is not a great champion I think this bodes badly for MotoGP.

Pretty sure bet that Rossi leaves Ducati at end of year and we knew that both he and Stoner have had significant disagreement re MotoGP changes and regulations.

Im sort of hoping we will see both Stoner and Rossi end up in WSP.... Rossi in particular has commented that he wants to get back to racing that has more BIFF in it and WSP has that.

Sad to see stoner go and if both Rossi and Stoner exit that leaves Pedrosa and Lorenzo as chief front runners but you know how things work... any victory of theirs will be shallowed by comments.. only winning as Stoner and Rossi have gone...albeit Rossi is not the podium threat he used to be.

I think this could be a pivotal time for MotoGP.... you only have three factory teams in the field Ducati/Honda and Yamaha... if one of them decides to leave and focus on WSP then MotoGp could be in trouble.

Personally while i love MotoGP racing I have absolute scorn for DORNA over their " selling of the Simoncelli crash video" to networks

Full marks to Stoner though.. nothing to prove and a consummate professional. Just hope he bobs up in WSP but have a feeling he may end up like others have in touring car championships.

Yes a big surprise. He will certainly be missed in MotoGP as at the top of his game.

He stated

"After so many years of doing the sport which I love, and which myself and my family made so many sacrifices for, after so many years of trying to get to where we have gotten to at this point, this sport has changed a lot and it has changed to the point where I am not enjoying it.

I don't have the passion for it and so at this time it's better if I retire now.

There are a lot of things that have disappointed me, and also a lot of things I have loved about this sport, but unfortunately the balance has gone in the wrong direction.

And so, basically, we won't be continuing any more. It would be nice if I could say I would stay just one more year, but then when does it stop? So we decided to finish everything as we are now.

It's not going to change anything for this season, I'm still going to put in every bit of effort that we can. We still want to win races and have some great races with these riders alongside me."

Sad, but true ...

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From the Australian ABC TV channel, the actual interview below ...

http://www.abc.net.a...-stoner/4018692

Australia's Casey Stoner has made the stunning announcement that he will retire at the end of the 2012 MotoGP season.

Edited May 18, 201214 yr by David48

To be honest, I think you may see him around the paddocks and on tv etc but I don't think he will continue racing.

The guy appears to be a family man at heart, you only have to look at the end of each race. Whilst other riders are looking to the fans and crew etc he only looks for one thing, his wife.

It is a great loss to motor sports as he is a true champion of racing but I think he may disappear from the lime light for a while and the next time he appears will be with a child in his arms.