English
Italiano
Casey Stoner is certainly not famous for having ideas that the majority agrees with. The rider from Australia has always been quite a character in his own way: sometimes shy, but often capable of indulging in even ferocious criticism towards a system that he never fully has appreciated, which led to his decidedly premature retirement at the end of 2012, when he undoubtedly could have continued winning for much longer.
Casey released one of his last statements to TNT Sport regarding the rivalry between riders on the track that, from a certain point a view, he endured with Valentino Rossi who – when he realized he couldn’t beat Stoner in terms of pure talent – decided to also take the battle off the track. Casey spoke of the mind games that some riders use to intimidate their opponents rather than beat them, in terms of speed. Something which he wasn’t really good at, so he instead focused everything on the challenge on the track.
“There’s strong rivalry among the riders. It’s just under a veil. You have to look for it. But it’s there! I understand that everyone at home wants to see the details, the hidden things. Some riders like that. They think that’s how you get into people’s heads. But, in my opinion, do you know what you get from trying to get into someone’s head, and doing it the wrong way? You just make them stronger.”
Casey also talked about when he had to watch his back regarding similar mind games.
“Everyone who did it with me? You learn from everything they do. The reason why they do it, then ... You discover lots of their weaknesses. You can tell when they try to compensate for certain things, when they try to intimidate you. If you learn from all of this, you become stronger, to the point where you can’t be intimidated. If you’re out there, racing with a rival, and you’re friends with them, they won’t go as fast. They won’t attack you on the inside. If you show respect to the your rivals, they won’t further.”
Even when you’re fighting for a title, it's important to be able to count on fairness on the track.
“When it comes to a championship, do you really want to see a rival trying to take out whoever is fighting? Or do you want the title be won on merit? Right now, there’s a lot of respect among t he riders, because everyone knows that they’re struggling with certain things. Why risk all that by making enemies who could eliminate you at any moment?”
