How to enrich the rich palmares of the Ducati with a MotoGP World Championship? For information, ask an Australian comet, which gave emotions at the time of its passage but which was also more elusive than other less talented stars. We are obviously talking about Casey Stoner: an explosion of crystalline class, capable of winning 2 MotoGP World Championships and above all of putting the great Valentino Rossi in difficulty, perhaps as no one had done until then.
The beginnings
Casey was born in Southport, Australia, October 16, 1985. His father Colin is a fashion enthusiast, he runs for the pure pleasure of doing it and transmits this passion to his son. From an early age, the family understood that little Casey had an innate talent for two wheels. The economic resources are not high, but despite this, parents do everything to allow their child to cultivate this potential. Time will definitely prove them right. After dominating in Australia, racking up titles with the 50 and 125 cc bikes, in 2000 Stoner landed in Europe competing in the Spanish Aprilia 125 challenge.
The following year he participated in the English championship, with a second place finish and 7 victories, and in the Spanish one, where he collected 3 victories and second place in the final standings. Also in 2001 he made his debut in the World Championship, competing in two races as a wild card in the 125 class. Despite collecting only 4 points, he still earned his first contract with Aprilia. In 2002 he participated in the 250cc World Championship, reaching a 12th place finish with 68 points, obtaining a 5th place in the Czech Republic as his best result. There are 5 of his crashes this season, including the one in France that prevents him from participating in the Italian Grand Prix.
The impact with the 250 was therefore not the best, so much so that the following year he was "relegated" to 125. In 2003 the first satisfactions arrived, with the victory in Valencia and 3 second places, but also the usual crashes that began to justify the nickname of "rolling Stoner". After eighth place in the 2003 125 World Championship, the following year he changed teams to KTM but not the engine class, finishing in fifth place. A fleeting experience, because then he returned to Aprilia and tried again with the 250. For the first time since his arrival in Europe, he had the chance to win a title but in the end he lost the duel with Daniel Pedrosa to finish behind him. However, a good viaticum to move up in category: an event that punctually took place in 2006 with the move to Honda.
A transitional World Championship for Stoner, with the usual crashes and an eighth place finish. Retirements are definitely more frequent than podiums and victories, but Stoner is about to make the choice that will change his career forever.
The turning point with Ducati
In 2007 his move to Ducati took place, with Stoner joining Capirossi. Hopes are focused more on the Emilian rider, 3-time world champion between 125 and 250. Casey, however, quickly forgets the difficulties of past years and proves the skeptics wrong, playing a literally screaming season and showing his talent from the beginning. In the first race of the World Championship, scheduled for Qatar, Stoner took the first MotoGP win of his career, finishing ahead of Rossi and Pedrosa: much more than a declaration of intent. Another 2 first places in the next 3 races and a World Championship that continues without those crashes and that discontinuity that had characterized his entire career. The first laurel in MotoGP can only be his: he is world champion with 3 races to spare at Motegi in Japan on 23 September 2007 and this makes him the third world champion for precocity, having been crowned champion of the premier class at 21 years and 342 days.
In addition to him, Marc Marquez did it in 2013, when he was 20 years and 266 days old, and Freddie Spencer in 1983, when he was 21 years and 258 days old. A conquest that puts him in the Pantheon of all Ducatisti but, if winning is difficult, confirming himself is even more so. In 2008 he had a few more difficulties, but still became the protagonist of a spectacular duel with Rossi for the top. This time, however, it is the rider from Pesaro who has the upper hand and returns to winning ways after two complicated years. In the following two seasons he remained at a good level, but certainly not up to what he showed in 2007. After two fourth places, he ends his adventure with the Ducati. Is he a pilot on the early boulevard of sunset? Once again, he denies too hasty sentences.
The second World Cup and the retirement
In 2011 he moved to Honda and the impact was incredibly similar to that of the Ducati 4 years earlier. In fact, he won the debut race in Qatar and began to cannibalize the World Championship from the beginning: in the next 5 races, in fact, he obtained 3 first places. The duel is with Jorge Lorenzo, reigning world champion with his Yamaha. The Mallorcan rider, however, had to surrender in the face of the overwhelming power of his Australian rival, who put the second world championship of his career on the showcase. It seems that Stoner can compete for many more years, but this is not the case.
In 2012, after a season that ended in third place behind Lorenzo and Pedrosa, he announced his retirement from racing. "This is not the MotoGP I'm in love with," he announced a few months before his farewell. A sudden and fulminating decision in terms of timing and motivations, just as the leap from king of falls to dominator in the saddle of the Ducati was fulminant. It cannot be a coincidence, because jumping is one of the characteristics of the kangaroo, an animal symbol of its land.
