Stoner blames Dorna for quitting sport

During a candid interview with Channel Ten motorsport anchors Greg Rust and former GP winner Daryl Beattie, Casey Stoner revealed his real reasons for quitting MotoGP at the end of the 2012.

The two-time MotoGP champion and Repsol Honda rider explained that his premature exit from the sport was not due to one issue alone but many, including a lack of passion that stemmed from the way Dorna runs the sport.

He said MotoGP chief Carmelo Ezpeleta had made recent decisions with which he could not abide.

“I think they're [Dorna] partly to blame for the situation they're in right now,” Stoner told Channel Ten. “The decisions they've made and direction they've taken this class is not for my liking and a lot of the opinions of himself [Ezpeleta] and everything I'm not agreeing with at all,” he added.

The Australian MotoGP champion revealed that he'd love to see up-and-coming Moto2 rider Marc Marquez take his place in 2013, but rules put in place by Dorna wouldn’t allow it.

“Marc Marquez of course is a perfect candidate [for my ride] but there's that rookie rule, which in my opinion is another bad decision – no rookies are allowed into a factory team, among many things like that that don't suit,” Stoner said.

“None of the Moto3 [or] Moto2 riders are allowed to have motorhomes in the paddock, and you know we just wouldn’t have been able to get to where I am today if we weren't allowed to have our motorhome in our paddock.

“There are a lot of things like that [which I am opposed to] but I think Marc Marquez has got to be the best to come into my position. But unfortunately there’s that rule there that’s holding him back.

When asked about his decision to quit the sport Stoner said it was due to a lack of passion and that it wasn’t influenced by his family.

"It’s got nothing to do with my baby girl or marriage or anything like that. You know, it’s been coming for a few years.

“It started basically back in 2009 when everybody started on about the mystery illness and all the comments and everything going round – and that still come around now – and it showed us what people really thought of us and what we really meant to people, which was nothing.

“Things happen behind our back and [we] realised that this paddock is nothing more than a business, there’s no passion. So it started since then.

“I think that if I do one more year I won’t get on a bike for the next 10 years,” Stoner told Channel Ten’s pre-race TV show.

“As it is now I’m not keen to go anywhere and get on a bike. So I want to get that passion back and I don’t want to lose what I’ve spent my whole life doing – and enjoying – for good.”

Stoner said that he is looking forward to relaxing in 2013 and that beyond that a career in four-wheeled motorsport is likely.

“That's the point – I don’t want to have any plans,” said the 26-year-old. “I don’t want to have something that I have to do at that time, I just really want to enjoy the time with my family and spend as much time as possible with them.”

Already a keen karter and the owner of a highly modified go-kart, Stoner admitted that racing in the Australian touring car series, V8 Supercars, holds significant appeal.

“I really enjoyed the V8 test I did, to be honest,” he said. “I don’t think it's ever going to give you the same thrill as what a bike can, but at the same time you're not risking as much as what you do on a bike and that's part of it as well.

“The fact is a lot of the people around you don’t realise how much you’re risking every time you’re out on track – every time you’re riding and pushing it to the limit, in bad conditions, with tyres that aren’t giving you good feedback...

“There are lots of things there that when everything isn’t perfect, with four walls around you [in a car] it’s a little better a lot of the time. [V8 Supercars] is something that I'm going to think about for the future. Whether I can or not is something to be seen, but for now I just really want to enjoy the time with my family and Adrianna, so let’s see what happens in the future.”

There's already speculation that Stoner is in talks to buy his own V8 Supercar team, like the Kelly brothers, so he can run things the way he likes. Watch this space...

For the full interview, check out Ten Sports.