Casey Stoner immersed himself in the atmosphere of the Grands Prix during the last two meetings of the 2021 season at the invitation of Ducati, and he was thus able to measure the developments that have taken place since his retirement. We were at the end of 2012, and with this decision, the Australian opened the doors of the Honda factory wide to a certain Marc Marquez. The double world champion had not returned to the paddock for three and a half years, and what he saw there sometimes annoyed him. And in particular this: a respect between drivers on the track that is increasingly forgotten.
Casey Stoner was a genius on the track with a bike, but once he got off it, it was like he became a foreign body in a paddock that he never really adhered to his mentality. On motogp.com, he remembers these complicated moments: “ unfortunately, I probably learned, rather negatively, what to expect from people. Or rather what people are capable of doing ».
« This is what struck me the most, because I have always been the type to penalize myself, when I went through the asphalt runoff areas in the turns because I made a mistake, I let a few riders pass because I was sorry, there was gravel before and I would have lost a lot of time ". He adds : : " I remember my team was angry because I wasted time and didn't go straight away, but I was like 'no, I made a big mistake, I need to be penalized for that' ».
Casey Stoner: “respect for other drivers is a very important thing that we may have lost a little"
That being said, what concerns him today are the morals in the peloton, which have lost certain fundamentals, starting with respect: “ I saw what others were able to do and they only thought of themselves, especially in racing, and I understand that you have to think of yourself. But you must respect your competitors on the track. As we have seen, it is a question of life and death, some people kill themselves doing this, and I think people forget that a little too quickly ».
He finishes : " so I think that respect for other drivers is a very, very important thing that we have perhaps lost a little bit. During my career, I learned to never underestimate what humans are capable of when they really want something. I learned to keep my eyes in the back of my head and make sure I knew where each attack was coming from ". The question of respect and education was also raised by Valentino Rossi during this season marked by three deaths of young drivers in different intermediate categories, but after identical circumstances: a compact peloton where almost anything is allowed.
