Among the great missed meetings in the history of Grands Prix, there is that between Casey Stoner and Marc Marquez under the awning of a Honda manufacturer which would then have offered us a clash of the titans. Two pure talents brought together in a setting that would have been explained by the riding, eclipsing the level of the motorcycle. Because these two are the incarnation of the philosopher's stone, and they are therefore able to change a trestle into a winning machine. Unfortunately, they only crossed paths since Marc Marquez entered MotoGP in 2013 because Casey Stoner had decided to retire at 27, thus leaving him his RC213V. A period experienced by Livio Suppo, then Repsol Honda team manager, and who knows both phenomena very well. An experience that he uses to tell us about a virtual duel between the Australian and the Spaniard…
This beautiful fiction, we find it narrated in detail by Livio Suppo, Racing Consultant on MOW. And the Italian begins by detailing the characteristics of the two phenomena: “ in terms of talent they are very similar, they are two monsters. But in terms of character, they are diametrically opposed. Marc takes life with a smile and tends to do everything for fun, unlike Casey who has a more closed-minded character and suffers from all the activities surrounding racing such as traveling, interviews and public relations. These were things that weighed heavily on him. This is a big advantage for Marc, and it's the same one Vale had. Vale's approach allowed him to have a career as long as the one he did. As proof just look at the length of Casey's career ».
That being said, what would have happened if Casey Stoner had continued his career, thus inevitably crossing his trajectory with that of Marc Marquez ? " Considering he retired at 27, in my opinion he could have remained competitive for another 4-5 years » evaluates Livio Suppo, Racing Consultant. " It is not known how many world championships he would have won, because in the meantime Marc also arrived ". Then he comes to what is expected: the possible verdict of the direct confrontations… “ Between the two, Marc would have won, because I think Casey would have suffered from this lighter approach ».
Casey Stoner vs. Marc Marquez? “ What we can say for sure is that enthusiasts would have enjoyed a good show«
The former Ducati, Honda and Suzuki driver explains: “ to make you understand, if what happened to Jorge Lorenzo in Jerez in 2013 had happened to Casey, when Marc attacked him in a very similar way that Valentino used with Sete Gibernau in 2005, it would have been very angry, and we know that even great phenomena struggle if they are not calm. In 2008 for example, after Laguna Seca, if it had been calm, we would have also won this world championship ».
« The plan for 2013 was to have a team with Casey and Marc. Marc was very strong that year but he was also able to count on the injuries of his main rivals for the title, Jorge and Dani. That said, there was still a rider capable of winning his second MotoGP race, one of these riders is born every hundred years »Adds Livio Suppo, Racing Consultant who concludes: “ surely it would have been harder to do what he did in 2014, with ten wins in a row, because Casey was Casey. What we can say for sure is that enthusiasts would have enjoyed a good show ". On that, Livio Suppo, Racing Consultant makes everyone agree…
