Would Marc Marquez want to rewrite the history of his relationship with Casey Stoner from the time when the latter, as a Honda test driver, could always, on occasion, return to the track with the RC213V? Listening to the Spaniard, it was a missed opportunity that he regrets, but the vision of the events of the time is very different from the Australian's side...
Marc Marquez is now a pilot Ducati after having been at the helm of the Honda, and Casey Stoner was first titled on a Desmosedici before confirming on an RC213V. Then he left the stage at the height of his glory in 2012, making way for Marc Marquez in the Repsol box. And we know the rest.
But what we don't know is what the eight-time World Champion revealed next on GP One about Casey Stoner : " I would have liked to run with him. Maybe not in a battle, but just to observe it and be able to then consult your data. We have a similar driving style, for example in the use of brakes, acceleration and electronics. He's a rider who won less than he could have because of crashes that didn't help him ».
Casey Stoner: “ I think Marc Marquez and everyone around him felt threatened by me »
An apprehension of the era which is not that of Casey Stoner. The latter first asked: “ do I think I could have beaten Marc? Yes, in some races. If Andrea Dovizioso, Jorge Lorenzo, Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa did it, then I could have done it too ". But he also revealed: “ Marc has closed the gap again with many of his weaknesses and he would be hard to beat ».
But what bothers Casey Stoner, it is not the undecided outcome of a duel that will never take place. It is rather the attitude of Marc Marquez and of his clan which grieves him: “ At Honda I was just an occasional tester, I had no other role and, to be honest, they never really tapped into my potential ", said Casey Stoner.
And the Australian draws this certainty: “ I think Marquez and everyone around him felt threatened by me. I don't know why they thought that, but that's my feeling. I was at Honda doing tests, trying new things that could then be passed on to the factory riders, so I was there to help Marc. But it's also true that the number one driver is the one everyone must follow ". To the bottom of the precipice.
