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The Flip Side…

Racing motorcycles out on a race track is hard work, especially in the red hot cauldron of a World Championship arena. But to some riders, it is the easiest part of the job.

Every rider is striving for success, and having spent years trying to get to the pinnacle of their chosen profession, there are increasing pressures to deal with. True, there are the rewards that fewof us can ever aspire to; the money, the glamour, the fame, the girls, the endorsements, but there’s also an insatiable amount of pressure and expectation which comes with it. BeingWorld Champion increases that multi-fold and everything you do gets micro-scrutinised by the very peoplewhohelped you achieve that unique accolade.
The media will pounce on any weakness, no matter how trivial, the camera will snap every pained expression, and the most ardent of fans will raise eyebrows when podiums turn into placings. Whereas Valentino Rossi revelled in the spotlight, it must be said that Casey Stoner has struggled. Not that it’s Casey’s fault, he’s the introvert kid who just wants to get on and race with as little fuss as possible, whereas Rossi’s the showman, the troubadour, the consummate entertainer. In soccer terms, for Ronaldinho, read Rossi, that twinkle-toed playmaking genius, Stoner’s more of a get-the-job-done-and-lets-getout- of-here, no fuss Alan Shearer.
They both let their racing do the talking, but it’s when the racing stops, that it matters. I was the first European journalist to interview Casey Stoner back at Brands Hatch in 2001 for this very magazine.

He was just 15 at the time and was setting the paddock alight in 125s but no one knew him. So we sat down with dad Colin and mum Bronwyn in their converted bus and chatted. Then, as now, he wasn’t forthright but as he cuddled his pet cat, which had strayed fromEurope in the engine compartment, gradually he came out of his shell. We were never friends, but remained associates throughout his remaining time in the UK and into GPs, and commiserated with him when he lost the title on a dramatic day at Rockingham that year, the same day incidentally, that Hizzy hit the wall and broke his leg.
Casey always spoke, we did the odd charity chat show together but the over-riding impression I got was that he wasn’t comfortable in the spotlight. Joey Dunlop was the same, Steve Hislop too, they just wanted to race motorbikes and not bother with the peripheries.
Nowadays, that’s not an option and the fact that Stoner is a cog in the ever-revolving wheel that is the commercial giant of MotoGP means champions get no respite. He has to go to this meeting when told, attend this conference at a specific time, meet such and such a sponsor, do that television interview, make the team debriefs, smile a lot… Oh, and ride a motorbike at 200mph five times a weekend. God knows, his schedule probably tells him when to fart… So in defence of Casey Stoner, the guy has a lot on his plate and whilst he’s not at ease with all the attention, it’s something he accepts and gets on with. After all, no job in the world is perfect.

The flip side is when his emotions, feelings, sentiment, passion, call it what you will, takes over. He’s a no bull-shit kind of a guy and if something isn’t right, there’s all hell to play. It may appear as petulance, hemaybe accused of sulking, or hemay simply be having a bad day like the rest of us. Except in his case, the world is watching. Kicking out at Vermeulen in Jerez was sheer stupidity, the refusal to do post race interviews discourteous and the morose nature of him sat in garage, head in hands is not beneficial to team sponsors or morale. Of course, I’ve been on the receiving end of one of these tantrums as I’ve explained in these pages recently, and too right, I was damned annoyed, but let’s cut the guy some slack, eh? Casey Stoner is a good guy, and one hell of a bike racer, and what’s more, he’s very young.
He’ll learn to handle those situations better, he’ll grow accustomed to the public glare and most importantly, he’ll continue winning races. After all, we were all young once and I dare say, had you or I had the fortune to be a World Champion at the age of 21, would we have been any different? I think not….

Enjoy the mag, Larry

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Letter of the month: LIGHTEN UP, CASEY…

Dear Motorcycle Racer,
First of all I would like to congratulate Valentino Rossi for getting his 100th podium, it's a great achievement!
However, I was outraged by the way Casey Stoner acted during Jerez qualifying. He got into a strop just because he wasn't on pole, he kicked out at his mate Vermeulen when he wasn't in Stoner’s way at all, and he refused to do an interview, just because he’d had a bad day!
And he wonders why he got booed at Donington and why not many people like him. I think his behaviour is outrageous and disgusting. He should really get used to the fact that sometimes people will be faster than him.
Lighten up, Casey.

A. Fellows
Via e-mail

OK, there’s a lot of pressure on MotoGP stars nowadays, and no doubt Casey has his reasons, but out of all the correspondence we received on this subject, this was the general opinion…

THAT GUY, MARTIN…

Dear Editor
I have bought ‘Racer’ from day one and as all the rest it is ace, do you have any plans to do an article on the new star of the pure road circuits, Guy Martin?
What a wonderful character he is to interview and comes out with some controversial quotes, Guy’s not afraid to say what he’s thinking having listened to some of his audio interviews in the past and they’re most amusing.
The new-style magazine is pretty good too.

Graham Stephenson
Louth, Lincs

We have exciting plans to do something special with Guy later in the year, Graham, so it really is a case of watching this space!

Got something to say? Want to cast a few roses, sling some mud or wax lyrical about the best mag in the business? Here in ‘Scribe’ we pick a selection of the best letters from our ever-bulging ‘Inbox’ and the best one wins a selection of Duke DVD’s, or whatever we have lying around the office. But a word of warning, don’t go rambling on as our Editor has the attention span of a Gnat so keep it short and to the point.

E-mail: editor (at) motorcycleracer (dot) com

or send via post to:
Motorcycle Racer, PO Box 150, Northallerton, DL6 3WZ