Stoner says Honda move was vindicated
Added on Wednesday, January 25th, 2012 by Carole Nash Editor
Stoner says Honda move was vindicated
Casey Stoner has claimed that his championship winning performance with Honda in 2011, combined with Valentino Rossi’s switch to Ducati, serve as proof that he could have won the title in the previous two years if he had the right bike.
Stoner, who moved to the factory Honda team in 2011 after four seasons on the Ducati, in the first of which he won the world championship at a canter, believes that his dominance of the 2011 championship has given him a credibility that he never had with Ducati.
But despite regular race wins and never finishing lower than fourth in the championship whilst at Ducati, Stoner claims that he received “nothing but mistrust” from the media whilst at Ducati – and he believes that Rossi’s struggles with the Desmosedici in 2011 have fully vindicated his decision to move.
“Everything has changed very quickly,” Stoner told Motosprint. “In previous years I would get nothing but mistrust from the media, and generally very little consideration for what I was doing and the effort I was putting in.
“But then Valentino and I changed bikes: he took the one I had had for four years, while I took the bike of my dreams to show what I’m able to do.
“This change of situations has allowed me to let everyone understand that I could have fought for the title in previous years too, and that I could have won at least another title.”
Stoner also said Rossi’s claims that Honda operated on a huge budget in 2011 were not just wide of the mark, but also disparaging of his title success.
“Valentino [Rossi] is saying and doing everything to belittle what was done by myself, my team, and Honda last year,” Stoner declared.
“It’s not true Honda spent so much money, because it’s not a company of stupid people. It made no sense to invest a lot on a bike, the 800cc, on the verge of being retired, while in the meantime the new 1000cc was being developed.
“As a matter of fact Honda in 2011 didn’t do much more than usual and the proof is that the 2011 bike wasn’t so different from the 2010 one, except for the gearbox. Moreover, my bike remained practically the same throughout the season.
“The truth is that Honda already had a good bike even before my arrival: it just needed new strength coming from the outside, fresher strength able to make the difference without being frightened by this role.”
