Casey Stoner

Casey Stoner

Casey Stoner (born 16 October 1985) is an Australian professional motorcycle racer, best known for being a two-time MotoGP World Champion, in 2007 and 2011.

Born in Kurri Kurri, New South Wales, Australia and raised in Southport, Queensland, Stoner raced from a young age and moved to the United Kingdom to pursue a racing career. After first competing internationally in 2002, Stoner became MotoGP World Champion in 2007 for Ducati Corse and won a second world championship title in 2011 for Repsol Honda. Prior to the 2012 French Grand Prix, Stoner announced that he would retire from Grand Prix racing at the conclusion of the 2012 season.

Career

Early years

He competed in his first race was when he was four years old, in an under-nine years old race at the Mike Hatcher's dirt racing track on the Gold Coast of Australia. Between his very first race win at the age of nine and the age of fourteen, Stoner won 41 dirt and long track titles and 70 state titles.

One feat he achieved that illustrates his passion and "need" for racing was at age twelve. Over one weekend he raced in 5 different categories in all 7 rounds of each capacity; a weekend consisting of 35 different races. Not only did he compete in all these categories and different engine capacities, the young Casey Stoner went on to win 32 out of the 35 races. There were five Australian titles to be won that weekend, Stoner won all five.

The legal age to enter into road races in Australia is 16. At the age of 14 years, Stoner and his parents agreed he was ready to move up onto road racing so they packed up and moved to England – where the legal age for road racing is 14.

From 2000 to 2002, he contested the national 125cc GP championships in Britain and Spain, winning the English 125cc Aprilia Championship in 2000, before moving fulltime to the 250cc GP World Championships in 2002. His season on an Aprilia under the guidance of Lucio Cecchinello was turbulent, with no podium places from 15 race starts.

125cc

In 2003 Stoner moved to the 125cc GP category. Here, working again with Cecchinello and Aprilia, he met with considerable success, scoring his first GP race win and three second places, finishing 8th overall at the season's end.

In 2004 Stoner joined the Red Bull KTM factory team in 125cc class and continued to improve, with another race win, two second places, three thirds, and a final championship position of fifth.

250cc

In 2005 he rejoined the 250cc world championship class, racing once again for Lucio Cecchinello' team on an Aprilia. Onboard a factory Aprilia, Stoner emerged toward the season's end as a serious threat to championship leader Dani Pedrosa; a threat that only dissipated with a crash at Stoner's home Grand Prix of Phillip Island, allowing Pedrosa to establish an insurmountable points lead. Stoner went on to claim a solid second place in the overall championship standings, with an impressive five race victories for the season.

MotoGP

2006

Stoner during the MotoGP pre-season test session at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia in January 2007.

In October 2005, Stoner, along with Lucio Cecchinello's team, reportedly had an agreement to move to the MotoGP class in the upcoming season with support from Yamaha. After the season ended, he received an offer from the Honda Pons team and tested the Honda RC211V bike with them at Valencia.However, in December 2005, Stoner re-signed with Cecchinello's team after Honda Pons failed to secure sponsorship for the upcoming season. The team then made an agreement with HRC to run the RC211V for Stoner in 2006.

He took pole in just his second MotoGP race, but crashed several times during the season. He finished in 8th position in the championship, with his best result being a 2nd place at the Turkish Grand Prix, where he was leading until overtaken on the final corner by Marco Melandri.

2007

Stoner secured a ride with the factory Ducati team for the 2007 season, joining Loris Capirossi on the new 800cc Ducati Desmosedici GP7. 6 poles and 10 race wins (including three of the first four, took him to his first GP title, by a margin of 125 points (equivalent to five victories) over Dani Pedrosa, which he built during the second half of the season. His worst finish was a 6th place at Motegi, which was all he needed to clinch the title that day.

2008

Stoner opened the 2008 season with a victory at Qatar, before a run of two races without a podium. He returned to the podium with a second place at Mugello, before starting a run of seven successive pole positions. He turned three of them into successive victories – a lights-to-flag win at Donington,leading every lap at Assen six days later, and recovering from a huge Friday crash at Sachsenring to win in the wet after Dani Pedrosa crashed,[18] moving to within 20 points of the championship lead. However, successive crashes while fighting for the lead at Laguna Seca (where he remounted to finish second to Valentino Rossi),[19] Brno and Misano ensured that he could not defend the title successfully.[20][21] Stoner finished the 2008 season as runner-up to Rossi with 280 points, the highest amount of points ever gained without taking the title.[22] Stoner was named Young Australian of the Year for his 2008 performance.

[edit]

2009

Stoner's bike in Brno

Stoner remained with Ducati for the 2009 season with new team mate Nicky Hayden, with a further option for a 4th season in 2010.[23] A strong start to the season left Stoner in a three way battle with the Fiat Yamaha duo of Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, before he was struck by a mystery illness which caused him to feel tired long before the end of races, leaving him 16 points behind Rossi and 7 behind Lorenzo after the US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca on 5 July.

Stoner was subsequently diagnosed with anemia and an inflammation of the stomach lining.[24] Stoner later disputed the diagnosis however and, after continuing to struggle with the condition, he announced on 10 August 2009 that he would miss rounds 11, 12 and 13 in Brno, Indianapolis and Misano respectively in an attempt to recover from the illness.[25] Mika Kallio was chosen as Stoner's replacement for the three races.[26] Stoner returned to racing late in the 2009 season, placing second in the Portuguese Grand Prix and an emphatic first in the Australian Grand Prix, which he led throughout. At interview following the Australian Grand Prix, Stoner said that he experienced none of the premature tiredness that had dogged him earlier in the 2009 season. He followed this up with another first place in the wet at the Malaysian Grand Prix.

At the last round of 2009 at Valencia, Stoner dominated all practice and qualifying sessions to take pole, only to crash on cold tyres on the warm-up lap and miss the race.

[edit]

2010

At the test held immediately following the Valencia round, Stoner was once again fastest while testing the new 2010 version of the Desmosedici. However, Rossi was fastest in five of the six pre-season tests.

Stoner qualified on pole for the season opener in Qatar, and was leading the race when he crashed out, later acknowledging that this was his own mistake.[27] He also crashed out of round 3 at Le Mans, this time attributing the crash to the front of the bike unloading when not running at maximum pace.[28] His first podium of the year came at Assen, despite struggling with arm pump late in the race.[29]

For 2011 Stoner joined Honda Racing Corporation after four years at Ducati Corse,[30] where he was replaced by Valentino Rossi.

[edit]

2011

Stoner at the 2011 Czech Grand Prix

Stoner raced with the Repsol Honda Racing Team in 2011, with team mates Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso. In preseason testing in Malaysia, Stoner was quickest in all three sessions,[31] closely followed by Pedrosa and reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo. Stoner won the season-opening race in Qatar from pole position,[32] and had been quickest in each of the free practice sessions held before qualifying. Stoner took pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix, but had been running second behind Marco Simoncelli when he was taken out by the Ducati of Valentino Rossi in wet conditions.[33][34] Stoner won three out of the first five rounds of the season, with victories in Le Mans and Catalunya to add to his Qatar victory. Stoner added victories at Silverstone in damp conditions, and Laguna Seca, to hold a 20-point lead over Jorge Lorenzo with eight races to go in the season.

Stoner proposed boycotting the Japanese Grand Prix out of fears for his health from radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant[citation needed] even though all the independent scientific experts including the World Health Organization and Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency stated that it is safe to live permanently 80 km (50 mi) or more from the plant.[35]

Stoner won the World Championship for the second time at his home round at Phillip Island, Australia.[36] On his 26th birthday, Stoner won his ninth race of the season from his eleventh pole, and with his only challenger Jorge Lorenzo ruled out of the race due to a hand injury suffered in warm-up, Stoner finished the weekend with an unassailable 65-point lead. His victory in the Australian MotoGP was his fifth in succession in his home race dating back to 2007 making him the only rider to have won at Phillip Island during the 800cc era of MotoGP.

[edit]

2012

Stoner started the season with wins at Jerez and Estoril, both tracks he had not won a MotoGP race at before; his victory in Estoril allowed him to take the championship lead.

[edit]

Retirement

On 17 May 2012, during the pre-event press conference at the French Grand Prix, Stoner announced that he would retire from MotoGP at the end of the 2012 season.[1][2] Stoner stated that he was no longer enjoying competing in the series, which was one of the contributing factors to his retirement.[37] This announcement was met with mixed emotions amongst fans, particularly in Australia, however most seem to have expressed well-wishes and support for him in life after MotoGP.

[edit]

Status and personality

The podium after the 2010 Australian Grand Prix, with Stoner flanked by Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi.

Stoner has showed signs of feeling underappreciated by the general public. He was angered by consistent suggestions that the bike and tyres had a bigger role in his success than he did,[38] and unhappy at being booed at Donington in both 2007 and 2008.[39]

In August 2008 he was criticised for his team's association with tobacco company Philip Morris.[40]

Stoner has stated that he would prefer to shun the limelight and would prefer to let his riding style do the talking. In a recent interview with Australian Motorcycle News, he was quoted as saying that he would prefer a return to purer form of racing from the 500cc days, stating that "Back in those days, it was just racing – Doohan, Rainey, Schwantz, Gardner, Lawson – not half as much bullshit as now. That was the life." compared to the racing that he participates in.

[edit]

Personal life

Stoner met Adriana Tuchyna from Adelaide when she approached him at Phillip Island in 2003 and asked him to sign her stomach.[41] A relationship began in 2005 when she turned 16,[42] and they were married in Adelaide on 6 January 2007.[43]

Following his experience of tiredness and sickness during 2009, Stoner was ultimately diagnosed as lactose intolerant.[44]

At the Czech Republic Grand Prix in August 2011, Stoner announced that his wife was pregnant with their first child.[45][46] The baby, named Alessandra Maria, was born on 16 February 2012,[47] the same birthday as Stoner's long-time rival Valentino Rossi.

Career statistics

[edit]

By seasonSeason Class Bike Team Race Win Pod Pole FLap Pts Plcd WCh

2001 125cc Honda RS125R 2 0 0 0 0 4 29th –

2002 250cc Aprilia RS250 Team LCR 15 0 0 0 0 68 12th –

2003 125cc Aprilia RS125 Team LCR 14 1 4 1 2 125 8th –

2004 125cc KTM 125 FPR Red Bull KTM 14 1 6 1 1 145 5th –

2005 250cc Aprilia RSA 250 Team LCR 16 5 10 2 1 254 2nd –

2006 MotoGP Honda RC211V Team LCR 16 0 1 1 0 119 8th –

2007 MotoGP Ducati GP7 Ducati Corse 18 10 14 5 6 367 1st 1

2008 MotoGP Ducati GP8 Ducati Corse 18 6 11 9 9 280 2nd –

2009 MotoGP Ducati GP9 Ducati Corse 13 4 8 3 2 220 4th –

2010 MotoGP Ducati GP10 Ducati Corse 18 3 9 4 3 225 4th –

2011 MotoGP Honda RC212V Repsol Honda 17 10 16 12 7 350 1st 1

2012 MotoGP Honda RC213V Repsol Honda 7 3 6 3 1 140* 2nd* —

Total 168 43 85 41 32 2297 2

* Season in progress.

[edit]

By classClass Season First Races First Podium First Win Race Wins Podiums Poles FLaps Pts WChmps

125 cc 2001, 2003–2004 2001 Britain 2003 Germany 2003 Valencia 30 2 10 2 3 274 0

250 cc 2002, 2005 2002 Japan 2005 Portugal 2005 Portugal 31 5 10 2 1 322 0

MotoGP 2006 – present 2006 Spain 2006 Turkey 2007 Qatar 107 36 65 37 28 1701 2

Total 2001 – present 168 43 85 41 32 2297 2

[edit]

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)Year Class Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Pos Pts

2001 125cc Honda JPN RSA SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GBR

17 GER CZE POR VAL PAC AUS

12 MAL BRA 29th 4

2002 250 cc Aprilia JPN

Ret RSA

Ret SPA

6 FRA

Ret ITA CAT

6 NED

8 GBR

11 GER

Ret CZE

5 POR

Ret BRA

6 PAC

17 MAL

11 AUS

10 VAL

13 12th 68

2003 125 cc Aprilia JPN

Ret RSA

10 SPA

6 FRA

4 ITA

18 CAT

Ret NED

Ret GBR

5 GER

2 CZE POR BRA

2 PAC

2 MAL

Ret AUS

Ret VAL

1 8th 125

2004 125 cc KTM RSA

3 SPA

5 FRA

8 ITA

2 CAT

4 NED

3 BRA

2 GER GBR CZE

Ret POR

Ret JPN

Ret QAT

Ret MAL

1 AUS

3 VAL

Ret 5th 145

2005 250 cc Aprilia SPA

Ret POR

1 CHN

1 FRA

4 ITA

4 CAT

2 NED

6 GBR

3 GER

7 CZE

3 JPN

3 MAL

1 QAT

1 AUS

Ret TUR

1 VAL

3 2nd 254

2006 MotoGP Honda SPA

6 QAT

5 TUR

2 CHN

5 FRA

4 ITA

Ret CAT

Ret NED

4 GBR

4 GER

DNS USA

Ret CZE

6 MAL

8 AUS

6 JPN

Ret POR

Ret VAL

Ret 8th 119

2007 MotoGP Ducati QAT

1 SPA

5 TUR

1 CHN

1 FRA

3 ITA

4 CAT

1 GBR

1 NED

2 GER

5 USA

1 CZE

1 RSM

1 POR

3 JPN

6 AUS

1 MAL

1 VAL

2 1st 367

2008 MotoGP Ducati QAT

1 SPA

11 POR

6 CHN

3 FRA

16 ITA

2 CAT

3 GBR

1 NED

1 GER

1 USA

2 CZE

Ret RSM

Ret IND

4 JPN

2 AUS

1 MAL

6 VAL

1 2nd 280

2009 MotoGP Ducati QAT

1 JPN

4 SPA

3 FRA

5 ITA

1 CAT

3 NED

3 USA

4 GER

4 GBR

14 CZE IND RSM POR

2 AUS

1 MAL

1 VAL

DNS 4th 220

2010 MotoGP Ducati QAT

Ret SPA

5 FRA

Ret ITA

4 GBR

5 NED

3 CAT

3 GER

3 USA

2 CZE

3 IND

Ret RSM

5 ARA

1 JPN

1 MAL

Ret AUS

1 POR

Ret VAL

2 4th 225

2011 MotoGP Honda QAT

1 SPA

Ret POR

3 FRA

1 CAT

1 GBR

1 NED

2 ITA

3 GER

3 USA

1 CZE

1 IND

1 RSM

3 ARA

1 JPN

3 AUS

1 MAL

C VAL

1 1st 350

2012 MotoGP Honda QAT

3 SPA

1 POR

1 FRA

3 CAT

4 GBR

2 NED

1 GER ITA USA IND CZE RSM ARA JPN MAL AUS VAL 2nd* 140*

Casey Stoner

Casey Stoner (born 16 October 1985) is an Australian professional motorcycle racer, best known for being a two-time MotoGP World Champion, in 2007 and 2011.

Born in Kurri Kurri, New South Wales, Australia and raised in Southport, Queensland, Stoner raced from a young age and moved to the United Kingdom to pursue a racing career. After first competing internationally in 2002, Stoner became MotoGP World Champion in 2007 for Ducati Corse and won a second world championship title in 2011 for Repsol Honda. Prior to the 2012 French Grand Prix, Stoner announced that he would retire from Grand Prix racing at the conclusion of the 2012 season.

Career

Early years

He competed in his first race was when he was four years old, in an under-nine years old race at the Mike Hatcher's dirt racing track on the Gold Coast of Australia. Between his very first race win at the age of nine and the age of fourteen, Stoner won 41 dirt and long track titles and 70 state titles.

One feat he achieved that illustrates his passion and "need" for racing was at age twelve. Over one weekend he raced in 5 different categories in all 7 rounds of each capacity; a weekend consisting of 35 different races. Not only did he compete in all these categories and different engine capacities, the young Casey Stoner went on to win 32 out of the 35 races. There were five Australian titles to be won that weekend, Stoner won all five.

The legal age to enter into road races in Australia is 16. At the age of 14 years, Stoner and his parents agreed he was ready to move up onto road racing so they packed up and moved to England – where the legal age for road racing is 14.

From 2000 to 2002, he contested the national 125cc GP championships in Britain and Spain, winning the English 125cc Aprilia Championship in 2000, before moving fulltime to the 250cc GP World Championships in 2002. His season on an Aprilia under the guidance of Lucio Cecchinello was turbulent, with no podium places from 15 race starts.

125cc

In 2003 Stoner moved to the 125cc GP category. Here, working again with Cecchinello and Aprilia, he met with considerable success, scoring his first GP race win and three second places, finishing 8th overall at the season's end.

In 2004 Stoner joined the Red Bull KTM factory team in 125cc class and continued to improve, with another race win, two second places, three thirds, and a final championship position of fifth.

250cc

In 2005 he rejoined the 250cc world championship class, racing once again for Lucio Cecchinello' team on an Aprilia. Onboard a factory Aprilia, Stoner emerged toward the season's end as a serious threat to championship leader Dani Pedrosa; a threat that only dissipated with a crash at Stoner's home Grand Prix of Phillip Island, allowing Pedrosa to establish an insurmountable points lead. Stoner went on to claim a solid second place in the overall championship standings, with an impressive five race victories for the season.

MotoGP

2006

Stoner during the MotoGP pre-season test session at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia in January 2007.

In October 2005, Stoner, along with Lucio Cecchinello's team, reportedly had an agreement to move to the MotoGP class in the upcoming season with support from Yamaha. After the season ended, he received an offer from the Honda Pons team and tested the Honda RC211V bike with them at Valencia.However, in December 2005, Stoner re-signed with Cecchinello's team after Honda Pons failed to secure sponsorship for the upcoming season. The team then made an agreement with HRC to run the RC211V for Stoner in 2006.

He took pole in just his second MotoGP race, but crashed several times during the season. He finished in 8th position in the championship, with his best result being a 2nd place at the Turkish Grand Prix, where he was leading until overtaken on the final corner by Marco Melandri.

2007

Stoner secured a ride with the factory Ducati team for the 2007 season, joining Loris Capirossi on the new 800cc Ducati Desmosedici GP7. 6 poles and 10 race wins (including three of the first four, took him to his first GP title, by a margin of 125 points (equivalent to five victories) over Dani Pedrosa, which he built during the second half of the season. His worst finish was a 6th place at Motegi, which was all he needed to clinch the title that day.

2008

Stoner opened the 2008 season with a victory at Qatar, before a run of two races without a podium. He returned to the podium with a second place at Mugello, before starting a run of seven successive pole positions. He turned three of them into successive victories – a lights-to-flag win at Donington,leading every lap at Assen six days later, and recovering from a huge Friday crash at Sachsenring to win in the wet after Dani Pedrosa crashed,[18] moving to within 20 points of the championship lead. However, successive crashes while fighting for the lead at Laguna Seca (where he remounted to finish second to Valentino Rossi),[19] Brno and Misano ensured that he could not defend the title successfully.[20][21] Stoner finished the 2008 season as runner-up to Rossi with 280 points, the highest amount of points ever gained without taking the title.[22] Stoner was named Young Australian of the Year for his 2008 performance.

[edit]

2009

Stoner's bike in Brno

Stoner remained with Ducati for the 2009 season with new team mate Nicky Hayden, with a further option for a 4th season in 2010.[23] A strong start to the season left Stoner in a three way battle with the Fiat Yamaha duo of Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, before he was struck by a mystery illness which caused him to feel tired long before the end of races, leaving him 16 points behind Rossi and 7 behind Lorenzo after the US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca on 5 July.

Stoner was subsequently diagnosed with anemia and an inflammation of the stomach lining.[24] Stoner later disputed the diagnosis however and, after continuing to struggle with the condition, he announced on 10 August 2009 that he would miss rounds 11, 12 and 13 in Brno, Indianapolis and Misano respectively in an attempt to recover from the illness.[25] Mika Kallio was chosen as Stoner's replacement for the three races.[26] Stoner returned to racing late in the 2009 season, placing second in the Portuguese Grand Prix and an emphatic first in the Australian Grand Prix, which he led throughout. At interview following the Australian Grand Prix, Stoner said that he experienced none of the premature tiredness that had dogged him earlier in the 2009 season. He followed this up with another first place in the wet at the Malaysian Grand Prix.

At the last round of 2009 at Valencia, Stoner dominated all practice and qualifying sessions to take pole, only to crash on cold tyres on the warm-up lap and miss the race.

[edit]

2010

At the test held immediately following the Valencia round, Stoner was once again fastest while testing the new 2010 version of the Desmosedici. However, Rossi was fastest in five of the six pre-season tests.

Stoner qualified on pole for the season opener in Qatar, and was leading the race when he crashed out, later acknowledging that this was his own mistake.[27] He also crashed out of round 3 at Le Mans, this time attributing the crash to the front of the bike unloading when not running at maximum pace.[28] His first podium of the year came at Assen, despite struggling with arm pump late in the race.[29]

For 2011 Stoner joined Honda Racing Corporation after four years at Ducati Corse,[30] where he was replaced by Valentino Rossi.

[edit]

2011

Stoner at the 2011 Czech Grand Prix

Stoner raced with the Repsol Honda Racing Team in 2011, with team mates Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso. In preseason testing in Malaysia, Stoner was quickest in all three sessions,[31] closely followed by Pedrosa and reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo. Stoner won the season-opening race in Qatar from pole position,[32] and had been quickest in each of the free practice sessions held before qualifying. Stoner took pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix, but had been running second behind Marco Simoncelli when he was taken out by the Ducati of Valentino Rossi in wet conditions.[33][34] Stoner won three out of the first five rounds of the season, with victories in Le Mans and Catalunya to add to his Qatar victory. Stoner added victories at Silverstone in damp conditions, and Laguna Seca, to hold a 20-point lead over Jorge Lorenzo with eight races to go in the season.

Stoner proposed boycotting the Japanese Grand Prix out of fears for his health from radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant[citation needed] even though all the independent scientific experts including the World Health Organization and Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency stated that it is safe to live permanently 80 km (50 mi) or more from the plant.[35]

Stoner won the World Championship for the second time at his home round at Phillip Island, Australia.[36] On his 26th birthday, Stoner won his ninth race of the season from his eleventh pole, and with his only challenger Jorge Lorenzo ruled out of the race due to a hand injury suffered in warm-up, Stoner finished the weekend with an unassailable 65-point lead. His victory in the Australian MotoGP was his fifth in succession in his home race dating back to 2007 making him the only rider to have won at Phillip Island during the 800cc era of MotoGP.

[edit]

2012

Stoner started the season with wins at Jerez and Estoril, both tracks he had not won a MotoGP race at before; his victory in Estoril allowed him to take the championship lead.

[edit]

Retirement

On 17 May 2012, during the pre-event press conference at the French Grand Prix, Stoner announced that he would retire from MotoGP at the end of the 2012 season.[1][2] Stoner stated that he was no longer enjoying competing in the series, which was one of the contributing factors to his retirement.[37] This announcement was met with mixed emotions amongst fans, particularly in Australia, however most seem to have expressed well-wishes and support for him in life after MotoGP.

[edit]

Status and personality

The podium after the 2010 Australian Grand Prix, with Stoner flanked by Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi.

Stoner has showed signs of feeling underappreciated by the general public. He was angered by consistent suggestions that the bike and tyres had a bigger role in his success than he did,[38] and unhappy at being booed at Donington in both 2007 and 2008.[39]

In August 2008 he was criticised for his team's association with tobacco company Philip Morris.[40]

Stoner has stated that he would prefer to shun the limelight and would prefer to let his riding style do the talking. In a recent interview with Australian Motorcycle News, he was quoted as saying that he would prefer a return to purer form of racing from the 500cc days, stating that "Back in those days, it was just racing – Doohan, Rainey, Schwantz, Gardner, Lawson – not half as much bullshit as now. That was the life." compared to the racing that he participates in.

[edit]

Personal life

Stoner met Adriana Tuchyna from Adelaide when she approached him at Phillip Island in 2003 and asked him to sign her stomach.[41] A relationship began in 2005 when she turned 16,[42] and they were married in Adelaide on 6 January 2007.[43]

Following his experience of tiredness and sickness during 2009, Stoner was ultimately diagnosed as lactose intolerant.[44]

At the Czech Republic Grand Prix in August 2011, Stoner announced that his wife was pregnant with their first child.[45][46] The baby, named Alessandra Maria, was born on 16 February 2012,[47] the same birthday as Stoner's long-time rival Valentino Rossi.

Career statistics

[edit]

By seasonSeason Class Bike Team Race Win Pod Pole FLap Pts Plcd WCh

2001 125cc Honda RS125R 2 0 0 0 0 4 29th –

2002 250cc Aprilia RS250 Team LCR 15 0 0 0 0 68 12th –

2003 125cc Aprilia RS125 Team LCR 14 1 4 1 2 125 8th –

2004 125cc KTM 125 FPR Red Bull KTM 14 1 6 1 1 145 5th –

2005 250cc Aprilia RSA 250 Team LCR 16 5 10 2 1 254 2nd –

2006 MotoGP Honda RC211V Team LCR 16 0 1 1 0 119 8th –

2007 MotoGP Ducati GP7 Ducati Corse 18 10 14 5 6 367 1st 1

2008 MotoGP Ducati GP8 Ducati Corse 18 6 11 9 9 280 2nd –

2009 MotoGP Ducati GP9 Ducati Corse 13 4 8 3 2 220 4th –

2010 MotoGP Ducati GP10 Ducati Corse 18 3 9 4 3 225 4th –

2011 MotoGP Honda RC212V Repsol Honda 17 10 16 12 7 350 1st 1

2012 MotoGP Honda RC213V Repsol Honda 7 3 6 3 1 140* 2nd* —

Total 168 43 85 41 32 2297 2

* Season in progress.

[edit]

By classClass Season First Races First Podium First Win Race Wins Podiums Poles FLaps Pts WChmps

125 cc 2001, 2003–2004 2001 Britain 2003 Germany 2003 Valencia 30 2 10 2 3 274 0

250 cc 2002, 2005 2002 Japan 2005 Portugal 2005 Portugal 31 5 10 2 1 322 0

MotoGP 2006 – present 2006 Spain 2006 Turkey 2007 Qatar 107 36 65 37 28 1701 2

Total 2001 – present 168 43 85 41 32 2297 2

[edit]

Races by year

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)Year Class Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Pos Pts

2001 125cc Honda JPN RSA SPA FRA ITA CAT NED GBR

17 GER CZE POR VAL PAC AUS

12 MAL BRA 29th 4

2002 250 cc Aprilia JPN

Ret RSA

Ret SPA

6 FRA

Ret ITA CAT

6 NED

8 GBR

11 GER

Ret CZE

5 POR

Ret BRA

6 PAC

17 MAL

11 AUS

10 VAL

13 12th 68

2003 125 cc Aprilia JPN

Ret RSA

10 SPA

6 FRA

4 ITA

18 CAT

Ret NED

Ret GBR

5 GER

2 CZE POR BRA

2 PAC

2 MAL

Ret AUS

Ret VAL

1 8th 125

2004 125 cc KTM RSA

3 SPA

5 FRA

8 ITA

2 CAT

4 NED

3 BRA

2 GER GBR CZE

Ret POR

Ret JPN

Ret QAT

Ret MAL

1 AUS

3 VAL

Ret 5th 145

2005 250 cc Aprilia SPA

Ret POR

1 CHN

1 FRA

4 ITA

4 CAT

2 NED

6 GBR

3 GER

7 CZE

3 JPN

3 MAL

1 QAT

1 AUS

Ret TUR

1 VAL

3 2nd 254

2006 MotoGP Honda SPA

6 QAT

5 TUR

2 CHN

5 FRA

4 ITA

Ret CAT

Ret NED

4 GBR

4 GER

DNS USA

Ret CZE

6 MAL

8 AUS

6 JPN

Ret POR

Ret VAL

Ret 8th 119

2007 MotoGP Ducati QAT

1 SPA

5 TUR

1 CHN

1 FRA

3 ITA

4 CAT

1 GBR

1 NED

2 GER

5 USA

1 CZE

1 RSM

1 POR

3 JPN

6 AUS

1 MAL

1 VAL

2 1st 367

2008 MotoGP Ducati QAT

1 SPA

11 POR

6 CHN

3 FRA

16 ITA

2 CAT

3 GBR

1 NED

1 GER

1 USA

2 CZE

Ret RSM

Ret IND

4 JPN

2 AUS

1 MAL

6 VAL

1 2nd 280

2009 MotoGP Ducati QAT

1 JPN

4 SPA

3 FRA

5 ITA

1 CAT

3 NED

3 USA

4 GER

4 GBR

14 CZE IND RSM POR

2 AUS

1 MAL

1 VAL

DNS 4th 220

2010 MotoGP Ducati QAT

Ret SPA

5 FRA

Ret ITA

4 GBR

5 NED

3 CAT

3 GER

3 USA

2 CZE

3 IND

Ret RSM

5 ARA

1 JPN

1 MAL

Ret AUS

1 POR

Ret VAL

2 4th 225

2011 MotoGP Honda QAT

1 SPA

Ret POR

3 FRA

1 CAT

1 GBR

1 NED

2 ITA

3 GER

3 USA

1 CZE

1 IND

1 RSM

3 ARA

1 JPN

3 AUS

1 MAL

C VAL

1 1st 350

2012 MotoGP Honda QAT

3 SPA

1 POR

1 FRA

3 CAT

4 GBR

2 NED

1 GER ITA USA IND CZE RSM ARA JPN MAL AUS VAL 2nd* 140*