Mick Doohan believes Casey Stoner retired too soon and will make a comeback
FIVE-TIME world champion Mick Doohan says Casey Stoner retired too soon and says he expects the superstar to make a comeback.
FIVE-TIME world champion Mick Doohan says Casey Stoner retired too soon and says he expects the superstar to make a comeback.
The six-time Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix winner’s absence has left a gaping hole at Phillip Island this weekend with only former rivals happy he is not racing.
Doohan, who today will take part in a lap of honour with Stoner and Wayne Gardner, says he can understand the reasons behind why the two-time world champion retired at age 27.
But that doesn’t change the fact he believes Stoner may have jumped the gun.
“It does get a little bit repetitious and there is a lot of pressure, so you’re fully immersed in the sport,” he said.
“So I can see why he was starting to get tired from it and I was a bit the same, but I kept pushing myself because I knew I still wanted to ride.
“These are my thoughts only, but maybe he did pull the pin a bit too early and when he stepped away he realised he still does enjoy the riding and the competition.
“And, Perhaps, maybe it wasn’t as bad as he thought it was.”
Speculation surrounding a possible Stoner comeback won’t go away.
His V8 Supercars experiment was short-lived, with the Queenslander who struggled with the transition from two wheels to four, announcing he would take a break from all motor sport next year.
But the talk is getting louder that Honda may want him back. His replacement Marc Marquez is on the verge of clinching his maiden world title this weekend, but a fewinternal from coming out of the factory team rumblings suggest Stoner is a wanted man.
“I believe Marquez now wants to bring in his own old mechanics off the old series he was in and place them in the factory Honda team,” Doohan said. “That would push a whole bunch of valuable mechanics to the side and whether Honda lets them go or retains them, I’m not sure.
“In the past Honda have created another team to race alongside the factory team.
“So perhaps they may encourage Casey to come back and do that next year, although I believe the more likely scenario will be 2015.”
Doohan said it was a “little better than a 50-50 chance” Stoner would return to MotoGP, but believed Stoner could ride next year such is his talent if he wanted to.
But he said the clock was ticking and warned his fellow Aussie against attempting a comeback beyond 2015.
“As we’ve seen with many other sportspeople at the elite level, the longer you stay away the harder it is to get back in,” he said. “And that is because the other guys haven’t stopped. Those guys are refining their skills day in, day out, so it can be a bit harder to hop back on again.
“So I think Casey needs to be aware of that.”