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World Superbike
MOTO: Biggest Stories Of 2012
A look back on the stories that dominated the headlines in MotoGP, World Superbike, and AMA Superbike in 2012.
Two-time MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner has hung up his helmet at the age of 27 (Photo: Dorna Communications)
What’s 2012 going to be remembered for? What are the top stories in each series? That’s a good question.
Certainly, Casey Stoner’s retirement is a huge story. Whenever the fastest man in MotoGP calls it quits in the prime of his career, it’s a huge surprise. Stoner had a eight-figure offer from Honda but he decided to walk away, having lost his desire to deal with the political side of the sport.
The retirement of Stoner, whose record as a rider qualifies him as one of the all-time greats, immediately changed the complexion of the sport. With Stoner, Honda had re-emerged as the cream of the crop in MotoGP and won the 2011 championship. Many felt Stoner would have overcome some early stumbles to win the title in 2012 as well if he hadn’t injured himself at Indianapolis. After some chatter issues, Honda produced the best bike this year.
When Stoner announced he wasn’t coming back, Dani Pedrosa remained as the lead rider at Honda for 2013. Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo and his steady M1 proved to be the stronger combo in 2012 and won the title with a remarkably consistent year over Pedrosa.
Will Pedrosa be able to defeat the likes of Lorenzo next year or could this be just another in a line of Dani’s “best chances” to win the MotoGP title? Moto2 grad Marc Marquez looks to be the 'Next Big Thing' at Honda.
Stoner’s retirement left a big hole at the top in Honda’s MotoGP program.
Meanwhile, Max Biaggi managed to win the Superbike World Championship by the narrowest margins. Max’s two decades in the sport have seen plenty of ups and downs, and the Roman capped off his days in racing on the more desirable end of that rollercoaster with a sixth World Championship and his second WSBK title.
Biaggi beat Tom Sykes by half a point, robbing the young rider of his shot at championship glory at the final round at France. Sykes has emerged as a quality World Superbike protagonist over the past couple of seasons. Will Sykes get win a championship? He certainly looked strong, but he hasn’t done it yet.
Biaggi’s career seemed like it was conceptualized by a Hollywood screenwriter and he got the fairytale ending. The Italian may have mellowed some with fatherhood but he still had the fire and was able to win the crown despite crashing earlier in the day. “I was sweating until the end,” Biaggi said afterward.
So 2012 will be the final farewell of Max Biaggi, sometimes cast as a villain but a racer that leaves the scene as a fiery elder statesman who walked away a champ.
In AMA Pro Racing, 2012 will be remembered as the year Josh Hayes dominated like no rider ever had before. Frustrated for many years as he tried to get a factory AMA Pro Superbike ride, the Mississippian was able to slam his boot down on a third consecutive title in 2012 by winning 16 of 20 races. There have been other great seasons in AMA Pro Superbike, but no one has ever owned a season like that before.
The year was a perfect storm for Hayes, who was able to take advantage of Yamaha’s improvements to his R1 to come back from a three-win season in 2011.
Hayes vaulted up the record books and now holds second place on the all-time wins list at 33. Not bad for a guy who couldn’t get a factory Superbike ride until his mid-30s.
Certainly, Casey Stoner’s retirement is a huge story. Whenever the fastest man in MotoGP calls it quits in the prime of his career, it’s a huge surprise. Stoner had a eight-figure offer from Honda but he decided to walk away, having lost his desire to deal with the political side of the sport.
The retirement of Stoner, whose record as a rider qualifies him as one of the all-time greats, immediately changed the complexion of the sport. With Stoner, Honda had re-emerged as the cream of the crop in MotoGP and won the 2011 championship. Many felt Stoner would have overcome some early stumbles to win the title in 2012 as well if he hadn’t injured himself at Indianapolis. After some chatter issues, Honda produced the best bike this year.
When Stoner announced he wasn’t coming back, Dani Pedrosa remained as the lead rider at Honda for 2013. Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo and his steady M1 proved to be the stronger combo in 2012 and won the title with a remarkably consistent year over Pedrosa.
Will Pedrosa be able to defeat the likes of Lorenzo next year or could this be just another in a line of Dani’s “best chances” to win the MotoGP title? Moto2 grad Marc Marquez looks to be the 'Next Big Thing' at Honda.
Stoner’s retirement left a big hole at the top in Honda’s MotoGP program.
Meanwhile, Max Biaggi managed to win the Superbike World Championship by the narrowest margins. Max’s two decades in the sport have seen plenty of ups and downs, and the Roman capped off his days in racing on the more desirable end of that rollercoaster with a sixth World Championship and his second WSBK title.
Biaggi beat Tom Sykes by half a point, robbing the young rider of his shot at championship glory at the final round at France. Sykes has emerged as a quality World Superbike protagonist over the past couple of seasons. Will Sykes get win a championship? He certainly looked strong, but he hasn’t done it yet.
Biaggi’s career seemed like it was conceptualized by a Hollywood screenwriter and he got the fairytale ending. The Italian may have mellowed some with fatherhood but he still had the fire and was able to win the crown despite crashing earlier in the day. “I was sweating until the end,” Biaggi said afterward.
So 2012 will be the final farewell of Max Biaggi, sometimes cast as a villain but a racer that leaves the scene as a fiery elder statesman who walked away a champ.
In AMA Pro Racing, 2012 will be remembered as the year Josh Hayes dominated like no rider ever had before. Frustrated for many years as he tried to get a factory AMA Pro Superbike ride, the Mississippian was able to slam his boot down on a third consecutive title in 2012 by winning 16 of 20 races. There have been other great seasons in AMA Pro Superbike, but no one has ever owned a season like that before.
The year was a perfect storm for Hayes, who was able to take advantage of Yamaha’s improvements to his R1 to come back from a three-win season in 2011.
Hayes vaulted up the record books and now holds second place on the all-time wins list at 33. Not bad for a guy who couldn’t get a factory Superbike ride until his mid-30s.
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