Repsol Honda's Casey Stoner (Photo: Dorna Communications)

His emotions were firmly under control having long ago rationalized the reasons for his retirement at a still young 27 having started riding motorcycles as three-year old.

"It is the end of a career that I have worked hard to achieve. But I am not an emotional person so I am not going to talk about how I feel now; I need to wait a while and take it all in," he said.

Stoner says he has had "no second thoughts" about his retirement decision while also recognizing the difficulty of finishing his career while recovering from surgery to his right ankle.

Apart from an untouchable win in near perfect dry and sunny conditions at his home race at Phillip Island, Stoner was cautious when rain made conditions less than ideal.

"I was very tense and very nervous and wasn't riding well. It was hard to focus on riding as fast as I can; I was just trying to make sure I didn't crash and that is not the best way," Stoner said of his final outing at Valencia.

"After everything that has happened my confidence wasn't good, and in these conditions I really have to be very happy with the result I got."

And while many in the sport still fail to grasp the logic of Stoner walking away at the peak of his powers, he does so as a happy man who one day hopes to rekindle his passion for motorcycling.

Any doubt that Stoner has the courage of convictions were erased with news that he rejected a record $15 million offer from Honda to race for one more season in 2013.

"If Casey would have accepted our record offer he would have been paid more than anyone else in our history, including F1 driver Jenson Button," said HRC vice-president Shuhei Nakamoto.

The offer was made in February while Stoner was contemplating his retirement plans and his rejection of the deal was a reflection that his passion for racing had finally drained.

Stoner never raced for the numbers, wins, nor money, and he stands as one of the all-time greats of MotoGP.

His 38 wins putting fourth on the all-time winners list behind only Valentino Rossi (79), Giacomo Agostini (68) and Mick Doohan (54).