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MotoGP
MOTOGP: The Stones To Walk Away
Freddie Spencer serves as a natural comparison to Casey Stoner, especially now that the latter has chosen to hang it up where the former did not.
Repsol Honda's Casey Stoner (Photo: HRC)
Casey Stoner’s retirement announcement in France was a surprise, but it wasn’t a shock. The reigning World Champ has always said he wasn't planning on racing for as long as people think. He’s also been critical of the way MotoGP has progressed. It was all there to be seen.
The problem is great athletes usually have a hard time walking away, period -- much less exiting stage left at the tops of their games like Stoner is now. Think about Brett Favre’s final year with the Minnesota Vikings, or Michael Jordan in a Washington Wizards uniform. Who can blame the stars for wanting to milk every bit of magic out of the old career? Success is as addicting as any drug. Usually, it takes a hand on the shoulder and a quiet word to really have the point strike home.
But it’s always been clear the Australian is his own man. He always does things a little differently. And now he’s walking way as one of the all-time greats.
The first thing I thought of when I heard Stoner’s words was “Freddie Spencer.” Spencer was a three-time world champion by 1986 and had just won the 250GP and 500GP titles in the same year, a hugely taxing accomplishment that some think sapped the fire out of Fred. Only Spencer knows for sure.
Spencer also encountered serious carpal tunnel issues and never won another Grand Prix. “Fast Freddie” spent the next ten years looking to rediscover the magic. There were a few moments when it flashed, but it never truly came back. Sometimes it felt like he wanted nothing more than to be there and other times it didn’t feel that way.
When people talk about his career, they talk about the comebacks as much as the three titles, which included the aforementioned double plus an epic championship he won over Kenny Roberts.
If he had it all to do over again, Freddie might have walked away then, at 25, after his 1986 season when he barely even raced. Stoner is 26 now.
Spencer and Stoner may be different in how they have handled retiring, but they have a lot of similarities as well. Some stars just want to race. Maybe the ideal way for these types is do it like Gary Nixon did, still racing for fun in his 60s. Racing is their lives. The most important thing.
Stoner isn’t wired that way and neither was Spencer.
The problem is great athletes usually have a hard time walking away, period -- much less exiting stage left at the tops of their games like Stoner is now. Think about Brett Favre’s final year with the Minnesota Vikings, or Michael Jordan in a Washington Wizards uniform. Who can blame the stars for wanting to milk every bit of magic out of the old career? Success is as addicting as any drug. Usually, it takes a hand on the shoulder and a quiet word to really have the point strike home.
But it’s always been clear the Australian is his own man. He always does things a little differently. And now he’s walking way as one of the all-time greats.
The first thing I thought of when I heard Stoner’s words was “Freddie Spencer.” Spencer was a three-time world champion by 1986 and had just won the 250GP and 500GP titles in the same year, a hugely taxing accomplishment that some think sapped the fire out of Fred. Only Spencer knows for sure.
Spencer also encountered serious carpal tunnel issues and never won another Grand Prix. “Fast Freddie” spent the next ten years looking to rediscover the magic. There were a few moments when it flashed, but it never truly came back. Sometimes it felt like he wanted nothing more than to be there and other times it didn’t feel that way.
When people talk about his career, they talk about the comebacks as much as the three titles, which included the aforementioned double plus an epic championship he won over Kenny Roberts.
If he had it all to do over again, Freddie might have walked away then, at 25, after his 1986 season when he barely even raced. Stoner is 26 now.
Spencer and Stoner may be different in how they have handled retiring, but they have a lot of similarities as well. Some stars just want to race. Maybe the ideal way for these types is do it like Gary Nixon did, still racing for fun in his 60s. Racing is their lives. The most important thing.
Stoner isn’t wired that way and neither was Spencer.
Grand Prix of The France
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