Casey Stoner: “I was disappointed with Valentino Rossi, I don’t have a lot of respect for that…”

Casey Stoner says he was left disappointed with the way former MotoGP rival Valentino Rossi conducted himself, both after their Jerez incident in 2011, and when the Italian joined Ducati to replace the Australian.
Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner, MotoGP 2007
Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner, MotoGP 2007

Stoner was speaking to Italian press and pinpointed their famous Jerez incident as one of the moments where he lost respect for theꦑ nine-time world champion. 

Rossi returned to the pits after taking out Stoner and attempted to ♔apologise, however, he did so with his helmet still on which was a big no-no for Stoner who famously said his ambition outweighed his talent. 

“In the moment I was a little bit disappointed with Valentino coming in with the helmet,” said Stoner when talking to Moto.it. “Mistakes happen but it was very clear 𓂃that Vale had some eyes because he was having a difficult time with Ducati. 

“The first moment he had to take pride back he took the opportunity but made a big mistake. I basically said that the ambition wa🃏s more than the talent at the time. 

“For me, when he returned to the box to apologise and you are wearing the gloves, the helmet, I don’t have a lot of respect for tꦫhat. 

“If he came t𒁏o me and not publicly then that would have been different. But I was very disappℱointed to see the way he came in the box.”

Stoner was also left dis𝓰appointed with Rossi when the pair changed seats in 2011 - Stoner departed Ducati for Honda while Rossi left Yamaha for the Italian manufactur🐈er.

Expected to replace Stoner and bring as much, if not more success, Ross🌊i instead failed to win with Ducati, both with regards to races and the championship.

But Stoner, who was quick to point out what was being said about him and his team by Rossi and his camp, said: “I wasn’t upset but people must remember that I ha♋ve a lot of close friends in Ducati. So even though I wasn’t with them anymore, this was because of people at the top, not the mechanics, engineers and everyone I had a close relationship with. 

“When Vale arrived at Ducati this was also difficult to watch bꦰeca🌞use I knew the pressure they were under and they didn’t deserve it. 

“They were doing a great job and we did a lot of work with the budget we had, which was very small. Unfortunately, between Valentino and his engineer Jeremy B🍷urgess, they spoke very negatively about me and my team. 

“They basically said we know nothing and that they would fix the bike very quickly. I take a l🌃ot of offence to that because of my team. 

“We were still cꦰhallenging for the title with the budget we had, which is more thaﷺn they can say with a bigger budget.”

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