Originally Posted by
Crasherfromwayback
I would say that while Stoner obviously wants people to appreciate his talents and skill on the bikes (instead of always saying he's had the fastest bike), he couldn't really give a flying fuck what people actually think of him. He strikes me as the complete opposite of Rossi who wants everyone to love him. Stoner just wants to be left alone to do his thing then fuck off. Nothing wrong with that in my eyes.
Funny, since you mention it, I would say that Casey pretends not to give a flying fuck about what people think of him but is actually quite sensitive to criticism and bears grudges about it long past their use by date. What do I base this on?
There was a 2Wheels article a year or 2 ago by a journalist who was a Ducati press officer for a time. It was a pretty positive article on the whole, but I suspect he's not on Casey's Christmas list. Casey resented the fact that this journalist had written that he fell off a lot in 2006 and told him so. Casey actually did fall off a lot (22 times?) in 2006 and it would be a negligent journalist who pretended otherwise.
Then there was his over-the-top criticism of Mika Kallio in 2010 after Kallio followed him in practice. "Kallio's always following me. He resents the fact that I can ride the bike much faster than he can. He's had it in for me ever since" Of course he does, Casey, but for Christ's sake move on. Having the slower riders follow you in practice comes with being the best rider in the world. It's not as if they can actually match your pace.
Some of what he's said since winning the championship has sounded a bit like Father Ted Crilly when he won the Best Priest in Ireland award. ("I'd just like to talk about all the people who fecked me off in the last 30 years. ...Where are you now, Father Seamus O'Seamus?")
That last one might be a bit unfair!
Anyway, that's my impression, for what it's worth. I have a very high opinion of Casey generally. He's obviously the best rider around at the moment (and with Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Rossi in the field, that's saying something). I like it that he says what he thinks, though sometime what he thinks irritates me. He's clearly not a manipulator of people (well, if he is he's not very good at it). I don't mind at all that he's a basically shy person who finds public attention difficult to handle. I see no evidence that he's dishonest or devious.
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