Has your Attitude towards Stoner Changed?

[ducpainter]

If that is true, I wonder how Mladin felt when Spies went on to win the WSBK Championship as a Rookie...

As for Stoner, I think he gets a really bad wrap. We all like to have a villain in our soap operas I guess, why pick Stoner when Barbera is there? 

Talent can exist in small ponds.

Those with it climb to the top and have some success...time will tell whether or not Ben will succeed in GP.

Those that can't succeed at the world level concentrate on making the most money they can in the kiddie pool.

[zarn02]

If that is true, I wonder how Mladin felt when Spies went on to win the WSBK Championship as a Rookie...

Don't recall ever reading anything about his reaction to that.

I do remember reading about him stating he'd miss Spies, as he considered him his only real competition. Or something to that effect. It's been a couple years.

[EvilSteve]

Those with it climb to the top and have some success...time will tell whether or not Ben will succeed in GP.

I think Spies already proved that he can succeed on the world stage. We might not consider it the pinacle but what he did in WSBK has never been done. That's no small achievement. That's exactly why I'm curious about what Mladin thinks about it. He and Spies were arguably very evenly matched, I wonder if Mladin found himself thinking about a missed opportunity. We all know that Spies learned a lot from Mladin and I don't doubt that Spies pushed Mladin to train and ride harder than he would have otherwise. I would have loved to have seen Mladin go to WSBK, who knows if he'd have done anything but it's interesting to think about.

[fastwin]

Mladin would have done something in WSBK for sure. Championship(s)? Who knows? He came to race in the States for his own reasons. ($$$$) And was successful and then some. He could have gone to WSBK if he had wanted to. No one prevented him. He made his decision and stuck to it. Rather successfully I might add. I don't hold not going to WSBK against him. No way.

... back to Stoner talk.

[gm2]

re mat...he also did go to GP.  too early, and on the wrong bike.  then he nearly lost his foot in an ultralite accident.  racing in the US gave him good competition (nicky beat him too), quality of life for his growing family, lots of money, and the ability to go home between races.  you can't blame him.

when he retired the doctors nearly cut his foot entirely off, rotated it 90 degrees or some awful number, and then reattached it.  he was racing and training on a severely make the beast with two backsed up appendage for years because he wouldn't take the time off required to fix it.

re ben, he predicted that he would be wsbk champion with 4 rounds to go.  mat was happy for him.  he knew the level of racing going on between the two of them & that it would equate to what happened in 2009.  i don't care what series or track it was, the racing going on between the two of them, especially in 2007, was world level.

anyway, stoner.. he's not a villain to me at all.  i don't hate him by a long shot.  i actually like a lot of his no-bs'ness.  but he does have a talent for being too much of a whiny little shit. ;]

...to be fair, i bet he wouldn't handle laguna 2008 now they way he did then.

[derby]

If that is true, I wonder how Mladin felt when Spies went on to win the WSBK Championship as a Rookie...

vindicated?

remember, he pretty much told everybody the kid was gonna do it.

[derby]

Talent can exist in small ponds.

Those with it climb to the top and have some success...time will tell whether or not Ben will succeed in GP.

Those that can't succeed at the world level concentrate on making the most money they can in the kiddie pool.

would you take a $2MM/yr (at least) paycut at 30yo just to say you're world champion? 7-fig salary to (low) 6-fig salary doing the exact same job (with 2-4x the number of races and higher risk).

[ducpainter]

would you take a $2MM/yr (at least) paycut at 30yo just to say you're world champion? 7-fig salary to (low) 6-fig salary doing the exact same job (with 2-4x the number of races and higher risk).

Is it about the racing...

or the money?

[EvilSteve]

Or being a PR guy?

I'd say that Mladin had some great racing while Ben and Nicky were there.

[derby]

Is it about the racing...

or the money?

it's about both, really...

at the point the door was open for a second chance on the world stage, if i was also married with a child or two, i likely would've made the same decision he did.

[zooom]

it's about both, really...

at the point the door was open for a second chance on the world stage, if i was also married with a child or two, i likely would've made the same decision he did.

let me play devil's advocate on this and speak hypothetically for a moment...what if he had made the jump and expanded his brand image ( because quite frankly it is all about marketing too-and I think he is a partner in a branded parts and accessories supply chain in Australia or something still moto oriented as a suppliment or legacy left behind to his racing name)...he could thereby have made much more money in the endorsements and sponsorship contracts...but sometimes you never know what could have been if you didn't take that chance...he is 39 now, which means he was 37 when he retired...and by the results of old guys on the world stage currently ( Checa, Biaggi, Corser, Haga, etc. ) in still being competitive...it isn't about age...so, he could still be building on that empire...

[ducpainter]

it's about both, really...

at the point the door was open for a second chance on the world stage, if i was also married with a child or two, i likely would've made the same decision he did.

I'd disagree about that.

He's just in it for the money IMO.

To each his own.

[EvilSteve]

If he was just in it for the money, why did he retire?

[OT_Ducati]

Has your Attitude towards Stoner Changed?

[Speeddog]

If he was just in it for the money, why did he retire?

His pile of money got big enough?

Seeing as *any* of these guys can see their career end at a moment's notice, I can understand them maximizing income as best they can.