Valentino Rossi entered MotoGP in 1996, and it’s no surprise that his arrival was a breath of fresh air for motorcycling. The Italian, along with other riders in the paddock, became an emblem, turning heads in the stands with their daring celebrations.
Years later, Casey Stoner wonders why this behavior and believes that these celebrations were “rehearsed.”
“Everything had to be planned. That’s a lot of preparation for a small celebration. But each to his own,” said the two-time MotoGP champion.
According to Stoner, those kinds of celebrations weren’t just meant to entertain fans. It was also about making it clear to the opponent that he had lost. “Part of that celebration was definitely showing your opponent that they didn’t win. That influenced me in a way,” admits Stoner.
“But it wasn’t so much the celebrations as such, it was how things continued on the podium,” he added. “It was as if he had won the world championship and not just one race.”
These “mind games” surprised the Australian, who admits on the podcast that he was always happy for his opponents’ victories, something he considers “unusual” in the championship paddock.
“I learned a lot from that,” says Stoner. “I was happy for my opponents. They couldn’t understand that. I remember Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa looking at me and wondering why I could be so genuinely happy about their wins.”
In addition to Jorge and Dani, there were many riders who came to think that this was a strategy used by the Australian to avoid facing defeat.
“They suspected that it couldn’t be possible and they reflected on what mind game I was planning,” Stoner recalls, adding: “I didn’t want to know anything about the mind games of those times and preferred to be happy for my opponents in the championship,” Casey concluded. Stoner.
