Simon disagrees with Stoner

By Lisa Lewis

Moto2 frontrunner and former 125cc champion Julian Simon disagrees with Casey Stoner's recent assessment of MotoGP and also feels the newly retired double world champion will one day return.

In a recent interview published by Australia's Sunday Telegraph to mark Stoner's switch to four-wheel racing, Stoner cited a lack of respect, the direction MotoGP was taking and bad treatment by fans as behind his decision to quit.

However it was the following comment that has raised eyebrows:

"We lost a rider a couple of years ago [Marco Simoncelli] and within a month it was like it never happened. They want to see biff and barge and they don't realise our lives are on the line. We became puppets in that world, and it had nothing to do with racing."

Spanish website as.com reports that Simon told radio station Cadena Ser:

"The truth is that I don't share Stoner's view. I do not think people have forgotten a rider like Simoncelli... nor Kato and Tomizawa, and hopefully it will never happen again.

"I do not understand. Stoner has done so much for bikes, but bikes have also done a lot for him and I think eventually Stoner will again ride in the MotoGP World Championship.

"If not full time then sporadically. You'll see..."