As expected one of the first questions posed to Casey Stoner during today’s pre-event press conference at Estoril was the rumor that the reigning World Champion was thinking of retiring at the end of 2012 to spend more time with his family.
The rumor was launched by the European media, specifically by Italy’s Sportmediaset and Spanish magazine Solomoto who actually did a cover story on it calling it the “bombshell of the year.
”Obviously Stoner shot down the rumor, with “Until you hear it out of my mouth then don’t believe anything you read,” but he did repeat for the umpteenth time that he’ll continue as long as he enjoys it, but his retirement will come in a not to distant future.
“Everyone seems quite good at stories and making them up.
I’ve said in the past that I’m not going to keep riding until my mid 30s.
But I haven’t decided what I’m doing, so certainly no-one else is going to know,” said Stoner.
You’ve got to love the European press, with MotoGP TV audiences slipping in Spain (even attendance at Jerez was down over the weekend) and Italy, they obviously have to create a little drama.