Casey Joel Stoner AM (born 16 October 1985) is an Australian retired professional motorcycle racer, and a two-time MotoGP World Champion, in 2007 and 2011.

[2] During 2008 and 2009 Stoner remained a strong contender, winning multiple races, but not being able to consistently challenge Valentino Rossi and Yamaha for the title during those seasons.

He rounded off his MotoGP career with a remarkable sixth consecutive win in his home Grand Prix at Phillip Island and with a podium in his final race.

In October 2005, Stoner, along with Lucio Cecchinello's team, reportedly had an agreement to move to the MotoGP class in the upcoming season with support from Yamaha.

[13] As a rookie satellite rider, Stoner took the pole position in just his second MotoGP race, but crashed several times during the season.

Stoner started off his Ducati career on a high note with a first premier-class win in the Qatar opener, after a tense battle with Valentino Rossi.

[31] A strong start to the season left Stoner in a three-way battle with the Fiat Yamaha duo of Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, before he was struck by a mystery illness which caused him to feel tired long before the end of races, leaving him 16 points behind Rossi and 7 behind Lorenzo after the US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca on 5 July.

[32] Stoner later disputed the diagnosis, however, and, after continuing to struggle with the condition, he announced on 10 August 2009 that he would miss rounds 11, 12 and 13 in Brno, Indianapolis and Misano, respectively, in an attempt to recover from the illness, he was subsequently diagnosed as lactose intolerant.

[36] At the last round of 2009 at Valencia, Stoner dominated all practice and qualifying sessions to take pole, only to crash on cold tyres on the warm-up lap and miss the race.

With Rossi having fallen out of favour with Yamaha following Lorenzo's championship-winning season and Honda no longer willing to play second fiddle to another Japanese manufacturer, an intense game of musical chairs ensued in the MotoGP paddock that saw several of the top riders switch teams, Stoner among them.

In preseason testing in Malaysia, Stoner was quickest in all three sessions,[45] closely followed by Pedrosa and reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo.

Stoner won the season-opening race in Qatar from pole position,[46] and had been quickest in each of the free practice sessions held before qualifying.

Stoner took pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix, but had been running second behind Marco Simoncelli in wet conditions.

[47][48] After the race, when Rossi came to his garage to apologise for the incident, Stoner replied with the now-famous line, "Obviously your ambition outweighed your talent.

Stoner added victories at Silverstone in damp conditions,[51] and Laguna Seca,[52] to hold a 20-point lead over Jorge Lorenzo with eight races to go in the season.

Stoner proposed boycotting the Japanese Grand Prix out of fears for his health from radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant[citation needed] even though all the independent scientific experts including the World Health Organization and Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency stated that it is safe to live permanently 80 km (50 mi) or more from the plant.

[59] Stoner finished only eighth at the Italian Grand Prix after running off-circuit, later describing that he was "not comfortable" on the bike,[60] but followed that up with a fourth win of the season at Laguna Seca.

[64][65] Stoner's priority then was to be fully recovered for his home race in Australia, and he was slated to return at the Japanese Grand Prix in October.

[67] On 17 May 2012, during the pre-event press conference at the French Grand Prix, Stoner announced that he would retire from MotoGP at the end of the 2012 season.

In a June 2014 interview, Stoner said he was enjoying his life away from the sport with his family and had no regrets about his retirement, further dismissing any chances of a comeback.

After announcing his retirement from MotoGP, rumours persisted throughout the year that Stoner would debut in touring car racing in 2013; specifically the Australian V8 Supercars series.

[73] On 27 February 2013, two days before his debut at the Adelaide Street Circuit, Stoner unveiled his car, sponsored by Red Bull and Pirtek.

In 2013, Stoner signed with Honda as a test rider to aid in the development of new machinery on a limited basis through to the end of the 2014 season.

With his team leading the race, Stoner suffered a violent crash due to a throttle malfunction which forced him to dump his bike into a guard barrier.

[79][80][81] In 2016 Casey Stoner returned to the Ducati Corse Team as a test rider for the 2016 MotoGP season, ending his five-year tenure with Honda.

[20] In the 2013 Queen's Birthday Honours, Stoner was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to motorcycle racing.

[91][92] The baby, named Alessandra Maria, was born on 16 February 2012,[93] the same birthday as Stoner's long-time rival Valentino Rossi.

After announcing his retirement from MotoGP, Stoner still wore sponsored gear from Alpinestars, between his debut of the Australian V8 Supercars in 2013 and associated with the HRC with the tests of development new machinery for Honda RC213V.

He described laying on the motorhome floor between sessions being massively depressed, "wanting to die", and being afraid he would let his team down if he did not win every race.

[99] Stoner's most successful race was the Australian motorcycle Grand Prix, which he dominated with six straight wins until his retirement, having never lost at the event on a factory bike.