Not many do, or ever will...

But you can't deny Stoner's ability to ride...

He's good, one of the better ones out there today, but not the best ever. AMJ said it best:



And yes you can compare racers from different eras, just need to look at them comparitevly as how they were looked at in their era.

My only comment about him not being a "racer" would be that its very hard to be a racer when he's 12 seconds infront of the next best person. Sure, he hasnt been tested this year, so we wont know how he'll react. But I really want to see it....

If he's holding a candle he should put the damn thing down and hold on to the freaking bars.

One cannot forget the grid numbers those greats rode in...I mean when Rainey, Lawson, Schwantz, Gardner, and Doohan lined up there were no less than 6-10 riders that could win that race. No you have about 4 guys that have the smoke to win on any occaision.

Stoner is a great rider, but "One of the Greats" means you have to to beat more than 2 people per weekend.

And I agree with AMJ. Those Machines in the old days would have killed some of todays riders before they got a chance to shine...

I just want to see cs win four titles on a gimp leg.

One of the "Best Riders Ever" doesn't blow off half a season with a nervous break down after attempting to go toe to toe with a REAL Greatest of All Time and losing.....and then lie about it....concoct some bullshit story about lactose intolerance or whatever it was that he whined on about.

He's a weak minded, whiny little cunt. It's laughable to mention him in the same sentence as Mick Doohan or Wayne Rainey. I mean, SERIOUSLY....Rossi broke him in 2 races....those old school guys would have driven him out of the sport entirely. He doesn't have the mental toughness to hang....period.

The boy's got talent, for sure. But like others have mentioned, he hasn't mixed it up with enough other riders to show that he's got the mental steel to be called one of the best. And what he has shown in the past (or hell, even in practice/qualifying this year) with other riders hasn't been all that encouraging.

And vice versa...

I mean, we've got possibly the greatest rider of all time in Rossi, and he's qualifying 4 seconds slower than Stoner...So, who's to say anyone from the past would fare any better?

I think you guys are letting your personal opinion of him as a person overshadow his ability to ride a motorcycle in the greatest racing arena in the entire world...Stoner is great, and the numbers back that up...If he keeps winning, he'll surely go down as one of the best to ever hit the grid...

Sure, but this question comes down 100% to personal opinion. He hasn't exhibited (for whatever reason) the qualities that I think are necessary to get into the "one of the best ever" category. Numbers are nice, but if we only looked at numbers, these would be really boring arguments.