2023-07-17 18:28:27
Casey Stoner fulfilled one of her biggest childhood dreams at Goodwood: drive a 500 world championship. And he also did it twice, because the two-time MotoGP world champion had the opportunity to ride two iconic bikes made in Hamamatsu, specifically the RGV500 ridden by Kevin Schwantz and Kenny Roberts Jr.
The eternal number #27 kicked off his participation in this motor festival by offering those present a couple of rides at the controls of a motorcycle that he knows perfectly well, the Ducati Desmosedici GP. The Australian rode with two motorcycles, first with the 2007 unit with which he was proclaimed world champion of the queen category and then with the version of the following year, 2008, still under the displacement of 800 cc.
Later, after an exchange of words with Kevin Schwantz and out of the initial programming, Casey had the ‘OK’ from the North American pilot to take one of his Suzuki RGV500, specifically the 1989 unit with the well-known Pepsi decorationa motorcycle with which Schwantz achieved six victories and which led him to finish in fourth position overall that year.
Shortly after, Casey returned to treat himself to another whim, this time on another of the most famous RGV500 in history, the one piloted by Kenny Roberts Jr. in the year 2000 to take home his first and only 500cc title ahead of a rookie Valentino Rossi who finished runner-up in his debut season in the half-litre class.
For the former MotoGP rider, Sunday’s was “one of his best days” according to words collected by The-Race.com. “Not only have I been able to ride a 500, I’ve ridden Kenny’s and Kevin’s! I was four years old when Kevin rode this bike“remember the one in Southport.
Although Stoner grew up sporting two-strokes, he had never felt the power and feedback of a 500 before; the last time he rode a two-stroke motorcycle was in 2005, when he ran his last season in the 250 cc World Championship on an Aprilia before making the jump to MotoGP on a Honda RC212V.
Here it is. The footage of @Official_CS27 rolling out of the @fosgoodwood paddock today for his FIRST EVER ride on a 500cc GP bike, and it’s @KevinSchwantz‘s ’89 Suzuki no less. Don’t think I’ve ever seen Casey so excited. pic.twitter.com/Mfg9gqncMj
— Trent of Trunkman (@TrunkmanUK) July 16, 2023
“I’ve never had the chance to ride a two-stroke like that, even though my whole life revolved around and riding the 500. I’ve never had the chance to ride a 500 with rage,” lamented a Stoner who has been left wanting more. “I haven’t done it yet, but just to feel it, feel the raw power, how light they are… there is no way to explain the difference between the current MotoGP and these“.
The number 27 admits that he was surprised “how light and precise it is compared to a GP bike, and it’s also very, very stiff”, And he misses having had the opportunity to squeeze these bikes on a real circuit and not on the Goodwood climb: “I would have to test it on a track with the right tires to be able to give feedback, instead of pedaling uphill”he says between laughs.
For Casey, the 500 is “until”motorcycles that it defines as “dangerous” and that they are capable of “bite your ass very fast compared to what they have nowadays”criticizing the excess of aids and electronics of modern motorcycles: “I’ve said it for a long time, even in my time, there were too many things,” argue.
“On a four-stroke motorcycle the power is constant and you know what it’s going to do, but with this one you have to wait and see where it takes you”he says after his experience with the RGV500 of Schwantz and Kenny Roberts Jr., and with an obvious gesture of having been left wanting more.
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In this video shared by Stoner himself, you can see some moments of his experience at the last Goodwood Festival, including some passes with the 500: