Is Casey Stoner one of the best riders ever?

[L8 Braker]

I took most of the info from the great article below...I also used MotoGP.com for stats reference...

CLICK HERE FOR ARTICLE

So let's talk facts...

--At age 25, he's already a premier class MotoGP champion
--he already has more premier class victories than legends Kenny Roberts, Barry Sheene, Freddie Spencer, Wayne Gardner, Wayne Rainey, and Kevin Schwantz
--he's only 4 victories shy of being even with 4 time GP champion Eddie Lawson
--the only other riders with more premier class victories are Lawson, Hailwood, Doohan, Agostini, and Rossi
--he has 27 premier class victories - Pedrosa and Lorenzo have 28 COMBINED
--he's s scored more victories during his time in MotoGP than Rossi has over that same span (27 to 26), while also notching up seven more pole positions than his nemesis (26 to 19)
--when he wins, it's typically by an extremely large margin

So, regardless of the abrasive persona, the public fights with Rossi, the constant claims of whining, the "it's the bike, not the rider" fodder, and other rumblings, you can't deny his numbers...The boy can ride, and is headed towards being one of the greatest riders the sport has ever seen...