MotoGP: Casey Stoner reveals that he can’t remember early days of riding and is battling ongoing health issues

Australian racing presenter and broadcaster Greg Rust hosts his podcast, Rusty’s Garage, where he’s interviewed the likes of Troy Bayliss, Jonathan Rea and Mick Doohan.

The latest former world champion to join the impressive list of guests is Casey Stoner who has opened up about his sporting mentality, rivalry with Valentino Rossi and his withdrawal from MotoGP stardom. He also revealed that he was a suffering with a fresh struggle with chronic fatigue.

Stoner, in his straight-talking manner, told Rust: “I’ve really had some health issues in these last years,” as he admits he’s struggling with his memory: “I don’t have any first memory of being on a bike. It all comes from what I see on photos. I don’t remember a passion, a feeling or excitement.”

The Australian rider reflects on his fatigue issues of 2009, which were later linked to a lactose intolerance diagnosis: “I was struggling that year, vomiting after every race, I just couldn’t physically ride the bike anymore. We had no idea, I’d been through every doctor imaginable trying to figure it out.”

Stoner then revealed: “I’m actually struggling with some chronic fatigue at the moment, which is not good. Since about August or September last year it hit me. I realised something was wrong when golf was becoming a really physical sport for me. I’ve been on and off different tablets to try to combat that and get me through the day a little bit more.”

The fatigue has hit so hard that the rider, who was once competing with the best in the world, is now struggling to keep it up as a hobbyist, “I haven’t been out [karting] in over a year now,” he told podcast host Rust: “I don’t have the energy to go out there and do that for the day, it’ll put me on the couch for another week.”

And he hasn’t had a serious ride on a motorbike since testing with Ducati at the 2018 MotoGP Sepang Test: “The first time I’ve been on a road-based bike since January last year, which was testing, was only a couple of weeks ago when I was in the US on my birthday for an Alpinestars event,” he said.

“We did a little bit of riding around with a few guys. We didn’t push or anything, but it took it out of me enough.”

To listen to Greg Rust’s podcast, Rusty’s Garage just CLICK HERE.