Stoner: “I was disappointed with Rossi, I don’t have a lot of respect for that…”

Stoner was speaking to Italian press and pinpointed their famous Jerez incident as one of the moments where he lost respect for the nine-time world champion. 

Rossi returned to the pits after taking out Stoner and attempted to apologise, however, he did so with his helmet still on which was a big no-no for Stoner who famously said his ambition outweighed his talent. 

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“In the moment I was a little bit disappointed with Valentino coming in with the helmet,” said Stoner when talking to Moto.it. “Mistakes happen but it was very clear that Vale had some eyes because he was having a difficult time with Ducati. 

“The first moment he had to take pride back he took the opportunity but made a big mistake. I basically said that the ambition was more than the talent at the time. 

“For me, when he returned to the box to apologise and you are wearing the gloves, the helmet, I don’t have a lot of respect for that. 

“If he came to me and not publicly then that would have been different. But I was very disappointed to see the way he came in the box.”

Stoner was also left disappointed with Rossi when the pair changed seats in 2011 - Stoner departed Ducati for Honda while Rossi left Yamaha for the Italian manufacturer.

Expected to replace Stoner and bring as much, if not more success, Rossi instead failed to win with Ducati, both with regards to races and the championship.

But Stoner, who was quick to point out what was being said about him and his team by Rossi and his camp, said: “I wasn’t upset but people must remember that I have a lot of close friends in Ducati. So even though I wasn’t with them anymore, this was because of people at the top, not the mechanics, engineers and everyone I had a close relationship with. 

“When Vale arrived at Ducati this was also difficult to watch because I knew the pressure they were under and they didn’t deserve it. 

“They were doing a great job and we did a lot of work with the budget we had, which was very small. Unfortunately, between Valentino and his engineer Jeremy Burgess, they spoke very negatively about me and my team. 

“They basically said we know nothing and that they would fix the bike very quickly. I take a lot of offence to that because of my team. 

“We were still challenging for the title with the budget we had, which is more than they can say with a bigger budget.”