Retired champ says he could come back and beat the best racers right now


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Casey Stoner retired from motoGP young in 2012. His early retirement opened the door for Marc Marquez at Repsol Honda and the rest is history. With Marquez trying to defend his title as he is locked in a tight championship battle with Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso, Stoner has been hearing the Spaniard's name a lot lately.

"People always ask me if I could beat him [Marquez], and there a lot of things that suggest I could," Stoner said in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport via Motorsport.com.

"I won against [Jorge] Lorenzo, Valentino [Rossi], [Andrea] Dovizioso, and they have all beaten him. So there's no reason to say I couldn't have done also. And like Dovizioso is doing now, I could have fought with him for the title."

Stoner is only 32 now, and has kept his skills sharp by being a test rider for Ducati. Even though he is certain he could beat the reigning champ, he says he has no desire to return to racing.

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"I don't need it [competition] anymore," Stoner said in the same interview. "I started racing when I was four years old and I had a longer career than many people."

He doesn't want to go back and contend for a third championship, but wants to make sure everyone knows he could if he wanted to. He's probably right.

Related: The reining champion says he won't need to use his teammate to clinch another title

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