Highside

Two races into the 2010 season, and what has promised to be the most intense silly season of memory has already begun.  Rumors surfaced a few days ago over at Sport Mediaset, the sports division of Italy’s largest broadcast network, that Casey Stoner has already signed a contract with Honda for the 2011 season.  At face value, the rumor doesn’t seem too incredulous: Honda has already stated that they intend to pursue all of the Untouchables with all they have, and the strained relationship between Stoner and Ducati Corse is public knowledge.

When you take a closer look at the situation, however, the story begins to unravel.  Honda’s title sponsor in MotoGP is Repsol, the Spanish oil giant, and Repsol wants a Spanish world champion dearly.  Repsol has made clear in the past year how displeased they are by the lack of a Spanish champion, and signing Stoner risks losing the much-needed Repsol funding.  It makes much more sense for Honda to pursue Jorge Lorenzo, though as Honda has stated, they have no intention of losing out on any opportunities.

The real kicker comes when you examine the source of the rumor.  Sport Mediaset was the first place to report on the supposed signing, and since the initial brief, no new information has been reported.  In fact, representatives from Stoner’s camp, Honda, and Ducati have all vigorously denied the rumor, though Honda has said they do intend to pursue Stoner in the coming months.  As David Emmet pointed out at MotoMatters.com, a vacant seat at Ducati would appear quite enticing to Valentino Rossi–and the mere possibility of Rossi moving to Ducati could make Sport Mediaset a boatload of cash in increased viewership and advertising.

Nevertheless, every rumor needs to be looked over, and as this year’s Silly Season unfolds, we’ll be right in the thick of it to help you digest the latest news and rumors.