Motor racing champion started off in a caravan

The new MotoGP champion, Casey Stoner, has revealed that he began his motor racing dream travelling across Europe with his family in a caravan, according to the Times.

The second youngest MotoGP winner has been lauded as the first rider to win the championship on a European-manufactured bike for 33 years, although he didn't always have such a life in the fast lane.

After his parents sold their farm in Kurri-Kurri, Australia, the Stoners travelled across Europe in a touring caravan, trying to help young Casey achieve his dream.

Eventually, he was taken up by Alberto Puig, a Spanish talent spotter for Grand Prix racing. However, Stoner did not relinquish his caravan life quickly.

Speaking to the Times, he said: "We were camped out in Alberto's yard for a couple of years. We were like the gardeners living out the back."

On his victory, Stoner said: "I give this world championship as a gift to the people who believed in me. And I've proved to the people who didn't believe in me that if you never give up, anything can happen."

24/09/2007 14:33:36